Arsenal’s clash with Newcastle had some fiery moments, including one incident explained by Jamaal Lascelles, with neither side leaving the pitch in the best of moods
Arsenal star Jorginho snubbed a handshake after Newcastle’s win on Saturday evening, according to defender Jamaal Lascelles. It came following a feisty clash between the Gunners and the Magpies at St. James’ Park that had plenty of controversy along the way.
In a tight affair, a challenge from Kai Havertz sparked a confrontation, but after a check by VAR, there was no red card given by the officials. Moments later, the home side had their own brush with the video review as Bruno Guimaraes led into a challenge with his elbow, but a sending-off wasn’t given.
Then there were three separate checks for the winning goal scored by Newcastle, where there were questions over whether the ball went out of play, a possible offside, and a potential foul. The first two didn’t have conclusive evidence to rule them out, while the third possible infraction wasn’t overturned.
In a post-match tirade to Sky Sports, Mikel Arteta later called the decision a “disgrace”: “I commend my guys for the performance and the manner in which we played. We weren’t worthy of losing the game. The obvious and blatant decisions cost us the match. It is humiliating. A scandal. That’s the reality. A scandal.”
It ended Arsenal’s Premier League winning streak, but Newcastle maintained their strong form with a significant victory. Although there were a few pivotal moments, defender Lascelles said that one particular moment following the game made him feel quite happy about the win.
He told the media, as quoted by the Mirror, “I’m just so glad that we beat them. Their captain, Jorginho, didn’t want to shake my hand after the game. I was fuming; it’s not on.
“I would never refuse to shake an opposition captain’s hand, no way. You can have as many arguments as you want on the pitch, but shake hands at the end; it’s part of the sport.
“For me, whatever happens on the pitch—handbags or whatever—you show sportsmanship and shake hands afterwards. He didn’t do that, so I’m so glad we beat them.
“Players like that—I don’t think it’s acceptable. A lot of them walked in, but I went up to him to shake his hand, but he didn’t want to, and he’s their captain! There was a lot of that in the game, but that’s football, and we managed it well and kept our cool.”
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