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Manchester City captain Kyle Walker was left frustrated by referee Michael Oliver’s part in Arsenal’s first goal during the 2-2 draw in an English Premier Soccer League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
The England right-back was caught out of position after being called for a chat by Oliver, with Riccardo Calafiori taking advantage by curling in an equaliser to cancel out Erling Haaland’s opener.
Gabriel headed the Gunners into a 2-1 lead and, after Leandro Trossard was sent off on the stroke of half-time, the visitors were made to pay at the death as John Stones equalised.
Walker told Radio 5 Live: “I’m not ever going to come on national TV, national radio and start slagging people off because there’s enough of that going on around in the world. What I’m saying is I’ve not gone over to the referee. Me and Bukayo (Saka) have not gone over to the referee – he’s called us over.
“So if I’m being called over to the referee, he then should wait and allow me to get back in position before the ball is then gone over my head. ‘So if I go over to the referee by my own accord and I’m out of position, it’s my fault. But I’m in position, he’s called the two captains obviously to calm the players down.
“I’m walking back saying, ‘Lads, concentrate, nothing stupid, make sure we get through this’. The ball is then going over my head. Me and Mike have a very good relationship and I think he has a very hard job, especially at the top level. So that’s not me being critical of him. I know he has a hard enough job, he’s got 22 angry players screaming at him continuously.
“If he calls me over, if I go over of my own accord, fair enough. But for him to call both captains over and then not let me get back in position…If I was a goalkeeper, does he let me get back in my net? Of course. I’m a defender, I’m the first line of defence he should let me get back in and be set and then blow the whistle.”
Walker, meanwhile, said it was “part and parcel of the game that we see the dark arts”, referring to the way Arsenal repeatedly broke up the game.
Asked if the Gunners had mastered ‘the dark arts’, last-gasp goal hero Stones told Sky Sports: “I don’t know if they’ve mastered it. They’ve done it for a few years and we know to expect that.
“You can call it clever or dirty – whichever way you want to put it, they break up the game and it obviously upsets the rhythm for everyone. They use it to their advantage and I thought we dealt with it really well.’ (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Online Reporter