Newcastle United got a taste of their own medicine on Sunday, as Arsenal put on a game-management masterclass at St James’ Park.
Some call it timewasting, others believe it is gamesmanship. But it was Arsenal who came out on top, beating Newcastle 2-0 to continue their quest for the Premier League title.
It was an incredibly frustrating game for the Magpies, who were unable to handle an Arsenal side that put in a perfect away performance.
They did their best to slow the game down from the first minute, taking their time with every set piece and bringing on the physio time and time again. By the end of the game, he had probably ran the most for the Gunners.
In the aftermath, some have said it is what Newcastle deserved for the way they played at the Emirates. However, that hides away from the hypocrisy of Arsenal’s complaints back in January. They had a major problem at the start of the year, but were happy to play the same way now.
It is merely gamesmanship. It is a part of football, and always has been. The annoying thing for Newcastle fans is that it has been a stick to beat them with, when pretty much every team does it.
Arsenal did it a lot at St James’ Park on Sunday, and Toon striker Callum Wilson has given his thoughts on what happened.
Callum Wilson admits Arsenal were ‘frustrating’
Speaking on the latest episode of the Footballer’s Football Podcast, Wilson and Michail Antonio discussed Arsenal’s gamesmanship/timewasting at the weekend.
Wilson: “Obviously it’s frustrating when you’re in the moment, isn’t it? And yeah we have done it in the past and when you’re that team away from home and you’re trying to grind a result out, then so be it. They have come and done the same thing and it is frustrating but to be honest the title has already gone anyway, so I don’t know what they are playing at.”
Antonio: “There we go, man is off the fence, he’s fuming bro! He’s not happy!”
Wilson added: “They are a good team when you see the quality that shines through. Clinical when they needed to be, scored their goals, you can see why they’re up there.”
Newcastle aren’t the only team at it
As Wilson says, it is something that Newcastle have done this season, so Arsenal are well within their rights.
The frustrating thing was that the referee did nothing about it. He made no attempt to quicken the Gunners up – not a single player was booked for timewasting. That is what was most frustrating. Arsenal bent the rules, and Chris Kavanagh let them.
In a way, Newcastle should take it as a compliment. That is how Arsenal had to play to get a result.
It was frustrating, but it is what it is. Every team is guilty of it – it’s just a shame Newcastle seem to be the only team that get panned for it!
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