Arsenal: Why Nick Pope avoided a red card as Premier League issue statement amid Mikel Arteta fury

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·25 April 2026

Arsenal: Why Nick Pope avoided a red card as Premier League issue statement amid Mikel Arteta fury

Mikel Arteta is adamant decisions are going against his Arsenal side

The Premier League have issued a statement explaining why Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope was not shown a red card against Arsenal.

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Late in the second half at the Emirates Stadium, Pope charged off his line and wrestled Viktor Gyokeres to the ground after misjudging the flight of the ball.

Newcastle’s No1 was shown a yellow card by referee Samuel Barrott for the challenge and VAR decided to stick with the on-field decision, instead of upgrading it to a sending-off, following a review.

The Premier League Match Centre have now confirmed that Pope avoided a red card because he did not deny Gyokeres an obvious goal scoring opportunity.

A statement reads: “The referee’s call of yellow card to Pope was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that he did not deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) due to the close proximity of a Newcastle defender, who had the possibility to claim possession of the ball.”

While Malick Thiaw, the Newcastle defender in question, was around on the cover, Mikel Arteta has insisted that Pope should have been given his marching orders.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, the Arsenal manager slammed the officiating in each of his side’s last two Premier League games as he brought up an incident involving Abdukodir Khusanov and Kai Havertz during the loss to Manchester City.

"I have to say, as well, in my opinion, it's a clear red card," Arteta said of Pope's foul on Gyokeres.

"I've watched it ten times. If you have ever played football, it is a red card.

"It's the second time in two games because [against] Manchester City, when Kai Havertz goes through, Khusanov fouls him. 1-1, the title is there. It is a red card, guys.

"So these are the margins as well and hopefully that's going to change.

Mikel Arteta is not over this challenge on Kai Havertz

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"I'm saying the reality of the last two games, in crucial moments when everything is at stake, we need everything to go our way and it hasn't," Arteta said.

"I'm not putting any excuses, I'm the first one to understand, I didn't talk about it when we lost the game. I'm doing it when we won.

"It's a red card today, it's a red card in Manchester, and the world is different. That's it."