Arsene Wenger’s own player has seemingly proven the Frenchman right.
Wenger recently proclaimed English players the new masters of diving whilst defending Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino’s remarks on the accusations of diving which had been levelled at both Dele Alli and Harry Kane.
It had been suggested that both Spurs stars have a tendency to go down easily in order to win penalties.
Foreign players have traditionally been associated with simulation but Wenger claimed that English players have now nailed the art of tricking officials.
“I think you have to get rid of diving out of the game,” Wenger said last month. “I remember there were tremendous cases here when it was foreign players who did it.
“But the English players have learned very quickly and are maybe the masters now.”
On Thursday night, the Arsenal manager witnessed one of his English players earn the Gunners a penalty after hitting the deck under very little contact.
Danny Welbeck won and converted the spot-kick in the first half of Arsenal’s Europa League Round of 16 second leg clash with AC Milan at the Emirates.
https://twitter.com/gullyburrows/status/974387215928356867
The club’s own Twitter account promptly launched a poll asking for supporters to vote on whether the penalty should have been awarded and the majority of their own fans admitted that it was the wrong decision.
📊 Lots of protestations from the @acmilan players when we were given our spot-kick…
Would you have awarded a penalty?#AFCvACM
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 15, 2018
One of the most important figures in Welbeck’s development as a young forward has slammed the Arsenal man for the ease with which he hit the turf this week.
Brian McClair, the former director of Manchester United’s youth academy, took to Twitter to claim that he was “disappointed in Danny.”
Wenger appears to be right about English players when he declared recently that they are the “new masters of diving”.
Disappointed in Danny
😢— Brian McClair (@BrianMcClair13) March 15, 2018
