‘He should wait’ - Kyle Walker reveals referee frustration for Arsenal’s opening goal v Manchester City
The defender was called over by Michael Oliver seconds before Riccardo Calafiori’s strike.
Kyle Walker has revealed his frustration at not being given time to get back in position seconds before Arsenal’s opening goal against Manchester City on Sunday.
In a game that was not short on talking points, Michael Oliver’s decision to allow Thomas Partey to take a quick free-kick in the 22nd minute was one of the more controversial moments . The referee called both captains over to him to give brief instructions before the set-piece.
Except, before Walker was allowed to take up his berth at right-back once again, Partey pinged the ball into the gap created by the defender’s summons by Oliver and 10 seconds later Riccardo Calafiori had curled a shot into the back of the net to level up the game.
The City skipper and his team-mates protested the decision, but those complaints fell on deaf ears and the goal stood. Pep Guardiola was furious at the time and kicked a chair in anger, before claiming after the match that he will instruct his players to call the referee over in future, rather than moving out of position.
Speaking in the aftermath of the dramatic encounter, Walker explained his disappointment at the incident. “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,” the 34-year-old told BBC Radio Manchester.
“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.”
City ultimately drew 2-2 thanks to John Stones’ equaliser in the eighth minute of injury-time. Erling Haaland had given the champions an early lead before Calafiori and Gabriel netted prior to half-time, in an action-packed first period that also saw Rodri taken off with an injury and Leandro Trossard shown two yellow cards.
Having held on for almost the entirety of the second half, Stones’ dramatic equaliser secured a point for City and maintained the club’s unbeaten run at home. Both sets of players were also involved in angry exchanges after the match, while Bernardo Silva and Stones were critical of Arsenal’s time-wasting tactics.