Dermot Gallagher delivers verdict on Arsenal vs Newcastle red card call

Newcastle United slipped to a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat on Saturday against Arsenal.

The Magpies' devastatingly poor form continued with another defeat on Saturday, but the performance was so much better from Eddie Howe's men that the whole thing was so much easier to take than recent results.

As is often the case when Newcastle face Arsenal, there was plenty to talk about beyond the result itself, and this time it was another rush of blood to the head moment from Nick Pope.

Pope found himself back in the starting lineup after a spell on the sidelines after some questionable form, and the 34-year-old decided to celebrate his return with a trademark moment of madness, charging out of his area to stop Viktor Gyokeres making a quick counterattack. 

It was a good idea in theory, but in true Nick Pope fashion, the former Burnley man missed the ball entirely and took the player out in the process. Pope was shown a yellow card for his clumsy challenge, which looked to be the right call to everyone but Mikel Arteta, who was adamant the stopper should have been shown a red card.

Dermot Gallagher stuck by his former colleague's decision

As we suspected, the incident was covered by Sky Sports News' Ref Watch segment with former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, and he backed his fellow referee's decision as he so often does. Although in this case, we agree with him as Gallagher laid out several reasons why the yellow was the right decision.

"I thought it was a yellow card. Not moving towards the goal. Not moving towards the goal and it's too far out on the wing. 

"I think there's a covering player. There are so many different variations of what you do. So, I think it's possible but not obvious."

"Also, I don't think he would have got the ball because he stops. I think Thiaw will get the ball and not him."

Viktor Gyokeres bought the foul

It was exactly how we called it yesterday. Gyokeres was never in control of the ball and didn't look like he'd get there ahead of Malick Thiaw.

What we hadn't noticed that Gallagher had was that Gyokeres actually halted his run, almost anticipating the contact, while Jay Bothroyd noted that Gyokeres actually initiated the contact by standing on Pope's foot.

It was a clumsy challenge and another highlight to add to the compelling reel to demonstrate why Newcastle United desperately needs a new goalkeeper in the summer, but it was never a red card.