Arsenal emerged winners on the European night against Italian side AC Milan but hero Danny Welbeck has been criticized for diving. The former Manchester United but now Arsenal man is believed to be gradually building a reputation for himself by Australia striker Scott McDonald. Arsene Wenger, who usually blame match officials when they get their decisions wrong or when the situation is controversial, when asked about the diving incident, said he had not had enough time to review it.

Even the England national team coach Gareth Southgate has said that they will be talking and training the selected lot about ‘disciplinary trouble’ that could affect the team at the World Cup. He wants the players ready for how to approach the referees on the pitch and to avoid giving away free kicks. With the VAR cleared for Russia 2018, the focus will be on decisions in key moments as such.

McDonald remembered when Celtic came up against Arsenal back in August 2009 in the Champions League qualifier. Eduardo da Silva, an Arsenal forward then was the man in focus. He rounded up the goalkeeper Artur Boruc but then appeared to throw himself on the ground with no contact. The referee blew for a penalty and Arsenal went on to claim the victory. However, UEFA subsequently banned Eduardo da Silva for deceiving the referee. Wenger huffed and puffed that UEFA had to lift the ban on the Brazilian born player.

“Gamemanship is part of football now and some teams are better at it. When a manager comes out and says what Wenger did about Eduardo, it makes the situation worse. I have seen players condemned, though, by their own managers for diving – Everybody has their own opinion,” McDonald said. McDonald added that when there is not enough contact to obstruct players, then it should not be a foul or a penalty. While he admitted that it could be hard to prove when a player was faking it, he said some like Eduardo and Welbeck cases were obvious.