Nick Woltemade said he refused to accept an apology from Arsenal match-winner Gabriel Magalhães for an “elbow in my face” during Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat against the Gunners at St James’ Park.
Woltemade, Newcastle’s £65 million ($87m) club record signing from VfB Stuttgart earlier this month, had put Eddie Howe’s team into the lead with a 34th minute header.
Arsenal defender Gabriel claimed he had been pushed by Woltemade prior to his headed goal and the two players continued to argue about the incident after the re-start.
Television footage appeared to show Gabriel striking Woltemade in the face during an off-the-ball incident — a clash not acted upon by the match officials or VAR — but Woltemade said after the game that he rejected Gabriel’s attempted apology for the incident.
“After the goal there was a situation I felt his elbow in my face in two metres, so his arm has to be really high,” Woltemade told Sky Sports. “I don’t know I just said it to the referee that I felt something in the face and I think it’s not right to feel something in the face.
“But I’m not the type of player to fall down for this. It’s hard because sometimes maybe you have to do this, but this is not my type of football.
“He said sorry after, so I think he knew he hit me in my face. It didn’t solve the situation to be honest.
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“I don’t like this, if you do some things in game and then a few seconds you say sorry, that’s not part of the game.
“I like this situation where you can have a good battle, but his elbow should not be in my face.”
When asked after the game for his view of the clash between Gabriel and Woltemade, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said that he did not see the incident.
