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Arsenal forward Noni Madueke has spoken out about his confrontation with Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who appeared to attempt to have him dismissed from the pitch.
During the second half, Madueke and Mac Allister became embroiled in a flashpoint as both sides became involved in a bout of pushing and shoving.
During the fracas, Madueke moved his head in the direction of Mac Allister's, prompting the Argentine to crumple to the ground while clutching his face.
The South American was branded "embarrassing" by both Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher in what appeared to be a blatant attempt to engineer Madueke's removal from the field of play.
Referee Andy Madley chose to keep his cards firmly in his pocket, much to the relief of both Mikel Arteta and Madueke himself. Following the final whistle, the Gunners winger shed some light on his perspective regarding the incident.
The Arsenal forward said: "I don't think it's anything whether it's a yellow card or a red card. The referee didn't think that. VAR didn't think that. So we all agreed there.
"It's a natural movement. He's obviously clever, he tried to bait me into getting a red card there, but obviously not.", reports Football London.
"In my head I was thinking 'Oh it's possible with VAR it's about whoever interprets it, I don't know what they're thinking. But thankfully it wasn't."
Following the final whistle, both Carragher and Neville rounded on Mac Allister for his conduct during the incident. Neville commented: "I don't think Mac Allister needs to go down like that but there's a little nudge with the head.
"A little inch forward can cost you a lot. Mac Allister's reaction is a bit over the top, I can tell you that. Get up. Embarrassing.
"It's Mac Allister's fault because he slaps Odegaard when he's down which is unnecessary. It's the little movement forward of Madueke's head they're looking at. I hope they don't go for a red card for it."