Arsenal: Danny Welbeck didn’t actually dive, and here’s why

Danny Welbeck is receiving a lot of flak for his perceived dive against AC Milan on Thursday night. However, I don’t think the Arsenal striker did dive, and here’s why.

The most contentious moment to come from Thursday night’s 3-1 win over AC Milan, that, alongside a 2-0 win in the first leg, sees Arsenal progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, was undoubtedly the alleged dive of Danny Welbeck.

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It came at the most important point in the match. Milan had just taken the lead with a wicked Hakan Calhanoglu strike from distance. The pressure was building on the Gunners, a team famed for its ability to capitulate when it matters most. The game, and the tie, was very much in the balance. And then the referee decided to help out Arsene Wenger’s men.

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Welbeck had slid in behind the Milan defence. Fed by a nice through pass that forced him a little wide, Ricardo Rodriguez, coming from an outside-to-in-angle, met Welbeck and the ball. The Arsenal attacker was scampering onto the ball, which had not been touched yet. Rodriguez contacts, barely, Welbeck on the shoulder with his arm. After a stuttered step and realisation that he could not control the ball, Welbeck slips to the floor.

The referee, at this point in communication with the fifth-official, which for European games is stood behind the goal line, eventually points to the spot, much to the jubilation of the Emirates. Welbeck then steps up, confidently plants a low, arrowed shot into the bottom left corner, sending Gigio Donnarumma the wrong way. 1-1. The two-goal advantage from the first leg was restored.

Much of the post-match coverage has centred on the apparent dive of Welbeck. Many have criticised the striker for his perceived accentuating the fall, winning the penalty, and subsequently stemming any momentum that Milan had built from their opening goal. However, while I do certainly accept that it is not a penalty — the contact is minimal at best –, I do not ascribe to the thinking that Welbeck dived. I merely think he fell over.

Instead of watching where Rodriguez contacts Welbeck, on the shoulder, look closely at the heels of the scampering attacker. You will notice that clip together, knocking him off balance and out of stride. As he then tries to recover to stop himself from falling, he slides to his knee, perhaps realising that he cannot reach and control the ball before it goes out for a goal kick.

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That is not a dive. It is also not a penalty. It sits the grey area of contact but no crime. Football is a contact sport after all. Nevertheless, Welbeck will be vilified for his actions, unfairly, in my opinion.