Arsene Wenger and Gennaro Gattuso refuse to criticise Danny Welbeck for diving after Arsenal beat AC Milan

Welbeck went down for a penalty in the first half of the Europa League last-16 second-leg match at the Emirates, shortly after what might have been an otherwise key Milan goal

Welbeck went down very easily for the equaliser (Getty)

Both Gennaro Gattuso and Arsene Wenger refused to criticise Danny Welbeck for diving in Arsenal’s 3-1 Europa League defeat of AC Milan, the Italian because he admitted to doing similar in his own career, Wenger because he said he didn’t see the incident.

Welbeck went down for a penalty in the first half of the Europa League last-16 second-leg match at the Emirates, shortly after what might have been an otherwise key Milan goal. The striker himself then stepped to score, giving Arsenal the insurance they needed, and inadvertently prompting a debate about English “fair play”.

One Italian journalist asked Gattuso whether the incident went against such a national reputation, while Wenger joked about whether the English media wanted to admit that their players dive. Up first for his press conference, Gattuso said of Welbeck:

“He is a striker. He has to do what he does. But we can’t use that as a reference for entire English football. There’s a lot of fair play in England. There was a lot at stake tonight. Even myself, when I was a player, I would try and take advantage of some situations. I’m not going to criticise these things.”

When asked, Wenger meanwhile went back to an old line - “I haven’t seen the incident” - before then smiling and leaning forward: “Do you want to accuse the English players of being divers?”

The Arsenal manager then said he would properly look at the footage and then give an “honest opinion of it to Welbeck.

Gattuso meanwhile apologised for appearing to hurtle the ball at Nacho Monreal in the second half.

“I’d like to apologise to Monreal. It might have looked like I threw the ball in his face."