Nicolas Pepe wasnt bothered about being sent off in Arsenals draw with Leeds, claims Troy Deeney, who has was baffled by Kieran Tierney defending his teammate.
Pepe gave Mikel Arteta a headache as he was sent off for headbutting Ezgjan Alioski just minutes into the second half, with the Gunners eventually getting away with a 0-0 draw after a poor display against the dominant hosts at Elland Road.
It certainly wasnt the way to impress his manager in only his second Premier League start of the season, with Pepe appearing to lose his cool after an earlier encounter with the Leeds ace.
Referee Anthony Taylor brandished a red to Pepe in the second half
But Deeney claims the Ivory Coast international didnt seem to care that much about his dismissal, which the Watford striker branded inexcusable and stupid.
I probably would have laid into him for that, said Deeney on Mondays talkSPORT Breakfast. Hes let them down. It was an act of stupidity.
And, when I looked at it, when he was walking off it looked like he wasnt bothered.
It looked like he made a mistake, shrugged, sighed and walked off.
I want to see more emotion. If youve gone to headbutt someone naturally youre frustrated, so there should be some form of anger there, but he just looked very calm, placid, a bit lost.
Hes having a tough time, he hasnt lived up to the price tag and the quality he undoubtedly has, because you dont spend that much money on a whim, and you can see he’s talented.
To me, he looked a bit like: Whats the worst than can happen?
Deeeny claims Pepe ‘didn’t look bothered’ about his sending off
Deeney was also surprised by the reaction from Arsenal defender Tierney, who appeared to defend Pepes actions and then had to be separated from Alioski at full-time.
The Leeds man was accused of going down too easily from the barest touches from Pepe, with ex-Manchester United defender Patrice Evra saying the Macedonian deserved an Oscar.
But Deeney insists Pepe would have escaped punishment if the Leeds player didnt react, and believes the Arsenal players should have been hammering Pepe, not backing him up.
I love Kieran Tierney, but thats inexcusable, the striker added.
Ive done stupid things in my time, and if my players are backing me for that
I would expect to go in the dressing room and get hammered. Youd expect your lads to turn around and say, what are you doing?
Tierney confronted Alioski at full-time
Arsenal are under it, they had a very poor first half and should have been three or four down, in my opinion, and then theyre coming back out, youre expecting a reaction and you go and headbutt somebody?
I understand Alioski may have targeted Pepe, and he may have gone down very easily, but what do they think is going to happen?
You know when you play against Leeds they are going to work hard, play with high intensity and get after you. Theyve got quality, by the way, but theyre going to try and rough you up!
Alioski did go down very easily. If I got brushed with a head like that and went down, my mates would be hammering me for the next six months; Oh a gust of wind, watch out Troy, stuff like that.
But he has to go down. If the Leeds player didnt go down there, Pepe wouldnt have been sent off, they would have just carried on.