It was a challenging day for the 34-year-old, who found himself on the losing side and was involved in the sequence leading up to Arsenal’s second goal, where Gabriel Magalhães escaped his marking. After the goal, Walker was seen on camera blaming himself for the defensive lapse, having switched marking duties with Jeremy Doku and leaving Magalhães unmarked.
Walker was also visibly frustrated with referee Michael Oliver during the build-up to Arsenal’s first goal. Riccardo Calafiori scored a spectacular long-range strike from just under 25 yards, but it followed a quick free-kick that caught the Manchester City defence out of position.
Sky cameras missed this quick restart, but it played a crucial role in Arsenal’s goal. While no foul play was determined, City players were evidently displeased, feeling they were unfairly caught off guard by the quick free-kick.
BBC Sport’s Simon Stone reported that Walker confronted Oliver in the tunnel at halftime to express his concerns about the incident. Earlier in the game, several City players had surrounded the referee after Calafiori’s goal to voice their frustration.
In his post-match interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Walker discussed his exchange with the referee. He clarified that he did not initially approach Oliver, but that both he and Bukayo Saka were called over.
Walker explained that if the referee had called him over, he should have been allowed to return to his defensive position before play resumed. He compared it to how a goalkeeper would be allowed to return to the goal if they had been summoned by the referee.
Walker also emphasized that he was not being overly critical of Oliver, acknowledging the difficulty of the referee’s job and maintaining that they had a good relationship. However, he pointed out that it was unfair to restart play before he had a chance to get back into position as a defender, arguing that, like any player, he should be given time to reset.
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