Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has admitted that he would have taken a red card to stop Wilfried Zaha in the same way that Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi did.
The Frenchman was yellow carded in the closing stages of the game at the Emirates Stadium, after hauling Zaha down as he looked to counter attack with the score at 2-2.
Guendouzi's challenge was likened to a rugby tackle by some pundits, while Zaha aimed a dig at the Arsenal midfielder on social media after the game as he stated that the NFL was being played at Wembley.
After the game, the Arsenal midfielder said that he felt he had to bring Zaha down to try and stop a Palace attack, while former referee Dermot Gallagher called it "the most cynical foul you will see."
But Warnock said that he felt the Arsenal man was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off for the challenge, adding that he would not have disputed being dismissed if he had committed the foul in that position.
“I think if that was me making that tackle, I would be proud of myself from a tactical point of view, because [Wilfried] Zaha is away, I don’t think you are catching him," the former Liverpool defender said, speaking as part of Sky Sports' ref watch feature.
“[Dani] Ceballos is the nearest player next to him, but you give him 60 or 70 metres on a pitch, you are not catching Zaha.
“If I had got up from that, having made that tackle, and got a yellow card, I would have felt quite lucky.
“If I had got a red card, I would have said fair enough, it wouldn’t have bothered me if I had got a red card for it.”
