At Arseweb we do not spring automatically to the defence of Arsenal players. Yes, Jeffers does sometimes go down a bit too easy, as does Ashley Cole. Yes, Sol Campbell could well have had a penalty awarded against him yesterday when he shoved Shearer aside. And yes, Dennis himself is often guilty of dumb petulance not entirely dissimilar to what Laurent Robert did yesterday.

But the calls of "cheat" after yesterday's match have reached absurd proportions so it's time for Arseweb to stand up for Dennis.

Former Man Utd skipper Bryan Robson was the studio pundit on ESPN for yesterday's match between Arsenal and Newcastle. When asked if the sending off of Laurent Robert was right, he responded by saying that Robert could have been dismissed 4 times in that one incident!

• One: the original foul, holding onto Bergkamp and not letting go
• Two: stopping Bergkamp from taking the free kick when Henry made a move towards that touchline
• Three: same as two
• Four: lashing the ball at Lauren (while not in play)

This was an ex-Man Utd player, not someone with any particular inclination to support Arsenal in such matters.

As I said in Arseweb's report on the game, Bergkamp did not kick the ball directly at Robert in order to get him booked. I've re-watched my tape several times now and, both times the free kick is blocked, Robert clearly raises his left foot and moves it to the left in a deliberate attempt to stop the ball. Perhaps it was an instinctive movement rather than premeditated, in which case one has to have some sympathy for the player, but the referee was still very much in the right to show a yellow card.

Some pro-Newcastle or anti-Arsenal commentators have said that, even so, Bergkamp could only have been trying to get Robert booked because there was no Arsenal player in that direction for him to play the ball to.

Have these people never seen Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp play? Henry was making a move towards that touchline. He's quite quick actually, so a pass to Thierry does not have to be aimed at him. A pass into space anywhere in the same quarter of the field as Thierry Henry could be intended for him. Especially when that pass comes from Dennis Bergkamp. He is not the kind of player who only passes to his teammates' feet.

Rupe adds...
In his protestations of innocence, Robert has actually admitted his guilt. "As happens all the time, one places a player in front of the ball to allow the team to regain their shape. I thus got in front of Bergkamp....". So, he didn't just "not have time to get out of the way", he was there deliberately to prevent the free-kick being taken quickly. The fact that people do it "all the time" is neither here nor there. The automatic booking for this offence was introduced to stop people doing it all the time. As has been noted on Arseweb and elsewhere, Arsenal have in the last few years been taking more and more quick free kicks. We have to admit that a major reason for this is that we are more effective from open play than from dead-ball situations. But another is that the opposition is no longer allowed to prevent us taking quick free-kicks. Robert knows this, and so does Sir Bobby.