HENRY REACTION NORMAL - BERGKAMP

Henry confronted referee Graham Poll after The Gunners 3-1 defeat to Newcastle, and spurned the attempts of fellow and opposition players to drag him away from the official, even prompting police interference in the players' tunnel.

"Thierry's reaction was a perfectly normal one," Bergkamp said. "Any player would get upset in his shoes.

"I think the amount of bad decisions that happened explains Thierry's frustration at the end.

"We were all very disappointed, but Thierry in particular felt that a lot of decisions had gone against him all night and so he was frustrated.

"Thierry is a particularly emotional character. I hope the authorities are lenient with him when they get the referee's report."

Bergkamp, who came on as a substitute for Sylvain Wiltord in the second half, said the official caused tensions to run high with a number of poor decisions and revealed how he warned Henry to curb his temper for the duration of the game.

"I'd sensed Thierry's frustration and told him earlier on: 'Stay on the pitch, don't get sent off or we'll lose you for five matches.'

"We should have finished the game off by half-time as we certainly had enough chances to win it.

"Instead, out of nowhere, Ray was dismissed and then a few more bad refereeing decisions later and we've suddenly lost a game that we should have won.

"The way that game descended into a joke was a very big blow for us.

"We just couldn't believe what was happening. We were all saying to each other on the pitch: 'This isn't a dirty match, what's going on here?'

"We were staggered by some of the decisions going on, and a lot of those bookings I don't feel should have happened.

"A bit of a talking to and use of common sense would have been enough and then everything would have been all right.

"It wasn't just one or two players that objected to the referee's decisions. Both sets of players and fans were united in feeling he made bad decisions.

"It was just a strange night all round and I trust that will be taken into account when the referee's remarks on Thierry are studied."