Newcastle boss Alan Pardew accused Arsenal of a lack of respect for not waiting until after their Premier League encounter at Manchester City before making a bid for midfielder Yohan Cabaye.
Pardew sent Cabaye back to the north-east, believing he was not in the right mental state to do himself justice after news of the approach leaked into the public domain.
In his absence, Newcastle were hammered 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium and Pardew evidently was not impressed.
"I didn't see any reason why that needed to happen," said Pardew.
"When you do a pre-season like we have and been very thorough and prepared for three days with a team that includes Cabaye, it is tough for his head to be turned on the eve of a game.
"Why they couldn't do us the respect and the honour of waiting until Tuesday evening is beyond me."
Pardew could have asked Cabaye to play, but he felt the Frenchman, who has also attracted interest from Manchester United this summer, would have found it impossible to concentrate.
"It is a very difficult situation and hard to get your head round to play a game of this magnitude," he said.
"It is pretty obvious I am upset about it."
The bid was dismissed out of hand, with Pardew insisting it falls well below Newcastle's valuation.
Source: PA
