JONAS GUTIERREZ has questioned the character of Robin van Persie after accusing the Premier League's leading goalscorer of over-stepping the mark during Newcastle United's stoppage-time defeat to Arsenal.

The Football Association could still come down hard on both clubs for the way Monday night's meeting at the Emirates boiled over in the immediate aftermath of Thomas Vermaelen's last-gasp winner.

Vermaelen's goal sparked unsavoury scenes in a passionate game when van Persie squared up to Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul, creating a situation where almost every player on the pitch became involved.

Even when referee Howard Webb had issued the two players with yellow cards after restarting a game which had to be delayed for a few minutes, the two Dutch internationals had to be separated before they walked down the tunnel.

There remains a feeling the situation stemmed from van Persie – who could be seen regularly trying to block his compatriot's drop kicks – being fed up at the length of time Krul took to clear the ball. Allegations of time-wasting were refuted by Newcastle manager Alan Pardew.

But Gutierrez was furious with Arsenal's exceptionally talented captain.

He said: “Van Persie was wrong. There was no need for him to do that - Arsenal won the game, it was finished. I can't understand a person like that. It is not right. When you feel like that it's because you are not a good person.

“I don't care about the football, I'm talking about (Robin van Persie) the person. When you have people who do that, it's not right.

“We are all used to getting kicks, it's a sport of contact. But when you have things like that, it is not right - it is not easy to accept.

“He was the only Arsenal player who reacted like that. The others were saying to him 'calm down, calm down'.

“When you do that the fans go crazy as well, so it's no good for the atmosphere of the sport. It didn't help the game - both sets of fans are having a good evening, they're enjoying the game. He made a big mistake.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger floated the idea both players could have had a previous disagreement during their time away together with the Holland national team.

Despite hailing from rival Dutch cities the Hague and Rotterdam, however, sources across the North Sea insist there are not known to have been any previous feuds between the pair.

But Gutierrez, knowing how incensed the normally cool Krul was, thinks the Newcastle goalkeeper should not be the man to blame for the spat.

“There didn't seem to be any reason for van Persie to do that,” said Gutierrez. “Well done to Tim for staying calm. In a second you can lose your mind but we have to stay focused.

“I was pleased with Tim, you have to think of the next game and the rest of the season at that moment. It is no good to have a reaction and get a three game ban or something like that. Tim went to react but then he calmed down, which was very good.”

Aside from the events surrounding van Persie and Krul, the fact remained that Newcastle had lost in North London, extending a winless run to four games ahead of Sunday's visit of Norwich City to Tyneside.

And while the Gunners closed the gap to third-placed Tottenham to a point, Newcastle are left eight points shy of the final Champions League spot with ten matches remaining.

The onus now, according to Pardew, is securing a place in the Europa League. For that to happen, the Magpies need a return to winning ways sooner rather than later.

There were plenty of positives to be taken from the 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, but Gutierrez does not think they should be reflecting on the performance of Hatem Ben Ara or the team's defending. He would rather put the wrongs of Monday night right.

“It is hard to get nothing when you play as hard as we did against Arsenal,” said the Argentina international. “But this is football - you never know what is going to happen. That is why it is the best sport in the world.

“You never know what is going to happen, if you saw Arsenal's last game against AC Milan (when they won 3-0) you would think they would have had an easy night against us. But they didn't.

“We played well, we defended well but we have to play better with the ball next time. We need to analyse the mistakes that we made, the defensive mistakes and make sure we never make those mistakes again.”

Pardew will monitor the fitness of midfielder Cheik Tiote and Danny Simpson over the next few days. Both players struggled in the latter stages of Monday's dramatic fixture with cramp and fatigue respectively.