Joey Barton and Jack Wilshere in Twitter spat

Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton has engaged in a war of words with Arsenal star Jack Wilshere on Twitter following the teams’ clash on Saturday.

Barton was involved in an altercation with Gervinho, which resulted in the Ivorian forward being red-carded for ‘slapping’.

Speaking on Twitter after the incident, Barton said: “I went down easy, no doubt. Still cant raise ur hands (sic)”.

The ‘slap’ came in retaliation to Barton dragging Gervinho up from the ground after a perceived dive.

“I think @joey7barton was in the wrong today! He should not have got involved and assaulted Gerviniho like that,” Wilshere commented.

When Barton objected to the charge of assault, Wilshere opined: “That is a form of assault my friend it should not happen on a football pitch!”

Saturday’s match ended in a goalless draw.