Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has commented on the club potentially looking to appeal the red card decision against William Saliba in the weekend defeat away to Bournemouth.
The Gunners suffered their first loss of the campaign as the Cherries beat them 2-0 thanks to two goals in the second half, with Arteta’s side having been a man down since Saliba’s dismissal in the 30th minute.
This is not the first time Arsenal have had to play with ten men this season, as they’ve also been on the end of some controversial decisions which saw Declan Rice sent off against Brighton and Leandro Trossard shown a red in the draw with Manchester City.
Saliba’s sending off didn’t initially look as controversial as those other two, but it did come following a VAR check, while a similar challenge by Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo against Liverpool yesterday only received a yellow card.
Mikel Arteta on appealing William Saliba red card
The issue for Arsenal now is that they will be without Saliba for the Liverpool game, which is a huge worry as they urgently need a result against Arne Slot’s in-form side.
Arsenal often struggle against mid-table clubs but have done well in their recent matches against the big six, so this might be a real opportunity for them to bounce back and also dent their title rivals’ hopes at the same time.
Still, for now it’s not that clear if Arteta and co. will definitely appeal the Saliba decision on the back of that Tosin foul the following day…
Mikel Arteta says it will be left up to the club if they appeal the William Saliba red card because they need to compare it to similar incidents.
— Connor Humm (@TikiTakaConnor) October 21, 2024
Saliba has been a hugely important player for Arsenal since becoming part of their first-team in the 2022/23 season, forming a rock-solid partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence.
It would be a big blow for AFC to have to go into a big game without the Frenchman, especially as the club have already been suffering so many problems with injuries this season.
Martin Odegaard is a long-term absentee, while Bukayo Saka missed the Bournemouth game, and the north Londoners also had to take on Tottenham without Declan Rice when he was suspended earlier in the season.
It seems everything is going against Arsenal right now, and it may even be that they’ll be without all three of Saka, Odegaard and Saliba against Liverpool.
The Reds also have one major injury concern as Alisson Becker is out, but it would otherwise give them a huge advantage for their trip to the Emirates Stadium.
