Mikel Arteta has left the decision on whether to appeal William Saliba’s red card, received during Arsenal’s defeat against Bournemouth, up to the club’s hierarchy.
Saliba was sent off after pulling down Evanilson in a crucial moment just before the half-hour mark.
The incident occurred following a poor back pass from Leandro Trossard, which allowed the Bournemouth striker to race towards goal.
Initially, referee Rob Jones issued a yellow card, but after a VAR review led by Jarred Gillett, Jones was advised to check the pitchside monitor. After watching several replays, the referee upgraded Saliba’s yellow card to a red.
Arsenal went on to lose 2-0, suffering their first defeat of the season.
With Saliba now facing a suspension for the next three Premier League matches, Mikel Arteta refrained from confirming whether the club would appeal the decision.
“I leave that more to the club to understand the circumstances. They will have to decide it,” the Arsenal boss said on Monday.
“It is about perspective.
“We want to win in any context but the reality is we made it very difficult for ourselves.
“Another context is that we have lost one game in six months.
“Playing with 10 men there is obviously an issue.
“When you analyse the three different actions and the outcomes it’s very different.
“We cannot continue to play with 10 men.
“The task becomes almost impossible. We need to eradicate that.
“I think what happened in those three cases is nothing to do with aggression in my opinion.
“We want to competitive. It’s great.”
In a statement, the Premier League opened up on Gillet’s review. They said: “The VAR deemed that Saliba denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review.
“The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”
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