Arsenal will be without William Saliba for their crucial Premier League match against Liverpool after the centre-back received a red card in Saturday’s game against Bournemouth.
Initially, referee Rob Jones issued a yellow card to the French international for a foul on Evanilson.
However, after a VAR review, Jones upgraded the yellow to a red card.
As a result, Saliba will be suspended for Arsenal’s next Premier League fixture against Liverpool on October 27.
On a positive note, Saliba will still be available for the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk scheduled for midweek.
The Premier League Match Centre account explained the overturn on social media, saying: “The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson.
“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.”
It capped off a challenging week for William Saliba, both at the club and international level.
He faced significant criticism from the media in France following a tough performance during the UEFA Nations League match against Belgium.
Adding to Arsenal’s woes, Bukayo Saka was sidelined with an injury ahead of the game.
He joined Martin Odegaard on the absentee list, with the club captain still recovering from an injury sustained while on international duty with Norway in September.
This season, Arsenal have frequently found itself at the center of controversial red card decisions.
Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard both received second bookings for delaying the restart in recent matches.
Trossard’s dismissal left Mikel Arteta’s team playing with ten men for 45 minutes against Manchester City.
Frustrations bubbled over among Gunners fans on social media, with many arguing that Saliba should have remained on the pitch.
Some mistakenly believed Evanilson was offside, failing to realise that the ball had been played in his direction by an Arsenal player.
Read more: Why Arsenal star Bukayo Saka did not make the trip to Bournemouth
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