Alan Shearer shares his honest verdict on William Saliba’s red card for Arsenal after similar incident at Anfield

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Arsenal fans who were watching Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea on Sunday evening will probably be feeling very frustrated in regards to William Saliba’s red card vs Bournemouth.

In a similar situation to the one which saw the Arsenal centre-back sent off, Tosin Adarabioyo was only shown a yellow card for pulling down Diogo Jota, who was through on goal.

In that incident it was deemed that Levi Colwill was close enough to provide cover, and the direction of the ball, which wasn’t perfectly heading towards goal, was also factored in too.

Either way, it’s hard to blame Arsenal fans for feeling aggrieved, especially in the context of the decisions that have gone against the club already this season. 

Alan Shearer explains how William Saliba should have handled Evanlison situation

That being said, when speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast, Alan Shearer has now reviewed Saliba’s foul on Evanilson again, sharing his fresh verdict.

Speaking alongside Gary Lineker, Shearer still thought that a red card was the correct decision, and explained how Saliba should have actually handled the situation.

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Lineker began: “I suppose at the time, he is just thinking, it’s a bit of a nudge, there’s probably a defender behind me, I’m not going to be sent off.

“But I suppose if he could see things again, he would have just left him to it. Because even if he goes through and scores, you fancy Arsenal with 11 men, rather than being 0-0 against 10 men.”

Shearer said: “Yeah totally agree, I think there’s no doubt it’s a foul, and it’s a deliberate foul. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

“But we’ve all sort of been there in the heat of the moment, you know, and it’s easy to say, well, he shouldn’t have done it. And you’re absolutely right where if he, when he looks at is, you think, I shouldn’t have made contact – I should have just let him go.

“And with his pace, with his know-how, with his experience, he might have got back anyway. Keep in mind he (Raya) could have saved it. Evanlison might have missed that opportunity.”

“So many things that could have happened. The one thing I don’t think would have happened would have been Ben White getting back there. I think it was a definite goal-scoring opportunity.”

William Saliba will be available for Arsenal’s next game

Of course, given that Arsenal face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday before Liverpool visit the Emirates Stadium next weekend, Saliba will be able to play.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Mikel Arteta plans to solve Saliba’s absence against Arne Slot’s side, who definitely pose a threat in attack.

Perhaps Ben White will move into right centre-back, with Jurrien Timber replacing him at full-back if he’s fully fit.

Jakub Kiwior is seemingly finished at Arsenal after his humiliation at Bournemouth – it would be a surprise if the Pole started against Liverpool.

A tough call for Arteta to make, and one he certainly wouldn’t have imagined before the weekend.