Arsenal’s win over Sunderland was top-class, but in the aftermath, fans wondered whether PGMOL made a mistake during stoppage time.
Elation outweighed concerns about PGMOL at the Emirates on matchday 25 as Arsenal went nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
The gap has been reduced to six points since then, but Arsenal won’t care, as the objective remains the same.
Mikel Arteta will have mostly positive feedback to give his players after the win over Sunderland, but there was one moment in the game that might’ve pushed the Arsenal manager to question PGMOL.
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Dermot Gallagher speaks about Reinildo’s red card tackle on Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres was one of Arsenal’s best players against Sunderland, capping his afternoon off in the 93rd minute to record a brace.
Gyokeres’ second goal was crafted by Gabriel Martinelli, who caught the Black Cats on the counter, which triggered Regis Le Bris’ defenders to scramble back.
It was the rush from offence to defence that caused a controversial moment, as Reinildo flew in as Gyokeres shot, but wasn’t able to prevent the Arsenal striker from scoring.
The dust settled as the Swede scored, but fans wondered whether Reinildo should’ve seen red, or at least a yellow, for his utterly reckless challenge.
On Sky Sports Ref Watch, Dermot Gallagher shared what he thought of the tackle.
“I don’t think it’s a red card, it looks bad there, but he doesn’t catch him at that point.”
Fill the blanks: If Viktor Gyokeres hadn’t scored against Sunderland, Reinildo would’ve been __________
Should Reinildo have seen red for his challenge on Gyokeres?
The former ref shared his opinion, but his co-host, Jay Bothroyd, had a different view.
“I think that’s a red card. That’s dangerous. He’s lunging, out of control, high. I think the fact that Gyokeres scored the goal is why it hasn’t been looked at.
“If he missed that, I think he would then get a red card.”
Bothroyd protested that if Gyokeres hadn’t scored, a red card would’ve been shown, but again, Gallagher disagreed.
“I think he’d get a yellow card,” Gallagher responded.
Gyokeres scored, and play was restarted without Reinildo even being cautioned, which has to be said, was fortunate for the defender.
Gyokeres changed the red card discussion
Admittedly, the only thing on anyone’s mind during that passage of play was whether Gyokeres was going to score.
The 27-year-old simply had to finish the chance, and he did, making him the most relieved man in the Emirates.
Use ONE WORD to describe Viktor Gyokeres’ form at Arsenal right now… 👀
Being a confidence player, the idea of not scoring was not an option for the striker, hence why Reinildo’s challenge went largely under the radar.
It’s now six goals in his last eight games for Gyokeres, who is finally finding his feet at Arsenal.
Gyokeres is building consistency, and now, perhaps PGMOL could follow suit and be consistent in their decision-making in the Premier League.
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