Riccardo Calafiori started for Arsenal against Chelsea, but he was withdrawn at half-time.
The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge despite having the advantage of Moises Caicedo’s red card in the first half.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, who came on for Calafiori, wasn’t great, which is why many are wondering why the Italian was taken off at the break.
Arsenal fans will be happy to know there was no injury involved.
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Mikel Arteta says Riccardo Calafiori was subbed off because of his yellow card vs Chelsea
Anthony Taylor was appointed as the referee for Arsenal’s clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and he had a very busy game.
The 47-year-old issued yellow cards to three players in the first 13 minutes, and that number went up to five before half-time.
Three of Arsenal’s back four – Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera – were booked, and every supporter feared that one of them would get sent off.
Arteta had the same worry at half-time, and the Arsenal manager has revealed that he took Calafiori off because he was at the ‘biggest risk’ to get a red card.
He said on Sky Sports after the game: “We had four players with yellow cards, and you could see they were targeting those players to get the game even.
“The one at biggest risk was Riccy [Calafiori], that’s why I had to take him out against Estevao or Neto, they could come in and look for him.”
Arsenal have another Riccardo Calafiori problem
Calafiori has had a brilliant start to the new season at Arsenal.
The Italy international was expected to be a backup to Lewis-Skelly this term, but his performances have made him undroppable.
It was a shame to see Calafiori withdrawn at half-time against Chelsea, but this could happen in the coming weeks as well.
That’s because the former Bologna man has picked up four yellow cards in the Premier League this season. If he gets booked again in one of the next six fixtures, he will be suspended for a game.
That’s not ideal at all, so it will be interesting to see how Arteta will handle this situation over the next few weeks.
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