The Premier League rule which shows why Arsenal star William Saliba did not deserve red card vs Bournemouth

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Arsenal were shown their third red card of the season as defender William Saliba was sent off against Bournemouth.

Saliba found himself in a tough position as Leandro Trossard played a reckless long backpass, which would have sent Bournemouth attacker Evanilson through on goal.

The Arsenal centre-back then brought Evanilson down, and was initially awarded a yellow card. However, VAR overturned it to a red, with the reasoning being that the Bournemouth striker was denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Whilst it appeared to be a fair decision, given that Saliba was the last defender, one Premier League rule actually shows that it was a harsh call.

Why William Saliba red card against Bournemouth may have been wrong

The Premier League published a set of rule updates at the start of the season over denying goalscoring opportunities.

As per their updated rules, they have stated that the distance between the goal and the last man has to be taken into account:

“Things to consider for denying a goal or clear goal-scoring opportunity are:

-Distance between the offence and the goal
-General direction of the play
-Likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball
-Location and number of defenders”

It is also stated that “an offence committed outside the penalty area that denies a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity will be a red card,” but if taking distance into account, Saliba can consider himself very unlucky.

Saliba’s challenge with Evanilson was close to the halfway line, and Gabriel Magalhaes would have had time to try and cover for his partner if the striker raced through on goal.

It therefore can be argued that Evanilson’s resulting opening was not a clear goalscoring opportunity, and a yellow card for the foul may have sufficed.

William Saliba will now miss Arsenal clash with Liverpool

This is an incredible blow for Arsenal, as Saliba is one of their most important players.

The red card means that whilst he is only suspended for one match, this is next week’s huge clash with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal will have to hope that Jurrien Timber can return from injury, with Ben White potentially set to move back to centre-back, in the absence of the Frenchman.

The red card contributed to Arsenal’s first defeat of the season, in what could be a huge blow to their title hopes, and they cannot afford to lose again against Liverpool.