Mikel Arteta has spoken out after Leandro Trossard was sent off during Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Leandro Trossard was dismissed by referee Michael Oliver on the stroke of half-time in Arsenal’s clash with Manchester City.
At that stage in the game, the Gunners led 2-1, thanks to a spectacular effort from Riccardo Calafiori and a Gabriel Magalhaes header.
However, the Belgian forward’s dismissal changes the complexion of the entire match, and Mikel Arteta had to adapt his tactics accordingly in the second half.
The North London club were far more defensive after the break, sitting deep and seeking to protect their lead. Despite being a man down against arguably the best team in the world away from home, Arsenal almost pulled this valiant mission off.
It was not until the very end of injury time, in the 98th minute, that John Stones was finally able to beat the impressive Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya and prod home an equaliser.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has say on Leandro Trossard red vs Man City
Arteta feels that Trossard was harshly punished by Oliver, who adjudged the Arsenal man to have kicked the ball away in an effort to delay the restart after conceding a free kick.
The Premier League confirmed that Trossard was sent off for this reason. He was shown a second yellow card in this instance, having been booked earlier in the match for the same offence, when he picked up the ball after the hosts had been awarded a free kick.
However, there was an exceptionally brief period between Oliver blowing his whistle and Trossard kicking the ball away, and the attacker could argue that he did not hear Oliver’s decision or have time to register it.
Arteta certainly feels hard done by. Speaking to Sky Sports (22/09/2024, 19:35) in the wake of the incident, the Spanish coach said: “I prefer not to comment. I was already in big trouble trying to solve what happened on the pitch. It’s that obvious that it’s not necessary to comment on it. I’m expecting 100 games to be nine vs 10 this season if that’s the case.”
Arteta’s words contain a stark warning about the direction that Premier League football may be heading in if such relatively minor infractions are allowed to have such a huge impact on games, as was the case here.
Michael Oliver highlights Arsenal bad habit against Manchester City
Whilst Arsenal fans have an unfortunate history with Oliver, the truth of the matter is that seeing players punished for delaying restarts is now becoming something of an unwelcome trend for Arteta’s side.
Declan Rice was recently dismissed against Brighton and William Saliba was cautioned against Tottenham Hotspur for the same offence.
For all of his complaints to the media, Arteta needs to get a handle on the problem internally as a matter of urgency. He must stamp out this bad habit before it costs his side any further than it already has.
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