Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Arsenal really at Southampton as they crashed out of the FA Cup.
The Gunners exited the cup at the quarter-final stage to make it two losses on the bounce while they also had injuries to the likes of Gabriel to contend with on the night.
Furthermore, the club have also been waiting nervously to find out if Gabriel Martinelli could face disciplinary action after he pushed referee Sam Barrott out of the way to take a free-kick.
Now, it seems like the Gunners have that decision.
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Gabriel Martinelli’s fate decided after pushing referee
On a night of bad news for Arsenal, it seems like the club has got some good news for once.
According to Dan Sheldon of The Athletic, Martinelli will indeed get away with facing any further action.
The reasoning behind the decision is that because Barrott took action on the night and decided to only issue a yellow card to Martinelli, that the FA cannot overrule or interject further.
It means that Martinelli will not face any retrospective action and ultimately, means he will be available for the next few weeks’ fixtures.
For Mikel Arteta, this is a welcome boost after the international break saw him lose a number of players before Gabriel went down at St Mary’s.
Common sense prevails in Gabriel Martinelli case
This was the right decision to reach and ultimately, it feels like the FA have got one right.
On the night, Barrott decided that a yellow was enough and the reality is that that’s all it warranted.
Yes, some might argue putting your hands on an official at any time and whatever the circumstance should warrant a red card.
But clearly, this was more than just Martinelli being petulant as emotions ran high and time was running out in the game. The Brazilian just acted instinctively and it’s good that both Barrott and the FA have recognised this.
Thankfully, we can all draw a line under this one and swiftly move on.
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