Arsenal head in to their Premier League clash with Aston Villa knowing that they need three points to keep pace with Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta’s side will be looking to build on their victory in the North London Derby but Arsenal are without injured William Saliba for the clash.
The Gunners go into the game under huge pressure following Liverpool’s late 2-0 win over Brentford- both goals came in stoppage time.
However, the scorer of both of those Liverpool goals, Darwin Nunez can count himself lucky to be on the pitch following an incident against Manchester United.
READ MORE: Arsenal fans have had a lot to say about Riccardo Calafiori’s absence from the Aston Villa match
Darwin Nunez should have been sent off against Manchester United
Speaking via BBC Sport, pundit Pat Nevin believed that Darwin Nunez was ‘staggeringly fortunate’ to only receive a yellow card for a challenge on Manchester United defender Matthijs De Ligt in their recent 2-2 draw.
Nevin stated: “Definite yellow for Darwin Nunez. To be honest, I think Nunez is staggeringly fortunate there. That’s absolutely horrible, straight in on the player, not looking at the ball. Matthijs de Ligt saved him by getting up so quickly.”
Had Nunez received a red card for the challenge, there is a chance he would have been serving the final match of his suspension against Brentford and therefore unable to claim what could turn out to be vital points in the title race.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Arsenal have felt hard done by this season with officials decisions, Chris Kavanagh sent off Declan Rice in a highly controversial manner at the start of the campaign that cost the Gunners victory.
Joao Pedro should also have missed Arsenal game in which he scored
Another example of unfortunate circumstances for the Gunners this season occurred in a recent encounter against Brighton.
Joao Pedro scored an equaliser from the penalty spot after William Saliba was controversially penalised for a foul after replays show he headed the ball first.
Had Pedro been given his marching orders, he would have been suspended for the game against Arteta’s men and therefore not been on the pitch to convert the penalty.
As Arsenal head into a crucial match with Aston Villa, they will be hoping that further controversies evade them.
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