Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed whether the club will appeal William Saliba’s red card or not, MySportDab reports.
The Gunners suffered a big blow in their Premier League clash against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium when Saliba picked up a red card for a rash challenge on Brazilian forward Evanilson.
The referee initially slammed the player with a yellow card but shelved it for a red card after taking a clearer look on the incident at the pitchside monitor.
The circumstances of the red card was controversial with fans blasting the referee for making the call.
There were speculations that Arsenal will take a decisive step to appeal the red card and possibly have it overturned before their Premier League clash against Liverpool in the next match.
Now, Arteta has confirmed the club’s position on the report.
Speaking ahead of the club’s Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk, Arteta revealed the club has yet to decide whether to appeal the red card decision.
”I leave that more to the club to understand the circumstances. They will have to decide it,” he said.
He also seemed to blame the player for the red card but also lament the number of times the club have been forced to play 10 men in just a few games to the season.
”It is about perspective. We want to win in any context but the reality is we made it very difficult for ourselves.
“Another context is that we have lost one game in six months. Playing with 10 men there is obviously an issue. When you analyse the three different actions and the outcomes it’s very different. We cannot continue to play with 10 men,” he added.
Arsenal will play Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek UEFA Champions League clash on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 before hosting Liverpool at the Emirates in a crunch Premier League tie at the weekend.
William Saliba will miss the match if the Gunners doesn’t appeal the red card decision and have it overturned.
Saliba’s red card marked the third time an Arsenal player have been sent off in just eight games into the season after Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were given marching orders against Brighton and Manchester City, respectively.
