William Saliba bagged his first career red card as Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season crashed at the Vitality Stadium with Bournemouth winning 2-0.
Two second-half goals from Christie and Kluivert ensured the home side grabbed an unlikely victory against the 10-man visitors.
William Saliba was sent off for the first time in his career following a rash challenge on his opponent.
The French defender dominated the headlines in the match after a 28th-minute blunder in his own half.
He was caught out of position when Leandro Trossard made a mess of his pass. He tried to cover up quickly but ended up colliding with Brazilian forward Evanilson and sliding down the latter.
Initially, the referee blew for a foul and issued a yellow card to the player but was called by VAR to review the decision. Taking to the pitchside monitor and having a clearer, he came back to overturn the decision and issued him with a straight red card.
Reactions to William Saliba red card
A barrage of reactions greeted the decision of the referee to make the red card call.
Arsenal fan and journalist Piers Morgan described the call as a joke and ridiculous.
“FFS. Another ridiculous red card against Arsenal. That was an absolute joke,” he wrote.
Another user, Mo, argued the referee was not right to make the call as Saliba was far off from the goal. He described the decision as a disgrace.
“That is never a red card.
“He’s a million miles away from goal and Ben White has the recovery pace to come over.
“Absolute disgrace that the season is barely 3 months old and we have had 3 joke red cards.
“What is the point?”
Another user wrote, “Obviously I’m biased but…
“It feels the bar has been raised for everyone else to get a red card & lowered for Arsenal.”
Another wrote, “That was not a red card of any sought. Another Arsenal agenda by the refs and PGMOL.”
William Saliba’s red card: Was it due?
While it has been ascertained that Saliba actually fouled Evanilson, the controversy is on whether it was a red or yellow card offence.
The referee issued a yellow card first but shelved it for red after the VAR review. From the review, Saliba appeared to have intentionally dragged down Evanilson who was through on goal, hence leading to the red card.
He will now miss Arsenal’s crunch tie against Liverpool in the next match.
Arsenal have received more red cards than any other Premier League club this season
William Saliba’s red card means Arsenal have now got three players sent off in their first eight games in the Premier League – the most number of cards by a Premier League club so far this season.
Declan Rice was the first Arsenal player to be sent off during the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with Brighton earlier in the season.
Leandro Trossard was the second. The Belgian picked up a red card during a crunch tie against Manchester City at Etihad.
The piling number of red cards has raised concerns over Arsenal’s disciplinary depth and their chances on the Premier League title race.
Major highlights of the match
Arsenal were a shadow of themselves against the spirited Cherries at the Vitality Stadium. The two sides struggled to create chances at the start is the game with no breakthrough.
Arsenal looked more deadly on the attack but couldn’t still find a through Bournemouth’s brick-wall defence. Raheem Sterling who replaced injured Saka on the right flank found it hard breaking into the hosts with handfuls of possession.
William Saliba’s red card marked the turning point in the game as it handed the hosts a decent advantage. However, the first half ended barren.
Bournemouth end Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season after William Saliba red card
Bournemouth’ took the lead in the 70th minute with a well-worked set-piece. Kluivert guided on a low corner from the left, and Christie stepped onto the ball: he fired it home with a superb shot that beat David Raya and crashed into the top-left corner
Seven minutes later, David Raya brought down Evanilson in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty to Bournemouth. Justin Kluivert converted it with ease, firing into the bottom right corner to make it 2-0.
Bournemouth have claimed to the 10th place in the Premier League table with 11 points following the victory while Arsenal retain their third spot with 17 points.
However, they Gunners risk falling by three points behind Manchester City and four against Liverpool should the two teams win their outstanding matches on Sunday, October 20, 2024.
