Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane blast Mikel Arteta and Arsenal star over Man City incident

Getty Images
Leandro Trossard hamstrung his Arsenal side after being sent off before half-time against Manchester City.

Arsenal were seconds away from a huge win over title rivals Manchester City on Sunday, conceding an equaliser in the final seconds of a heated clash at the Etihad Stadium. The Gunners led 2-1 and held out with 10 men for almost the entire second half only for the ball to drop to John Stones in virtually the last kick of the game.

The Gunners should have defended the corner situation far better, appearing unorganised in the final moment of the game, allowing a short corner that led to the goal, but there were complaints aplenty over Leandro Trossard’s second yellow card deep into stoppage time of the first half.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The midfielder committed an obvious yellow card foul for the first, while the second foul was also a questionable yellow card offense, but it seems the second yellow card came in a combination of the foul and the Belgian kicking the ball away. Mikel Arteta said in his post-match press conference of the incident: “I’d prefer not to comment because I’ve seen it. It’s that obvious, I’ll leave it to you guys.”

You would presume he means that it’s obvious that it wasn’t a red card, but not everyone sees it that way. Besides the fact the referee could have awarded a yellow card for the foul alone, Trossard also knew what he was doing by kicking the ball away, according to pundit Jamie Carragher, who is not buying into claims that the Belgian did not hear the whistle.

“I think Trossard knew what he was doing,” Carragher said on the Gary Neville podcast. “But he thought the whistle had only just gone, maybe a second before, I can get away with this one. But the way he kicked it the way as well. I mean, it’s still going. He put his foot right through it, it was daft.”

The Trossard red card comes just weeks after Declan Rice also received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away, suggesting Arsenal need to clean up their act to stay on the right side of referees.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Keane criticises Arteta

Arteta has criticised referees over both the Rice and Trossard incidents, and pundit Roy Keane is not impressed. “Managers are coming out every week saying every decision is against them,” Keane said on Sky Sports. “Just come out and accept it.

“Deep down he'll be satisfied with a point. Show a bit of class, manager of Arsenal. He probably deserved the red card, we reacted well and we move on. That's the end of it. Take your medicine and move on. Show a bit of class.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice