Arsenal make decision over William Saliba red card appeal | Football

Saliba was given a straight red card in the 30th minute for bringing down Evanilson when the Bournemouth striker was set to race through on goal.

Mikel Arteta’s side went on to lose 2-0 with Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert scoring the goals for the hosts.

Saliba’s red was Arsenal’s third of the season following the dismissals of Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard and their 18th since Arteta took charge of the team in December 2019.

According to The Times and The Guardian, Arsenal have opted not to appeal Saliba’s red card, which means that the defender will be unavailable for the team’s key Premier League clash against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium this Sunday.

When asked about the incident ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League tie against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night, Arteta said: ”Playing with 10 men, obviously there is an issue,

‘The truth is when you analyse the three very different actions and the outcome of them, the reasons are very different. Regardless of that, we cannot continue to play with 10 men, especially at this level. We need to eradicate that.

‘It’s clear why, the reason, and how doesn’t matter. We have to focus and it has to happen.

‘We’ve had two different periods where we had a lot [of cards] and then not any, now we have had three in a row.

‘The most effective way, I have to be very honest, is not talking about it. Because we tried and we showed and we talked and we repeated the message that we had to play with 11 and it happened again after a week or after three weeks and they said, ‘guys, let’s try something else’.

‘Then it disappeared. So I don’t know if it’s the right way or not but that’s what happened, that’s the reality.’