Arsenal go down to 10-men as Saliba is sent off at Bournemouth,
- William Saliba pulled down Evanilson after a back pass from Leandro Trossard
- The Frenchman was initially booked but an on field review resulted in a red
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William Saliba became the third Arsenal player to be sent off this season after being shown a red against Bournemouth.
The French defender pulled down Cherries striker Evanilason following a loose back pass from Leandro Trossard after 28 minutes.
Saliba was initially booked for the challenge. However, Rob Jones was sent for an on field review and overturned it to a red.
Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports: ‘I mean, he has a long way to go. As soon as it happened, I thought, William Saliba, you’re in trouble here.
‘He gets the wrong side. It’s obviously when he trusts our plays that ball, let’s see it here, as we see it, you can see that trust side obviously makes a big mistake.
‘He’s got no control the ball. Saliba is obviously trying to squeeze up the play, which is fine, because even it was anyone else that’s an offside position.
‘Now he gets himself that yard advance. But as he plays that ball, then there is panic. Saliba grabs hold – I have no doubt at all, he’s one of the quickest defenders in the Premier League, he would have got back in time. But is it a foul, absolutely?’
Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott added: ‘I think, as well, when you look at this situation, when you’re any sort of any professional footballer now, and they’re clean through on goal, is a clear goal scoring opportunity.
‘For me, I think the decision is probably the right one, because now we’re looking at a situation where we’re actually going to be judging players’ pace.’
Saliba’s red at the Vitality Stadium means Arsenal have gone down to 10-men three times in their opening eight matches of the season.
The Gunners’ first sending off of the season came at home to Brighton when Declan Rice was given his marching order for a second bookable offence after delaying a restart.
Mikel Arteta’s men had led 1-0 thanks to Kai Havertz but the match ended in a 1-1 draw as Joao Pedro earned the Seagulls a point.
Arsenal also went down to 10 men when Leandro Trossard was controversially sent off for a similar offence away to Manchester City, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw thanks to a last-ditch John Stones strike.
