- Arteta was furious after Leandro Trossard was sent off against Man City
- Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was critical of the referee’s performance
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Mikel Arteta has criticised the “worrying” trend of red cards in the Premier League, while Pep Guardiola also criticised referee Michael Oliver.
The Arsenal manager was furious about the two yellow cards shown to Leandro Trossard and made his feelings clear about the delay in restarting the game.
Trossard is the second Arsenal star to be sent off for kicking the ball away, after Declan Rice was also caught during last month’s draw with Brighton.
“It’s so clear that there’s no need for me to comment,” Arteta said. “It’s the second time. I’m 1727049122 expect 100 Premier League games to be played as 10 vs 11, or 10 vs 9. Let’s take a look.
“I think it’s very clear what people think about the red card. It’s not my job to come here and judge what happened. My job is to survive in one of the most difficult environments in football, for 55 minutes, and try to get things done to survive.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was not a fan of the decision to send off Leandro Trossard
The Belgian received his second yellow card of the match late in the first half against City
Arteta gave Trossard a hug as the attacker walked off the pitch after being sent off
‘It’s happened twice in five games already, which is very worrying to see in the top league.’
Guardiola was unhappy with the way the rules were interpreted in the build-up to Riccardo Calafiori’s stunning equaliser.
Oliver had asked both captains, Bukayo Saka and Kyle Walker, for a word before a free-kick and the Manchester City right-back was out of position when Arsenal restarted play.
Guardiola admitted City were disorganised but felt Oliver was hampering them.
The City manager said: ‘I worry when the referee asks Kyle to go 20 miles from his spot… next time the referee asks to talk I’ll tell my players, “No, no, come here to me”, and we won’t go.’
Pep Guardiola was unhappy with the way the rules were interpreted in the run-up to Riccardo Calafiori’s stunning equaliser
Calafiori (right) scored a stunning goal after Arsenal took advantage of a seemingly out of position City defence
Referee Michael Oliver had asked both captains, Bukayo Saka and Kyle Walker, for a word before a free-kick and the Manchester City right-back was out of position when Arsenal restarted play.
Guardiola also suggested there was inconsistency in the allocation of corners after City felt Ederson had committed a foul when Gabriel scored Arsenal’s second goal.
“It’s a question for referees,” he added. “It’s a block, sometimes there are blocks in that position. Sometimes it’s disallowed and sometimes it’s a goal.”