Mikel Arteta hinted at his frustration after Leandro Trossard was controversially sent off for Arsenal in their thrilling 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
The Belgian winger was given his marching orders shortly before half-time at the Etihad Stadium. After picking up a prior booking, he was sent off for kicking the ball away.
It was the second time that has happened over the past few weeks to Arsenal after Declan Rice ’s red card for a similar incident vs Brighton. And Arteta made his disgust very clear despite not commenting about the incident.
Speaking to the BBC, the Arsenal boss said: “I am so proud of the team. We played the game in a difficult context. Playing against the best team in the world.
“After what happened we went 2-1 up – it was a different story and I prefer not to make any comment about that [Leandro Trossard’s red card]. Obviously, it is already a miracle we played 56 minutes at the Etihad with 10 men. It is unbelievable what we have done.
“It is obvious what happened when they made that decision, but it doesn’t deserve my comment. I don’t want to ruin anything else off the pitch.”
Arteta was not the only one to be left angry by the sending-off. Riccardo Calafiori – who had equalised for the Gunners earlier in the first-half – also shared his thoughts.
“I don’t want to say too much, but the referee, for me, they have to do their job to keep the game good to watch, but in these kinds of actions they don’t have to put themselves too much,” he told Sky Sports.
“I think Leo [Trossard] didn’t even hear the whistle,” the Italian added. “And come on, you have to do your job, not more. You don’t have to do too much on the pitch. Let the guys play, let the teams play, because these are pure spectacles.”
While Arteta was left furious, his further comments about Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku confused matters. The Spaniard claimed the winger SHOULD have been sent off for kicking the ball away.
He added: “It is very obvious, I don’t need to talk about it. I think the red card is very clear, very obvious what people think.
“It is not my job to come here and judge what happened. My job is to survive in one of the most difficult environments there is in football for 55 minutes and try to get things done to survive.
“The rest is not my job, but it has already happened twice in five games which is very worrying to see in the best league the Premier League. [The red card] makes the situation impossible. It is very, very hard to play with 11 players, with ten it is impossible. With ten you have to defend your six yard box time and time again.”
