William Saliba was sent off for committing a last-man foul for Arsenal against Bournemouth. The Frenchman, who was put into a race against Cherries forward Evanilson, was judged to have stopped a clear goalscoring chance.
Leandro Trossard’s wayward backpass left Saliba behind his opponent, through on goal, and in the process of tracking back, the Arsenal defender pulled him down. Initially given as a yellow card by referee Rob Jones, Saliba was dismissed upon a VAR review.
Explaining the decision online, the Premier League Match Centre wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson. The VAR deemed that Saliba denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”
Saliba now becomes the third Arsenal player this season to be sent off. He follows Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard in that unwanted feat.
