Mikel Arteta and Arsenal were held to a tie by Leicester City due to referee 2 decisions.
Arsenal and Leicester City was a very big and entertaining fixture in the Premier League yesterday. Arteta has brought about a change in Arsenal. The Gunners were in a good run as they won the last three games and made a great start to the match.
Arteta’s men were dominant in the initial stages of the game and were the first to score. Bukayo Saka riled up another assist as Aubameyang sent the Gunners ahead.
Leicester was struggling in the game when Vardy gave a peach of a ball to Iheanacho. Although his goal was written off by VAR. The sideline official called a foul in the build-up.
However, that was not the decision which was the source of all the controversy. Minutes after coming on Eddie Nketiah was given a red card for his tackle on Justin.
The striker had eyes on the ball and there wasn’t much intent in the tackle. The referee’s first reaction was to give a yellow but after watching it again he decides to give a red card. Leicester took advantage and Vardy brought them level.
Ex player Cesc Fabregas came to Nketiah’s defense. ‘It’s a bad tackle but he doesn’t mean it at all. So unlucky if he gets the red,’ said Fabregas. ‘I don’t like VAR in situations like that. He is trying to win the ball nicely but catches the opponent’s knee by mistake.’
However, there was another incident in the match which Arsenal and Arteta believe should have seen the same outcome.
Vardy’s challenge of Mustafi although unintentional was far more dangerous
Source- Caught Offside.com
In the first half, there was an incident. Jamie Vardy while falling down had a gruesome challenge on Mustafi. Vardy’s stud left 2 marks on Mustafi’s face. However, he was not aware of where his foot was as he himself was falling.
The incident did not go for a review. Later on, Jamie Vardy went on to score the equalizer in the last 10 minutes and the game was a draw. Arteta was furious with VAR intervention on the Nketiah challenge. And you can understand why.
As per the Daily Star, Arteta made the following statements in the post-game interview. “The red card, he [Eddie] cannot see the player and didn’t want to hurt anybody. You have to understand he is a young kid. If we review incidents of that type we review them all. It has to be something equal for everybody because it changes the game for everybody. If Eddie is a red card for sure the other is a red card.”
However, Leicester’s boss Brendan Rogers had a different view on the same. “Obviously, Mikel will have his feelings of it but like I said with Eddie, it wasn’t intentional but dangerous to go in on the stretch with his studs up. I think when you see it like he [the referee] has, it was a clear red. The kid is just stretching but it ended up being an horrific challenge so was absolutely deserving for a red card.”
However, you see it Arsenal were the better team. But after the sending off Leicester had done enough to serve a draw. But the VAR controversy still carries on.
