Arsenal have more reason to fume after two Man United incidents during Tottenham hammering
Arsenal may be left aggrieved after two Manchester United players weren't booked for kicking the ball away during their 3-0 defeat against Tottenham on Sunday. The Gunners have called for consistency in recent weeks in the rule over delaying restart after two decisions went against them.
Seven days on since Leandro Trossard was shown a second bookable offence for kicking the ball away at Manchester City and four weeks after Declan Rice's controversial red card against Brighton, Manuel Ugarte and Noussair Mazraoui were both fortunate not to get cautioned for United against Spurs.
After conceding fouls, Ugarte and Mazraoui kicked the ball away when Tottenham were trying to take a free-kick during the first-half, but neither were given a yellow card. Chris Kavanagh - the same referee who sent off Rice - decided against cautioning either of them and the game continued.
Rice was shown a second yellow card in the 1-1 draw with Brighton last month. Joel Veltman appeared to be preparing to take a quick free-kick before Rice decided to intervene and prod the ball away. That caused Veltman to strike him instead of the ball. Despite the minimal nature of the infringement, Kavanagh decided to hand Rice a second caution and send him off.
It was a decision that caused uproar within the Arsenal camp, and after the game, Bukayo Saka admitted that the Gunners "just want some consistency." That also came after Brighton forward Joao Pedro had escaped punishment for kicking the ball away during the first-half of the game.
"I thought it was a bit harsh for us," Saka told the BBC. "We just want some consistency. Joao Pedro booted the ball halfway across the pitch in the first half and got nothing for it, and Dec got the slightest touch and was sent off. It is what it is; I don’t want to put the whole game on the referee as we still had chances to win it. It has been a good start. Today is a disappointment, but it is a long season."
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In the 2-2 draw against City last Sunday, Trossard was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away after committing a foul on Bernardo Silva. Speaking on the decision, Mikel Arteta said: "I think it's very clear. Very obvious. Hopefully what 100 per cent of what people thinks. It's not my job to come here and judge what happened.
"My job is to survive in the most difficult environment you can throw in football for 55 minutes. And try to get things done to survive. That's my job, the rest is not my job. It's already the second time it has happened in five games, which is really, really worrying if we want to see the best Premier League."
Once again, Trossard's dismissal came after an opposition player escaped a yellow card for kicking the ball away. This time it was Jeremy Doku that was fortunate to get away without being booked.