Unseen Mikel Arteta and Michael Oliver moment as Arsenal prepare Myles Lewis-Skelly red card appeal
Mikel Arteta was fuming at Michael Oliver's decision to send Myles Lewis-Skelly off during Arsenal's win at Wolves.
The teenager became the third youngest player to be dismissed in Premier League history when he was shown a straight red card by Oliver in the first half for taking down Matt Doherty in his own half. Riccardo Calafiori’s 74th-minute goal, four minutes after the hosts had also been reduced to 10 men when Joao Gomes was sent off, meant the Gunners still came away from West Midlands with all three points.
“I am absolutely fuming but I leave it with you,” Arteta said after the match. "I think it is that obvious that we don’t need any comment today and hopefully the right thing will happen.
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“Hopefully we don’t need to (appeal the decision) and if we have to, there is a really good precedent, what happened with Bruno [Fernandes] this season as well. OK, we were in a position that we shouldn’t be in, at least let’s be in a position that we should be in for the next few weeks and allow that player to continue to his job.”
The decision to send Lewis-Skelly off has been met with disbelief by pundits, with Alan Shearer calling it “one of the worst decisions that I’ve seen in a long time”. Now, unseen footage has emerged on social media showing what happened between Arteta and Oliver after the full-time whistle.
The Spaniard can be seen walking up to the referee and his assistants, with the 42-year-old shaking hands with all three. After, as Arteta goes to walk towards his players, the Arsenal boss stops and appears to look back around at Oliver. After standing still for a couple of seconds and staring at Oliver, the former Man City assistant continues to walk away from the officials. It's unclear if anything is said in this moment.
Lewis-Skelly, at this time, will miss the club's next three domestic fixtures due to his challenge on Doherty being deemed serious foul play. Former Premier League referee Mike Dean, however, believes the decision may be overturned.
Speaking on Sky Sports News during Soccer Saturday, Dean said : "I think they've got grounds for appealing. It's just whether when the panel sits and reviews it - ex-managers and ex-players - which way will they go? I would think if they appeal, the way managers and players look at it, none of the players will think it's a red card, so I think they may well win the appeal."