"The league is against Arsenal", "Carbon copy of Saliba" - Fans believe Chelsea star should have been sent off in clash against Liverpool
Several netizens believe that Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo should've been sent off after committing a foul on Diogo Jota against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, October 20. Fans compared Adarabioyo's offense with the one by William Saliba on Evanilson during Arsenal's game against Bournemouth on Saturday.
In the seventh minute, Adarabioyo was awarded a yellow card for committing a tactical foul on Jota who was trying to surge ahead on the counterattack. Several fans alleged that Saliba committed a similar offense against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. However, the Frenchman was given marching orders in the 30th minute and Mikel Arteta's side were reduced to 10 men.
Arsenal then conceded two quickfire goals courtesy of Ryan Christie (70') and Justin Kluivert (79' p), suffering their first defeat in the Premier League this season. Fans were quick to hop on to X (formerly Twitter) to share their input on the alleged similarity between the two fouls. While the Gunners fans claimed that they were wronged, others joked about the entire fiasco.
Some popular comments on X were as follows:
"The league is against Arsenal," commented an fan.
"Carbon copy of Saliba today… ruining the game," wrote another.
"Red all day long," one user chimed in.
"They don’t even hide it anymore," slammed a fan on X.
"There's an agenda against Arsenal," one Gunner added.
One netizen claimed that Chelsea got lucky, alleging:
"This should be a red card. VAR didn’t even look into it. Chelsea got lucky."
Some fans also trolled the Gunners.
"More Arsenal tears incoming," quipped a fan on X.
"All those screenshots got to your brainless Jota literally brought him down," declared another.
Arsenal have the most red cards in the Premier League this season, Chelsea have none
William Saliba's red card against Bournemouth was the third time an Arsenal player got marching orders this season. This makes Mikel Arteta's side the one with the most red cards this season so far.
They are followed by Nottingham Forest and Southampton with two each. Meanwhile, other clubs like Aston Villa, Everton, Fulham, Manchester United, Newcastle United, and West Ham United have one red card per team. Enzo Maresca's Chelsea haven't had a player sent off this season so far.
Declan Rice was the first man to be sent off for the Gunners in their 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on August 31 at the Emirates Stadium. He was followed by Leandro Trossard, who got his marching orders in a 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad on September 22. Finally, Saliba got his red card on Saturday.
However, William Saliba has been handed just a one-match ban as his foul didn't involve gross misconduct, violent tackles, or dissent. The Frenchman will miss the clash against Liverpool on October 27 at the Emirates Stadium.