- Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard was sent off shortly before half-time against Manchester City
- His second yellow card was for kicking the ball and delaying the restart.
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Leandro Trossard has reportedly offered an explanation to his Arsenal team-mates in the dressing room after being sent off against Manchester City on Sunday.
The title rivals drew 2-2 at the Etihad and Pep Guardiola’s men rescued a point through John Stones’ stoppage-time strike.
Erling Haaland gave the champions an early lead but the Gunners responded with goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel in an action-packed first half.
And there was more action when Trossard received a second yellow card for kicking the ball in the dying minutes.
The Belgian fouled Bernardo Silva in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time before clearing the ball with his hand.
Leandro Trossard was sent off during Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday
The Belgian striker told his teammates and the referee that he did not hear the whistle.
Referee Michael Oliver had already blown the whistle for the foul and was convinced Trossard had deliberately tried to delay the restart, something officials were told to suppress during pre-season briefings.
However, The mirror reports that Trossard told his teammates that he never heard Oliver’s whistle and that is what he told the referee during his protests.
The incident came just weeks after Declan Rice received a highly controversial red card against Brighton for the same offence.
And Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville agreed that Trossard knew what he was doing.
Carragher said: “There’s no doubt he heard the whistle but it’s blown so fast he can get away with it. But he knows what he’s doing.”
Neville added: “The reason he (Oliver) knows he’s heard the whistle is because he’s about to take the ball out of bounds. He doesn’t take it all the way.”
Carragher continued: “What is he doing? The position his team is in and how decisive these games are when you look at points totals at the end of the season. It’s ridiculous.”
Mikel Arteta put his arm around his player as he walked off the pitch and down the tunnel.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was visibly furious at the decision to sack Trossard.
However, he directed his frustration at the officials, rather than his player, and he and his coaching staff hugged Trossard as he left the field.
