In a pulsating clash at the Etihad between last season’s top two Premier League sides, Erling Haaland scored his 100th goal for Manchester City in just 105 appearances. The Norwegian striker’s strike put the Citizens ahead in the ninth minute.
However, the Gunners responded impressively when Riccardo Calafiori unleashed a stunning left-footed strike to level the game. Then, from a corner, Gabriel Magalhaes jumped high to head the ball home to make it 2-1 for the visitors.
However, Trossard was sent off for a second yellow card after kicking the ball away following a foul on Bernardo Silva, a moment that drew a furious response from Gunners manager Mikel Arteta.
Man City spent the entire second half attacking but looked like they would lose a home game for the first time in nearly two years. But in the final seconds of the match, John Stones tapped in from close range to make it 2-2 in a chaotic situation.
The Premier League agreed with referee Michael Oliver's decision, explaining Trossard's second yellow card was for "deliberately delaying the ball's entry into play".
This is the second time in three Premier League games that Arsenal have lost a player for a second yellow card. Declan Rice was booked for a nudge against Brighton, while Trossard was sent off for kicking the ball away after a foul on Silva. Both decisions are correct on paper but rarely result in bookings, especially when they are second yellows.
Brighton's Joao Pedro was also booked for similar conduct against Arsenal, while Man City's Jeremy Doku delayed the restart of play in the first half against Arsenal without receiving a yellow card.
Trossard and Arteta both reacted strongly to the second yellow card, but referee Oliver did not change his decision. In the post-match interview, Arteta continued to criticize and said that referee Oliver was unfair in ignoring the situation of Man City's Doku.
"Anyone who has played football or any sport can see that the move happened in less than a second. While Doku's previous move happened in over a second. It's as simple as that.
"I think both cases are very clear. Hopefully 100% of people think both cases should be treated the same. It's not my job to come here and judge what happened," Arteta said.
However, despite the referee's inconsistency, Trossard's red card was further evidence of the Gunners' lack of discipline under Arteta. Since the Spaniard's first game in charge in December 2019, Arsenal have had 17 players sent off in the Premier League, four more than any other team.
