In a thrilling match 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 goal helped The Citizens take the lead in the 9th minute.
However, the "Gunners" responded impressively when Riccardo Calafiori launched a beautiful left-footed shot to put the match back on the starting line. Then, from a corner kick, Gabriel Magalhaes jumped high to head the ball to make it 2-1 for the visitors.
However, Trossard was sent off for a second yellow card for playing away after a foul on Bernardo Silva. This was a moment that caused a strong reaction from The Gunners coach Mikel Arteta.
Man City spent the entire second half attacking but looked set to lose a home game for the first time in nearly two years. But in the final seconds of the match, John Stones taped the ball into the close range to equalize 2-2 in a chaotic situation.
The Premier League agreed with referee Michael Oliver's decision, explaining Trossard's second yellow card was for "intentionally prolonging the ball into play".
This is the second time in the last three Premier League games that Arsenal have lost a player for a second yellow card. Declan Rice was punished for a slight breath into the opponent in the match against Brighton. Trossard, meanwhile, was sent off for playing away after a foul on Silva. Both are theoretically correct decisions but in reality, it rarely leads to a penalty card, especially a second yellow card.
Remember, Brighton's Joao Pedro also committed a similar act in the match against Arsenal but was not punished. Man City's Jeremy Doku also delayed the restart in the first half against Arsenal without receiving a yellow card.
Trossard and Arteta themselves 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 Man City's Doku's situation.
" anyone who has played football or any sport can see that the incident happened in less than a second. While Doku's previous shot took place over 1 second. It's as simple as that.
I think those two cases are very clear. Hopefully, 100% of people think that both cases should be handled equally. It's not my job to come here and evaluate what happened," said Arteta.
However, despite the referee's inconsistency, Trossard's red card further demonstrated the "Gunners'" lack of discipline under Arteta. Since the Spaniard's first game in December 2019, Arsenal have had 17 players sent off in the Premier League, four more than any other team.
