Michael Oliver's Man City decision in spotlight as previous Arsenal controversy resurfaces

Arsenal ace Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card by Michael Oliver in first half stoppage time and ultimately sent off having booted the ball away following the referee's whistle

Mikel Arteta's decision to pull his jumper up and over his face summed up Arsenal's frustrations with referee Michael Oliver against Manchester City.

The Spanish coach and his players were left incensed by the decision to award Leandro Trossard a second yellow card on the verge of half-time at the Etihad Stadium. The Belgian star was already on a yellow card when he fouled Bernado Silva before launching the ball away after Oliver blew his whistle.

"It is obvious what happened when they made that decision, but it doesn't deserve my comment," said Arteta following the draw. "I don't want to ruin anything else off the pitch."

Riccardo Calafiori was more forthcoming. The Italian scored an impressive goal on his full debut but was left frustrated by Oliver's decision and claimed Trossard had not heard the whistle.

"I don't want to say too much, but the referee, for me, they have to do their job to keep the game good to watch, but in these kinds of actions they don't have to put themselves too much," he told Sky Sports.

"I think Leo [Trossard] didn't even hear the whistle," the Italian continued. "And come on, you have to do your job, not more. You don't have to do too much on the pitch. Let the guys play, let the teams play, because these are pure spectacles."

Calafiori's latter point will be one that hits home to Arsenal supporters. Not even 12 months ago Gunners fans were told Oliver didn't 'want to have a negative impact on the game by overreacting to something' when Mateo Kovacic was not shown a second yellow card against them last season.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb ultimately recognised Oliver made the wrong decision on that occasion however. The former referee even suggested that Kovacic could have been shown red instead of yellow for his first challenge last October.

"This is clearly a strong tackle, and I'm very confident that if the red card had been given by Michael Oliver in this shot, it would have been a 'Check complete' straight from the VAR," Webb said on Refs Mic'd up, of Kovacic's initial tackle..

"There were some small differences that led the VAR referees to feel that the decision on the field was not a clear and obvious error, and they felt that if they had intervened it would have been a re-arbitration of that decision by the referee in the field."

Webb add on the second challenge: "I do [believe he was lucky not to be sent off]. Second yellows are something that the VAR is not able to get involved in. But he was an extremely fortunate player to stay on the field of play.

"Of course, the referee is one of the best in the world, Michael [Oliver] will no doubt review that and he doesn't want to have a negative impact on the game by overreacting to something, and sometimes players will be on a yellow card and there will be pressure to show a second one. Pressure will come from players on the field, but you know that's also true that if you underreact you have a negative impact on the game. When he reflects, he'll realise the second one should've been a yellow, which would have seen Kovacic sent off for two yellow cards."

After that decision last term, the worthiness of Trossard's red will mean little to Arsenal supporters. Particularly after Jeremy Doku was not cautioned for a second time when he appeared to delay an Arsenal free kick for knocking the ball away.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

Sky Sports deal

Sky Sports launches 'lowest price' Premier League package
£43 (was £52)

Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £216 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

With Ultra HD included at no extra cost, football fans can enjoy the 2024/25 season with crystal clear picture quality.

Sky
Get the deal here