Arsenal fans believed their side had been victims of refereeing inconsistencies
It’s bee a rough week for Arsenal and their supporters. Again.
After quiet optimism that Mikel Arteta’s men were slowly getting themselves out of the mess they appeared to be in a few weeks ago, back-to-back defeats in the Midlands have brought them crashing back down to earth.
Much of the talk after the 2-1 loss to Wolves in midweek was about the sending off of David Luiz close to half-time, which, whether you are an Arsenal fan or not, seemed ridiculously harsh.
As Arsenal fell to another defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday, many of their fans seemed to think they had been the victims of more refereeing inconsistency as Ezri Konsa brought Bukayo Saka shortly after the half-time mark.
The Villa defender made the challenge close to half-way, significantly further back than the Luiz challenge that had seen him given a red at Molineux.
Despite this, Arsenal supporters pointed to the similarities between the two challenges, with many perplexed as to why Konsa was only given a yellow, despite appearing to be last man.
Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa receives just a yellow card for this last man challenge on Bukayo Saka. 🤔 #afc pic.twitter.com/QDYGAvP5EC
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) February 6, 2021
You cannot tell me this does not deny a goalscoring opportunity… pic.twitter.com/1YOB0wnl7v
— Max. ✍🏼 (@AFCMax9) February 6, 2021
One thing I don’t understand Where’s the Red for konsa Saka was through
— DanielAFC (@Danielgooner19) February 6, 2021
How is this not a last man challenge? Make it make sense that this is just a yellow pic.twitter.com/zaXDZPWcZn
— Judy (@judy_seu) February 6, 2021
Konsa did to Saka pretty much what Luiz did to Jose.
Like Luiz, a red would have been a joke decision, but it would have been consistent with the stupid rules.More inconsistent officiating.#VILARS
— Moh Haider (@ArsenalMoh8) February 6, 2021
Arsenal had fallen behind to Ollie Watkins early opener at Villa Park. Despite the introduction of Martin Odegaard, they failed to find an equaliser, the result leaving Arteta’s side languishing in tenth.
