Mikel Arteta was almost done with his halftime speech when Leandro Trossard’s red card against Manchester City derailed his preparations.
After the referee blew his whistle and the Belgian player fouled Bernardo Silva, he launched the ball away, but Michael Oliver promptly gave him a red card. The Arsenal players reacted angrily to the decision, with one of their teammates being the last to leave the field.
Excitement was so great that Arteta pulled his jumper over his head and started talking to the fourth official on his own. In the pouring rain in Manchester, the Spanish coach took off half of his top before he tried to make his argument.
Even though the Gunners manager was obviously not satisfied with the outcome, he was limited to waving his arms near the dugout and had to reevaluate his strategy as late as the eighth minute of stoppage time. But Arteta was able to gather himself again.
Despite the obvious fury in Arsenal’s ranks as Trossard hobbled off the field, Arteta was still able to comfort him by giving him a hug as he passed the byline. With rage still in his eyes, Arteta’s coaching staff removed the Arsenal forward.
However, the Gunners maintained their lead at the interval. Erling Haaland’s goal put the north London team down but they were able to rally. On his Premier League debut, Riccardo Calafiori equalized with a spectacular goal.
Gabriel subsequently converted a corner kick from Bukayo Saka to score his second goal of the year. In the first minute of stoppage time, the Brazilian had taken the initiative.
This season, Arsenal has had a player sent off twice for kicking the ball away after receiving a second yellow card. Declan Rice was ordered to leave the game against Brighton after it was determined that he had done so before a free kick was awarded to the Seagulls.
