Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu would have felt mistreated by the referee after his red card against Crystal Palace on Monday.
That is what former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell thinks.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off by David Coote after picking up a second yellow in the Gunners’ 1-0 win over Palace at Selhurst Park, something Campbell has been speaking about on Sky Sports (22/08/23 at 10:23am). On the full-back’s dismissal, he said: “He’ll definitely feel mistreated by the referee because he shouldn’t have got the first yellow card, let alone the second.
“So that’s another player Arsenal are going to lose at left-back.”
In the end, though, Tomiyasu’s sending off did not prove costly, with Mikel Arteta’s men managing to hold on to their 1-0 lead.
Harsh dismissal
Tomiyasu really can feel hard done by. It was the slightest of touches, if you can even call it that, that saw Jordan Ayew throw himself to the ground before Coote went to his pocket.
It is a blow for the Japan international, who will now miss Arsenal’s next game through suspension.
With the Gunners having a couple of injuries at the back right now, he has an opportunity to make a real impression and potentially win a place in Arteta’s starting XI.
From an Arsenal perspective, though, the most important thing is that Tomiyasu’s red card did not impact the game and they were still able to take all three points back to north London.
It is still early days, but the fact that Arsenal were able to go to Selhurst Park, which is a tough ground, and grind out a win, suggests that they are once again going to be the closest challengers to Manchester City in the title race this term. Another injury to a key player, however, could possibly derail everything.
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