LEANDRO TROSSARD’S moment of madness earned him a red card on the brink of half-time against Manchester City.
The Arsenal winger was shown a second yellow card in a chaotic end to the first 45 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.
Manager Mikel Arteta could be seen losing it on the touchline after his side were reduced to 10 men.
He lifted his jumper up over his head as his backroom staff scrambled to deal with the setback.
Arteta’s side were leading 2-1 at the time after turning the match on its head with goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel.
However, Trossard’s dismissal provided a disappointing end to the half.
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It also means he will miss next Saturday’s home clash with Leicester through suspension.
The Belgian was already on a yellow card after being booked by Michael Oliver for pulling Savinho’s shirt.
He then crashed into Bernardo Silva in stoppage time before kicking the ball away.
The Premier League later confirmed the second caution was for delaying the restart by booting the ball after the referee’s whistle.
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Arsenal ratings vs Man City
TEN-MAN Arsenal came desperately close to beating Man City.
Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta’s men, John Stones popped up in the 98th minute to score an equaliser with the match ending 2-2.
Here’s how the players rated…
DAVID RAYA – 9
Well beaten for Haaland’s opener but continued his impressive start to the season with some super second half stops – notably from Haaland and Gvardiol.
RICARDO CALAFIORI – 8
A full debut the Italian won’t forget. Didn’t get close enough to Savinho for the opening goal but made amends with his stunning long range curler to level it.
GABRIEL – 9
Planted one header over but made no mistake with his second one just before the break to score for the second straight weekend.
WILLIAM SALIBA – 8
Clattered by Haaland early on and lost the Norwegian for City’s goal – but dusted himself down and led the rearguard action for the visitors superbly.
JURRIEN TIMBER – 8
Asked to play an unfamiliar role on the right but did a great job for his boss keeping the livewire Doku quiet – and did fine when Pep changed it around too.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 7
Caused Walker plenty of problems in the first half. Played the ball back for Calafiori to score and teed up another great chance for Trossard.
DECLAN RICE – 7
Helped Arsenal work their way back into the game after early onslaught – and protected the back four so well when City were camped on the edge of the box.
THOMAS PARTEY – 7
Quick thinking from free-kick led to equaliser – also involved in the collision with Rodri that changed the course of the game.
BUKAYO SAKA – 6
Always a threat with his corners – not least when Arsenal got their second. Subbed at the break to make way for an extra defender.
LEANDRO TROSSARD – 4
Steered good chance over. Booked for pulling back Savinho then a second yellow for barge on Silva and then delaying the restart. Stupid from the Belgian.
KAI HAVERTZ – 7
Early collision with Rodri and caused a few problems in the first half but then had to focus on helping his 10 man team out defensively.
SUBS
WHITE – 7
(For Saka 46) – Thrown on to shore up the defence at the break – and did exactly that.
KIWIOR – 6
(For Calafiori 74 )– Gave the Italian a rest for the final few minutes and kept it tight.
JESUS – 6
(For Martinelli 87) – Some good pressing against his old team in the closing minutes
LEWIS SKELLY – 6
(For Timber 90) – Good experience for the youngster but was bizarrely booked before even coming on for his debut.
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Arsenal were forced to play the entire second half with a man less and finally conceded a dramatic late equaliser in stoppage time.
John Stones bundled the ball over the line in the 98th minute to rescue a point for the champions.
It is the same offence which saw Declan Rice sent off against Brighton last month.
Rice was dismissed after stepping in front of Joel Veltman as he attempted to take a free-kick for the Seagulls.
Trossard’s sending off is only the second red card of his senior career.
It is also the first time he has been dismissed since playing for Lommel in the Belgian second tier in 2015.
The 29-year-old joined the Gunners from Brighton in January 2023 and has since scored 19 goals in 73 appearances.
Of those strikes, one came in the win over Aston Villa in August, his only goal of the season so far.
Despite being shown a red card, Arteta still gave Trossard a hug as he trudged off the pitch in a show of support for his player.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
