Arsenal have been given a serious warning by Manchester United. Not only did the visitors to Selhurst Park last night look like they were heading comfortably toward three points but their key midfielder Casemiro was on course to face the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
In the space of 10 minutes that all changed though, after the Brazilian was yellow carded and a Michael Olise free kick stole the victory away from Erik ten Hag’s side. Arsenal will therefore not have to face the former Real Madrid man, whose fifth yellow card of the season earned him a suspension.
Arsenal have now received a warning of their own and have two players that could indeed also face suspension if they’re booked against United. Although the next test might be against relegation battlers Everton, with a new yellow card limit set after this fixture, the Gunners could avoid losing any player through a fifth yellow card offence in a pivotal season.
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Both William Saliba and Bukayo Saka are the players in the crosshairs of attention in this case. Saka has been a focus of attention for opposition players but, as was the case against Chelsea and Marc Cucurella, often fouled in frustration having not been awarded a free-kick for what appeared to be an infringement.
Saliba has been booked on four occasions through fairly common acts of fouls from a centre-half. His partner Gabriel Magalhaes has appeared the more accomplished player in recent weeks, perhaps due to Saliba playing somewhat of a tightrope whilst on the ban threshold.
Whilst the five-card ruling might disappear after Sunday’s game, a ten-card rule will then come into effect. Therefore, if Saka or Saliba were to rack up another six cards from now, they’d face a two-match suspension instead.
Manchester United manager Ten Hag, however, has downplayed his suspended player’s impact from their match with the league leaders on Sunday. Speaking after the 1-1 draw in south London, the Dutchman highlighted United’s win over Arsenal earlier in the season when Casemiro again wasn’t present in the starting line-up.
"Casemiro is obviously a really important player for us and he is one of the reasons that we are in the position that we are now,” he said.
"We have a squad, and we have to fill that gap and make a proper plan and the squad has to fill it. As a team, we already showed how to beat Arsenal."
Arsenal face Manchester United in north London at 4:30 pm on Sunday.
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