Full of twists and turns right up until the final seconds of the game, the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Arsenal has not finished getting people talking in England, particularly regarding Michael Oliver’s refereeing…
For 97 minutes, Arsenal thought they had a great result at the Etihad Stadium to take the lead in the Premier League. But very close to the huge feat of beating City, which has become rare in the championship in recent seasons, the Gunners were finally caught in the last seconds of the game by a goal from Stones following a corner. A draw that Arsenal followers cannot digest, simply because they believe that Michael Oliver seriously penalized the Gunners in this Premier League clash.
It must be said that the famous English referee did not really give Arsenal any gifts. Just before the break, he sent off Leandro Trossard by giving him a second rather severe yellow card after a somewhat physical aerial duel, but far from being too violent for the English championship. A red card, the seventh of Michael Oliver’s career against Arsenal, more than for any other PL team, which does not go through.
Arteta: “I can’t say what I think…”
After the match, Mikel Arteta, who was furious after the sending off of his Belgian striker, minced his words to avoid slipping up. “It’s not worth talking about. But I can’t say what I think, otherwise I’ll be suspended…”the Arsenal coach told the English press. Some pundits then took it upon themselves to come across the English referee, like Peter Schmeichel: “Easy yellow cards! Why is Michael Oliver trying to ruin everything? It’s an important game, emotions are running high. But no, Michael Oliver wants to be in the spotlight!”.
If the criticism is flying, it must be said that the reasons to complain are numerous for the fans of the London club. Already because Oliver is not at his first contentious decision during a City-Arsenal, given that last season, he was not sent off Kovacic despite a violent tackle on Odegaard for not “not to ruin the match”. Which he finally did this Sunday against Arsenal, who also do not forget that Oliver has already been sent to Dubai to referee matches by the owners of Manchester City…
