Mikel Arteta says he’s never seen a red card like that handed to Gabriel Martinelli after the Brazilian was booked twice in a matter of seconds for two fouls without play being stopped.
The striker was given his marching orders in controversial circumstances on 69 minutes by referee Michael Oliver – the fourth red card for the Gunners in the last six matches – however, despite the setback, Arteta’s players secured the points by holding onto the slender one-goal advantage given to them by centre-back Gabriel.
Here’s what Arteta had to say when he faced the BT Sport cameras…
On winning a tough game…
It’s tough enough to play against a really good Wolves team here away from home and we made it even more difficult playing again with 10 men. Overall, the result is really, really positive for us. Obviously, we need to win it, we’ve done it but we suffered a lot in the last 20 minutes.
On Martinelli’s red card…
I’ve never seen something like it. The rules can say probably it’s possible but you have to be very, very willing to do that.
On Arsenal having four red cards in six games…
To win football matches like that is extremely difficult and we know that. One of the main things we have to stop is that. We’ve been talking about it but today, something that I’ve never seen in my career has happened, today for the first time. Thank god, we managed to win the game.
On if there’s anything he can do to stop the red cards…
I’ve run out of ideas.
On how proud he is of the resilience…
The character, how we dig in, the spirit that we showed, how we defended so many difficult situations for such a long time, I’m really proud of the boys. When I talk about the unity, the togetherness we have in the group, this is when it has to come and today they showed it on the pitch.
On if he needs more of this character for Arsenal to chase down the top four…
We need to play with 11 players for the last 16 games, that’s going to be key to give us the best possible chance to win football matches. To win games in the Premier League is hard enough, with 10 men it’s very unlikely.
On the goal for Gabriel…
He’s been a real threat and he has this capacity. Set pieces are a big part of the game nowadays, especially in this league, and we took advantage today.
On waiting 9 days for another game…
We need that rhythm because not having played in the last three weeks, I was a bit concerned about how we were going to start the game because you lack that competition, that rhythm but I thought we started pretty well. We need to get the rhythm and the wins now.
You can take our 11th man, but you can’t take our sprit.
They can conspired against us, but we shall fight till the end. Well done boys, 3 points, that’s all the matters. Now ESR can start and show his goal scoring ability
Run out of ideas? Really? Maybe be composed on the sideline instead of constantly jumping up and down the line like some coked out junky…remember when he did that crap at Liverpool which spurred them on to play harder…these kids need composure, they’ve got the hustle.
I think you’re right – the passion he transmits can be positive but they also need to learn to keep cool heads particularly when the atmosphere is charged. You wonder who on the pitch is that wise older head who might keep things level..
Well its not going to be Xhaka lol
xhaka never gets second yellows, he just gets straight reds for very stupid tackles. Surprisingly composed, he just seems to literally not know how to tackle.
He’s having a dig and rightly so. Some of our break wind and they are off. Yet our players can get a boot in the face and fuck all happens.
I agree with your comment.
But for me we dont use our subs correctly.
Laca should have been off at 60 and Pepe should have gone in. By having a faster counter attacker you scare the opponent an d you release the pressure valve.
When you dont your players crack.
You should become our manager. Then we would have won. Oh wait…
Or Pepe falls over himself again
And the prize for missing the subtext goes to…
It’s you Wengerball. You bloody did it.
Subtext? Our players can’t keep their cool and make stupid fouls constantly.
More like ‘Wa*kerball’.
Was wondering who would be the first idiot to jump on this line. I need not wonder any longer. He’s having a go at the refs with that comment ya knob.
The red card was bullshit. Referees need to be interviewed after the matches to justify their decisions as this seems to be a common theme now. Bored of the inconsistency.
2 yellow offences equals 1 red. That’s always been how football works
But come on – you’re saying this is the first time that a player in the EPL has committed 2 yellow card offenses in one play? It’s understandable if we find it hilarious that it has to be an Arsenal player that is made an example of. Nobody’s really arguing that any of our fouls aren’t yellows or reds, it’s just that when it’s an Arsenal player it feels like it’s always the full letter of the law, every time, no matter what.
Cedric seemed to get away with one today. I would not have begrudged M. Oliver if he had booked him just before the break.
The rules are a bit murky with this, though it states for advantage that if the offence was for breaking up a promising attack the initial caution should not be given, meaning the first martinelli card should not have been given as it was for attempting to break a quick counter attack. The rule: the referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/sending-off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/sending-off must be issued when the ball is next out of play. However, if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity,… Read more »
the first caution was not for “for attempting to stop a promising attack” – it was for a blatant shove on that dude
Good math! Still bullshit 🙂
Absolutely. If yellow cards are cautionary then Martinelly didn’t receive a caution before he got his 2nd yellow. Most ridiculous decision ever. We should fight this due to lack of “common sense” applied by the referee!
The only lack of common sense was from Martinelli for not knowing that he’s already on a yellow card when play stops, and from the Arsenal supporters who believe he was wronged.
How many of you instantly knew that he was getting booked when Oliver signalled for the advantage?
Exactly – the ref doesn’t have a crystal ball. He’s played advantage for a clear yellow – pushing someone while they take a throw in – then Martinelli has done another clear yellow, shoving someone in the back. There isn’t debate about either of those, they’re not gray area incidents. There’s no debate about whether advantage should have been played after the first incident either. Of course it looks strange but just because it’s the first time it’s happened, doesn’t make it unfair. Martinelli was stupid and should have realised he was at risk.
I actually thought it was a GREY area. Seen this type of incident many times, but never seen someone sent off for it, until they decided to make an example of Arsenal tonight
How many times have we seen somebody foul someone, then gotten involved in a pushing match, in the same moment.
Both yellow cards on their own. But only one ever given.
The math is bullshit and it’s just a convenient stick being sharpened for your agenda.
Whatever that may be.
spot on. the rules are never normally applied in full. that’s why it’s always a shock when they are suddenly applied in full.
2 yellow card decisions, from the same player, one let go by the ref to play on, the second stopping the game happens all the time… what doesn’t happen all the time is said player getting two yellows… at the time I was like fair enough.. but now the more I think about it, the more I think he should have got 1 yellow and a stern warning from the ref.
Nothing you said was wrong, its just that that type of double yellow under advantage has ever been given in the PL before, so why give it in this instance?
Wait….did the ref tell him “im going to book you after this?” If not then there’s no way he could have known he was on a yellow.
I would argue Martinelli had no idea an advantage has been played. Ref is out of his view, maybe he thought it wasn’t a foul and/or the ref didn’t see it? He wasn’t even really looking at the throw-in taker during the push, eye was following the ball from the throw in.
Sorry, but everybody and their mother knew Martinelli was going to get a yellow for the first offense.
I knew. The commentators knew (Czech commentators at least). The fans in the ground seemed to know based on their reaction.
And the second one was a nailed-on yellow.
He probably thought if the ref hadn’t given the first yellow, he’d get a freebie, but that’s not how that works.
It generally is exactly how it works!
In principle that makes sense, but you’re overlooking the purpose of a yellow card. It is a warning card and if a player doesn’t know they’ve been booked you simply cannot issue a second one. Either the collective weight of what he’s done is worthy of a red or it’s one yellow. There’s a reason it’s never been seen before and that’s because the referee has fundamentally made an incorrect decision.
Sure, I just prefer to look at us from the standpoint of what we can improve, rather than complain about the ref, the opposition, the fans, the weather, etc. I have no great love for Premier League referees – I think they’re all incompetent wankers. Still, at this point, we can clearly see they don’t give us any benefit of the doubt. Don’t give them a decision to make. It was a shit sequence from Martinelli. The ref gave him two yellows for it. He should take it on board and not fucking do it again – otherwise he might… Read more »
That’s how it works week in, week out !!
It’s actually kind-of complicated and comes down to why the first yellow card was given. If it was given for interrupting an attack, it shouldn’t have been and Olvier screwed up. If it was given for something else – like not respecting the distance for the throw-in – it is technically within the rules to give the two cards. I’m sure Oliver will have been told what to put in his report to make himself look good, but it sure looks to me from the replays that it is Martinelli reaching out to grab the Wolves player that Oliver reacts… Read more »
Exactly. Oliver must have given one two things – Martinelli being too close to the thrower, (he had no time or opportunity to be otherwise, so irrelevant), of the ‘push’, more like a tap on the shoulder, whilst the foul throw was being taken ( off the pitch incident at a dead ball.?).
In neither instance can an advantage be played?
I did not not notice if Oliver actually signalled to play on or not, but either way, he cannot !!
I don’t have an issue with the red card itself, as it was just unnecessary for Martinelli to make either of the fouls. However the whole concept of the red card is flawed and almost always give too much advantage to one side. For instance no two red cards are the same in their impact as one issued in the first minute is clearly much more damaging than a red in the 89th, yet they are the same punishment. It needs to be rethought and perhaps two yellows should be replaced by a spell in the sin bin for 10-15… Read more »
They’re not going to let us win anything, are they?
Martinelli doesn’t make the second challenge if he knows he’s on a yellow. Pathetic from Michael Oliver
Definitely and Marti looked at the ref after first “yellow” then said ok I’m stoppping this attack even if it s a yellow
Never thought it was a double bubble
He’s got to understand that interfering with a throw-in like that is a yellow. Blatant sabotage of the game. The second foul is just stupid.
It’s called playing the advantage, which the ref clearly gave the signal for. It’s down to the player to know that he’s getting booked when play stops. Wolves first yellow happened in that same scenario
Not every foul connected to playing advantage is given a yellow card. I’d say most aren’t.
Maybe, I get your point that a yellow is supposed to hand a “caution” to a player, but does a sure unassigned yellow mean a player can do anything then? Could Martinelli have pulled 3 shirts and made 2 questionable challenges while he was at it? It was obviously a 2 isolated yellows situation. It’s just odd to ask the ref to completely ignore one infringement. This needs to probably just be claerer in the rules which I guess the incident clarifies.
I love the “he should have known he was going to get a yellow” comments. It’s 5 seconds between the incidents. In those 5 seconds, Martinelli is covering a ridiculous amount of the pitch to catch a ball that has been launched a good 20 or so yards into space for someone with a 10 yard running start on Martinelli, to take it another 20 or so yards before being barged. Is your argument suggesting, that Martinelli had the wrong mindset within those 5 seconds, sprinting and chasing down an attacking player with the ball with clear intent to win… Read more »
Every game it seems we are talking about the ref…Maybe we should not let referee decisions decide the fate of every game we play and improve our performances.
Didn’t let it decide the fate today though did we?
Yeah, we actually won. Away, against a team in good form.
Are you serious? Get a grip dude.
Just a FIFA online spanner.
Shocker from both the player and the ref.
They should really have referees mic’d up to the broadcaster. It happens in Cricket where you can hear review process.
Although they work in a logical way when considering a wicket. Highly doubt there’s any rigour or logic to VAR/PL Refs hence the lack of transparency.
Rugby also. I’m all for doing the same in football
Yeah. Rugby players show way more respect to their refs also, I suspect largely due to the mic being there to catch everything said. Would clean up a lot of faffery in the premier league on both sides I think.
Would help clear the confusion that goes on with VAR decisions too – so good to hear the rugby officials’ decision-making process when their video referees weigh in.
They still manage some weird decisions though!
No way those wankers at the PGMOL agree to it. There might actually be some culpability if they did.
The John Moss clip where he won’t wait for VAR to make the decision and just makes a call without seeing the play is all you need to see to understand how bad the refs are in the PL. It’s damaging the product, the game itself at this point.
Who holds referees accountable for their decisions?
The super secret Arsenal hating PGMOL
No secret about it, Mike Riley is allowed to influence the game as he wishes.
On a side note, we’d have dropped points after going down to 10 men in this same game a year ago. There’s improvement, fight and spirit.
100%
To be fair, the Wolves wouldn’t have scored if we’d played with 10 men from the beginning.
Part of it was our defending, sure, but if it was us constantly whipping in inaccurate crosses, we’d rightly be moaning.
It’s telling that the only player who put the ball past Ramsdale was Granit Xhaka.
Indeed. If we had “scored” a goal like that and seen it disallowed there would have been much of the same anti-ref discussion here.
Good call.
Whatever else our failings, this season we have seen a vastly improved defence that can hold its own, despite going down to ten more times than I can be bothered to recollect here.
Kudos to the two T’s, White, Gabriel, Holding and Ramsdale.
I don’t see Mustafi’s name amongst that little lot, which is another major factor.
michael oliver is not a competent official
He may even be dishonest to his federation.
Michael Oliver is a cunt. 😊🍺
Totally lol most refs are anti Arsenal 🔔ends
He did make 2 yellow card fouls in the run of play. I’m sure it’s legal to give two bookings. But Oliver gave that 2 yellows because he was frustrated at arsenal for time wasting. While it’s true we we’re time wasting like a mid table club but two yellows was absurd.
Sanest comment.
Martinelli was a fool for what he did. Michael Oliver is an incompetent twat, but this one’s on. Martinelli.
WTF is MA teaching these guys?
The club is going in a very, um…”shit” (for lack of a better word) direction.
This one is quite clearly on the referee.
I think Specsavers open at 9.00am. Treat yourself.
Your definition of shit is strange. Only direction I see today is up the table into 5th, one point behind 4th with 2 games in hand.
The touch on the Wolves player hardly interfered, although might technically be a yellow.
Some time subsequently, Arsenal had the ball, it hit Oliver squarely. Play was not stopped and the ball was not given to Arsenal.
Yes, Arsenal time wasted like Burnley. Yes, Oliver was frustrated. Refs need to control their frustration too.
After the ball struck Oliver, it bounced directly and advantageously to an Arsenal player and we actually got an attack out of it that we might not have had otherwise. That’s why play wasn’t stopped. We had the advantage.
https://soccerwhizz.com/soccer-ball-hitting-referee-outcomes/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20fresh%20Law,team%20commences%20a%20promising%20attack
Pretty sure it wasn’t glancing contact … and the biggest advantage a man down was a restart.
“I’ve never seen anything like that”
Most fans haven’t either.
But how many thought it was about to happen as they watched Martinelli chase down Semedo? It was if Martinelli knew he was due a yellow, and wanted to get full value for it.
I think that’s exactly it, he though he would basically get a free foul…which is unfair to be honest. But at the same time, how can you get two cards for trying to stop the same attack? That’s like fouling somebody outside the box, then inside it and they’d get awarded a penalty and a free kick.
Consider the following from the FA’s own rules:
Advantage:
If the referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/sending-off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/sending-off must be issued when the ball is next out of play. However, if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour; if the offence was interfering with or stopping a promising attack, the player is not cautioned.
Perhaps I’m reading it incorrectly but that seems to suggest one yellow only – for the first offence?
Because you get 1 yellow for stopping a counter, no matter how many times you try stop it. Or zero if you’re Fabinho.
Fabinho comment is spot on and produced a chuckle.
Right behind him here.
When it comes to us – Arsenal that is – the ‘rules’, such as they are, aren’t so much broken as fucking twisted out of all recognition to suit the anti-Arsenal agenda of every other cheating cunt under the sun.
Unbelievable yet not surprising.
This gossip that we are dirty team is absolutely hilarious.
Someone should just watch our offences and compared them with offences against is that go under the radar.
We need to improve on our fouling tactics
It sounds like a joke but it isnt.
Even within this same game – the early foul committed on Gabi is a 100% yellow. There’s no such thing as “it’s too early to give a yellow,” particularly if you want to then turn to letter-of-the-law officiating. Inconsistent.
Tbf he spared one card for White minutes afterwards.
Mane’s elbow to the face within the first 30 seconds is a prime example of this “it’s too early to give a yellow” BS.
Should have been a red
Some of the tackles that have gone unpunished against us have been outrageous. Manes elbow, the boot studs in Tomis face, the studs down Xhakas achilles, the list is endless.
It is this that fuels the suspicion of referees as much as attention-seeking instances like Oliver’s against Gabi.
I am interested how many people are calling the first one a ‘nailed-on yellow’. It’s a tap on the shoulder for Christs sake, not a boot in the face !
You used to actually have to foul somebody to get a yellow, not just disturb their hair styling !!
Troodat – you have to ask:
(a) was it violent or dangerous? – absolutely not
(b) did it deliberately break up a promising attack? No – the bloody ball was already out of play for the throw-in, ffs!
Pathetic decision… by the new egomaniac stalking the ref’s rooms of the PL.
This has been going on since the Wenger years. We consistently committed the fewest fouls per yellow card statistically speaking. Meanwhile the opposition get a talking to on multiple occasions before a card in shown. Some things are hard to change it seems. I don’t think it has anything to do with fouling tactics.
These are young players.
They need someone experienced to tell them when it makes sense to commit a foul and when it doesn’t.
For us, that experienced player is Granit Xhaka.
Yeah we need someone to come up with a Kane savagery, for which he gets nothing, then a lightweight tackle from Arsenal that gets a red – getting someone with some voice/clout like Ian Wright to front it!!
This seems kind of relevant:
https://twitter.com/arsenalistrator/status/1491888174242537472
The rules effectively say you can’t be carded twice for trying to stop the same promising attack.
How often do you see a referee play an advantage and THEN go back and hand out a yellow card (which would have otherwise been given). One time in ten? One time in 20? It is so rare. Yet Oliver merrily goes back, gives a yellow and then dishes out a red!
Richest league in the world but some consistently awful referee work. They have an extremely difficult job, but the bias is driving me away from the league, and I’m a die hard Arsenal fan that’s spent a hell of a lot of my time these last ten years to follow this club. I just don’t get the bias from some quarters. How has Burnley gone so many games without a red card and we’ve had so many? Does Arsenal not have enough English players and coaches to satisfy the FA? Are they still bitter Wenger started 11 foreign players in… Read more »
I did write yesterday that injury wise we could be back but as for suspensions we’d start at Wolves. OK.
The coach has run out of ideas. Strange things at the arsenal.
Below was my comment yesterday.
Suspension/injury are a constant. As at now we may not have either but tomorrow you know we back with a bang on the two. Our chances of getting a red card are higher than getting a goal based on our January stats.
I understand if he got a yellow for both instances.. however given that the 1st was a throw in (deadball situation) why didn’t give the yellow card then. Cos whatever advantage Wolves would’ve gained would’ve also been lost cos of that delayed throw in. 2nd one was a stonewall yellow, however the argument is would Martinelli have made that same decision if he already knew he was booked
Michael Oliver is fast becoming our new Mike Dean. I could swear 3 out of the last 4 reds for us have been form him. Certainly 2 for Xhaka and today. He let off Cedric (and Podence) for repeated fouls. In this instance, he could have seen the mischief of the first as a strong caution and followed up by the actual yellow for the second which was actually affecting play. Instead he changed the complexion of the game unnecessarily. And here I was fretting about Xhaka or Partey getting the second yellow. Person watching with me remarked at least… Read more »
I wonder how much our very early time wasting factored into it. Refs are human, emotional beings and we didn’t have any good will in the bank.
Does anyone ever read ‘Lawro’s predictions’ on BBC? He consistently makes result predictions against Arsenal, bloody mugsmasher
Lawro is a nob
Close, he’s actually a git.
Let’s just see if they apply this nonsense to other teams when it happens then? Thought not.
Martinelli’s cards were world history. It’s up there with the moon landing, or at least the new trams here in Oslo.
You got new trams?
How about rodri’s celebration in front of our fans (yellow card offense) after he throw his shirt (another yellow card offense)? Why he didn’t get a red card?
Because the ref already decided before the match who is their target. I started to worry when Partey given a yellow for … what? I don’t know why that is a yellow card. Just like his 1st yellow against Liverpool. It’s nonsense.
Football is always being dictated by mafia and unfortunately we are deemed a threat to their entertainment.
Fergie used to get how many minutes of injury time added to games that had hardly any stoppages!!! You can’t tell me there was no corruption there and it irritates me that arsenal were the team that suffered!!! I think we were robbed of at least three cups because of the corruption, if not more!!!
4 in 6 needs to be reviewed. That is just unprecedented. And highly suspicious. There is a huge amount of bias both within a game and between games. It tends to happen when we come close to top 4 position. Let’s watch that trend. I think there is some kind of bias going on, intentional or not, perhaps confirmation bias or outcome bias. Whatever it is there should be mechanisms in place where referees are objective and fight for that objectivity. It’s why they get paid. Just because they are an institution doesn’t give them a right to be dictator… Read more »
Mik needs to call Rassie Erasmus and get him to edit a video together for us, like he did for the Boks. Then send it to the pricks at PGMOL and ‘copy’ social media…. everywhere!