Arsenal headed to the Etihad Stadium to face reigning champions Manchester City, hoping to earn a victory after two consecutive defeats against Brentford and Chelsea.
The Gunners, on the other hand, were in for a major shock as the hosts seized the lead early on via Ilkay Gundogan before Ferran Torres made it 2-0 after 12 minutes.
As if that wasn't bad enough, referee Martin Atkinson added insult to injury by issuing a straight red card to Granit Xhaka for what he deemed a 'dangerous' challenge.
The referees were so sure of their verdict that they didn't even require a review from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), which enraged many Arsenal fans.
To be fair to them, Xhaka did go too hard sliding with both feet, but it was not a challenge that warranted a direct red card.
According to Arsenal fans, the referee appeared to be biased against Arsenal since he originally showed a yellow card before rapidly showing a red card. Xhaka appeared to have won the ball, but it was the follow-up that proved costly.
From an impartial standpoint, Martin Atkinson should not have sent off Xhaka and should have asked further assistance from VAR before destroying Arsenal's spirit in this game.
Content created and supplied by: Henryslaw (via Opera News )
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