Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to miss three Premier League games, including a London derby match with Chelsea, after being shown a straight red card against Crystal Palace.
Aubameyang gave the gunners an early lead at Selhurst Park, finishing off a fine passing move after being played through by Lacazette to ensure they went in 1-0 up at half time.
A deflected shot from Jordan Ayew saw the ball loop over the head of Bernd Leno to restore parity for the Eagles in the second half and leave the match in the balance.
With three points still up for grabs for both teams, Palace’s Max Meyer looked to break down the flank before a late challenge from Aubameyang brought him down.
Initially shown a yellow card, the Arsenal forward was made to wait several minutes as video assistant referee Craig Pawson performed his checks and upgraded the caution to a straight red card.
A statement released by officials said: “VAR looked at the incident & determined that the point of contact & the intensity of the challenge endangered the safety of the opponent and recommended upgrading the yellow card to a red card for serious foul play.”
Meyer had to be replaced by new signing Cenk Tosun after Aubameyang was given his marching orders to leave Crystal Palace sweating on the severity of the midfielder’s injury.
Arsenal will now be without their major goal threat for three upcoming games unless they lodge a successful appeal, which seems very unlikely.
Premier League games against Sheffield United and Chelsea, followed by an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Bournemouth, must be navigated without Aubameyang by Mikel Arteta, who will no doubt see the forward’s red card as a huge blow for the team.
Having replaced Unai Emery with a mandate to lift Arsenal back up the Premier League table, two wins on the bounce – against Manchester United and Leeds United – looked to have gone some way to settling the new manager.
Losing his captain with a London derby on the way, and having only taken just a point away from Palace in Saturday’s 1-1 draw, however, will undoubtedly be seen as a major setback.
