Leandro Trossard explained to his Arsenal teammates that he hadn’t heard referee Michael Oliver’s whistle before he was controversially sent off during Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League match against Manchester City.
After falling behind to an early Erling Haaland goal, Arsenal, led by Mikel Arteta, took advantage of an injury to City’s key midfielder, Rodri, and appeared to be heading into halftime with momentum on their side.
Goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes gave the Gunners a lead, but the game’s flow shifted when Trossard was sent off for kicking the ball away after being penalized for a foul on Bernardo Silva.
This was the second instance in recent games where an Arsenal player was sent off similarly, following Declan Rice’s dismissal against Brighton for a similar offense.
However, Trossard insisted, according to the *Mirror*, that he had not heard the referee’s whistle and was focused on passing the ball to Gabriel Martinelli. Despite his absence, Arsenal fought valiantly and were only denied a remarkable win by a last-minute John Stones goal.
Trossard is set to miss the Carabao Cup match against Bolton but will be available for Saturday’s game against Southampton after serving a one-match suspension.
While Arteta defended Trossard’s actions, Manchester City were unhappy with Arsenal’s tactics, leading Bernardo Silva to accuse them of employing unsportsmanlike methods to secure a result.
He said: ‘The difference [between Arsenal and Liverpool? I don’t know,’ Silva told TNT Sports. ‘Maybe that Liverpool have already won a Premier League, Arsenal haven’t.
‘Liverpool have won a Champions League, Arsenal haven’t. Liverpool always faced us face-to-face to try to win the games.
‘So by this perspective, the games against Arsenal haven’t been like the ones we had and have against Liverpool. So yes, maybe a different rivalry.
‘There was only one team that came to play football. The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee, unfortunately.
‘We’re not happy as we wanted the three points, but personally I’m happy with the way we came to play and faced the game. I’m glad we always enter the pitch to try to win every match.
‘We had a goal conceded after the referee called our captain and then didn’t allow him to recover his position.
‘The second goal is already their usual block to our keeper allowed by the referee. And then the referee allowed a sequence of time-wasting events.
‘The thing that bothers me the most is having a lot of meetings with the FA at the beginning of each season.
‘They tell us they will control this kind of situation and will stop them, but at the end it doesn’t have any worth. They say a lot but nothing happens.’
