An enraged Mikel Arteta shared a tense exchange with referee Michael Oliver after Arsenal's 1-0 win over Wolves, which saw another controversial Gunners red card grab the headlines.
Oliver gave his marching orders to 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly on the cusp of half-time for a foul on Matt Doherty as Wolves escaped an Arsenal set-piece.
This resulted in the visiting players surrounding Oliver in fury. There was initial confusion over whether the red card was due to Lewis-Skelly denying a scoring opportunity, despite the incident taking place 90 meters from goal.
But PGMOL's Match Center account on X confirmed that the challenge had been deemed “serious foul play”, which was verified by VAR Darren England.
Arsenal's fourth red card of the season left fans, players and staff apoplectic, with many baffled as to how Lewis-Skelly's challenge could be seen as anything other than a yellow card offence.
And at full-time, a fan caught Arteta appearing to make no bones about Oliver before pausing, turning around and giving the referee a dirty look.
Mikel Arteta shared a tense exchange with referee Michael Oliver at the final whistle after being the victim of another controversial red card in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Wolves.
Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly (right) received a straight red card against Wolves.
Lewis-Skelly sacked for 'serious foul play' following challenge to Matt Doherty
The Spanish coach then celebrated with his players, happy that the controversial decision had not cost the Gunners the three points.
However, Arteta remained “furious” about the red card as he undertook his post-match media duties and confirmed that Arsenal will appeal the decision if it is not automatically overturned by the FA.
Arteta said: 'It's clear that I leave it to you. I'm absolutely furious, but I'll leave it to you, because it's that obvious. I don't think my words are going to help.
“Hopefully we don't need to (appeal the red card) and if it is necessary, it happened and it is a very good precedent what happened with Bruno (Fernandes) this season as well. We are in a position that we should not be in.”
Manchester United's Fernandes was sent off against Tottenham on September 29, 2024, but his red card was overturned by the FA following a successful appeal.
On his team's comeback, Arteta added: “That's what they show us every day.
'This season is very special for many circumstances. “With Mikel (Merino) and Martin (Odegaard) out, we had to face a very difficult opponent who is fighting for relegation and we had another problem in the game.”
