08 October 2023 , 17:48
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Former Arsenal star Perry Groves said refeee Michael Oliver "completely bottled" sending off Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Kovacic went into the book or a foul on Gunners captain Martin Odegaard in the first half of City's defeat against Arsenal, with some home fans feeling the card should have been red rather than yellow. Oliver then opted against showing the Croatia international a second yellow following a challenge on Declan Rice.
The former Chelsea midfielder stayed on to support City's cause, eventually making way for Matheus Nunes midway through the second half. However, Groves - who made more than 200 Arsenal appearances during his playing career - felt referee Oliver got it wrong.
“It was 100 per cent a second yellow card," Groves said on talkSPORT. "I’m a big fan of Michael Oliver but he’s completely bottled it.”
Regarding the first foul, for which Kovacic was booked, some made comparisons with recent decisions against Liverpool's Curtis Jones and Chelsea's Malo Gusto. Both Jones and Gusto were shown straight red cards in recent weeks, but Kovacic's first yellow wasn't upgraded following a VAR check.
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"I actually think the Kovacic yellow card was a worse challenge than Curtis Jones’s red card," one social media user wrote. "I don’t like seeing any player get sent off but if Gusto’s was a red & Curtis Jones’ was a red then surely Kovacic has to go," was the verdict from another.
Was Kovacic lucky to stay on? Have your say in the comments section
Mateo Kovacic escaped a second yellow after a foul on Declan Rice (Getty Images)Another ex-Arsenal star, Theo Walcott, was on punditry duty in the Sky Sports studio. The former England international also felt Kovacic should have been sent off, and was surprised the midfielder wasn't shown a straight red for the foul on Odegaard.
"As soon as it went to VAR and having seen it slowed down, I thought red card," Walcott said. "It’s a nasty tackle and for me it’s a red card, without any question.
"That’s not me putting my Arsenal head on, but I think he is endangering the player.I just felt like he was never going to win the ball and he’s come at that angle."
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards disagreed on that point, but did think Kovacic should have picked up a second booking for the foul on Rice. "This is where they got it wrong - I think that is a yellow card," Richards said.
"You see he is not near the ball, gets the bottom of his ankle. I think that is a second yellow card."
It didn't matter too much to Arsenal in the end, though. As the clock ticked towards 90, Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock to hand Arsenal all three points and lift them above the reigning champions in the table.