Arsenal defender David Luiz was shown a red card for clipping the heels of Willian Jose inside the penalty box during the Gunners’ 2-1 loss at the hands of Wolves in midweek.
The referee deemed it as the deliberate denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity and Luiz was given the marching orders right before half-time.
Arsenal, on the other hand, thought the centre-back did not intentionally trip Jose which is why the club chose to challenge the decision and overturn his suspension. And up until Friday morning, manager Mikel Arteta seemed pretty confident that the red card would be cancelled out and David Luiz will be eligible for selection this weekend.
Arteta had said in his pre-match press conference, as per Arsenal.com: “I am very hopeful, that’s why we put the appeal in because we went through all the images and we think that the red card should be overruled. That is why we put in the appeal.”
But, the FA have shocked a lot of people by refusing to overturn the decision meaning David Luiz will have to serve his usual suspension and will not be available to play against Aston Villa.
Arsenal said in a statement, as reported: “The Football Association have confirmed to us that the red card given to David Luiz on Tuesday against Wolverhampton Wanderers will stand.
“We have worked really hard to overturn David Luiz’s red card. We presented our case to the FA but are disappointed that our appeal has been unsuccessful.
“We accept the FA’s decision and continue our preparations for Saturday’s match against Aston Villa.”
This decision has come as a surprise to a lot of people since David Luiz did not make a blasphemous tackle inside the box, instead, it was just a slight clip of the heels as he was trying to avoid any sort of contact with Willian Jose.
But thankfully, Arteta does have a proper cover in the form of Gabriel and the summer signing will slot straight back into central defence alongside Rob Holding this Saturday when Arsenal head to Villa Park.
