Mikel Arteta has updated Arsenal fans on the club's plan to appeal William Saliba's Premier League suspension.
The France international was shown a straight red card in the Gunners 2-0 weekend loss away at Bournemouth in the first dismissal of his career.
Referee Rob Jones initially showed Saliba a yellow card for hauling back Evanilson, as he chased a loose ball into the Arsenal half.
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However, the decision was upgraded to a red card, following a VAR review at the Vitality Stadium, as Saliba was deemed to have denied a 'obvious goal-scoring opportunity' to Evanilson - who had a clear path to goal - despite a considerable distance between him and the Arsenal goal.
Saliba's dismissal is Arsenal's third Premier League red card of the campaign, with Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice previously sent off for delaying match restarts.
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The Premier League have confirmed Saliba will now serve an automatic one-game ban, and miss this weekend's crucial home clash with Liverpool, as Arsenal consider an appeal.
"I leave that one (an appeal) to the club to understand the circumstances. The examples that are very clear in the same position and they will have to decide", he said ahead of Arsenal's UEFA Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk.
The ban does not include European game, so Saliba is expected to retain his starting spot against Shakhtar.
Arteta also confirmed captain Martin Odegaard is still absent through injury, but Bukayo Saka has a chance to face the Ukrainians, after missing out against Bournemouth due to a knock picked up on international duty with England.
"Both of them are progressing well," he explained. "Martin is not fit. With Bukayo, let’s see how he is with the training session later on."
However, despite Arteta's upbeat note on Saka, images from Arsenal's final training session before the game do not include their No.7 in action.
Bukayo Saka is not spotted in Arsenal training ahead of the Gunners' Champions League tie against Shakhtar Donetsk tomorrow ❌ pic.twitter.com/gjICVcBpiM
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 21, 2024
Arsenal have picked up four points from their opening two Champions League games so far this season with a 0-0 draw in Atalanta followed by a 2-0 home win over Paris Saint-Germain.
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