Arsenal’s nightmare against West Ham got even worse on Saturday as Myles Lewis-Skelly saw red—and now, the Premier League has backed the decision.
Referee Craig Pawson initially handed the youngster a yellow card after he pulled down Mohammed Kudus on the halfway line. However, with Arsenal keeper David Raya out of position and no covering defender in sight, VAR intervened. Following a pitchside review, Pawson upgraded the yellow to a straight red, reducing the Gunners to ten men in their 1-0 defeat at the Emirates.
In an official statement, the Premier League confirmed that Pawson made the right call:
“VAR checked the referee’s call of yellow card to Lewis-Skelly for a challenge on Kudus—deeming it denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity due to the goalkeeper’s position and there being no covering defender, therefore recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”
With Arsenal already trailing from Jarrod Bowen’s first-half header, the red card all but sealed their fate. Mikel Arteta’s side will now have to regroup as they chase their top-four ambitions.
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