Leicester City were just one of the Premier League’s spectators watching on as Manchester City and Arsenal played out a feisty battle on Sunday.
As champions and runners-up for the past two seasons, the clash was billed as a potential title decider even this early on in the new campaign. Mikel Arteta’s side were on the verge of claiming three huge points as tempers flared, but a Man City equaliser in the seventh minute of injury time ensured the spoils were shared
Whilst the Foxes have no immediate prospects of challenging the two clubs for the Premier League trophy, their vested interest in this fixture existed simply because the Gunners are next on their list. Steve Cooper and Co will have been onlookers hoping to gain insight into any tactical edge they can exploit at the Emirates Stadium or any other advantage to take confidence from.
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Initially, Leandro Trossard’s sending off looked to provide such respite. The forward became the second player for his side in three matches to be dismissed via a second booking awarded for delaying a restart, or simply kicking the ball away once the whistle was blown.
“It’s already the second time it has happened in five games, which is really, really worrying if we want to see the best Premier League,” his manager told Sky Sports in defiance, before pointing that Jeremy Doku had gone unpunished for their opponents when behaving similarly earlier in opening period.
“Anyone that has played football or any sport [can see] it’s less than a second. Less than a second. The previous one [Doku] is more than a second. That’s it, simple,” he said.
However, Trossard will actually be at Arsenal’s disposal for Leicester’s upcoming visit to the capital and therefore a worry for Cooper to deal with because he will have actually already served his suspension come Saturday.
As the rules state for suspensions after dismissal over two yellow cards, a player is to miss only the next match. In all domestic competitions those suspensions carry over into other competitions, and as the Gunners face Bolton Wanderers in their Carabao Cup third round tie on Wednesday night, that is the match the Belgian will actually be suspended for.
Of course this means there is still opportunity for Leicester to benefit from further Arsenal mishaps, were any of their other players to pick up suspensions or injuries ahead of the weekend. That said, it is likely Arteta will rotate his squad to face League One opposition and even then Cooper must be wary of the same fate with his side still to play Walsall away in the competition tomorrow night.
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