Leicester goalscorer avoided booking vs Arsenal despite delaying restart

Leicester City’s James Justin scored both of their goals against Arsenal on Saturday, but he also avoided a yellow card despite clearly delaying the restart.

If James Justin’s first goal against Arsenal on Saturday was fortunate, the second was sublime.

The right-back had seen a header deflect cruelly off Kai Havertz to get Leicester back into the game shortly after the half-time break, but his second goal was a wondrous volley, cannoning in off the post.

It was a fantastic goal, albeit one at the wrong end from an Arsenal point of view. But what was frustrating to see was an earlier incident in which Justin had avoided a clear yellow card.

The Premier League have decided they’re cracking down on instances of delaying the restart this season, and Arsenal have ended up feeling the brunt of that change in the first two months of the new campaign.

First, Declan Rice was sent off after nudging the ball away from Joel Veltman, before Arsenal dropped points against Brighton.

Then Leandro Trossard was sent off for playing a through ball after the whistle had been blown against Manchester City, leading to more dropped points. Those are Arsenal’s only dropped points in the league campaign so far.

The frustration is that the rule hasn’t been applied consistently. Joao Pedro got away without a booking in the Brighton game, Jeremy Doku avoided one in the City game, and Leicester’s Justin escaped a clear one on Saturday.

Shortly after his first goal, Justin raced to latch onto a long ball, but failed to stop it going out of play. Mikel Arteta caught the ball, swiftly returning it to Gabriel Martinelli, who turned to take a quick throw.

As Martinelli prepared to throw, Justin stood on his foot, wrapping his left arm around the Arsenal man to hold him in place.

With the throw having been prevented, Martinelli and Arteta both turned to the referee with their arms out, waiting for the yellow card. But it never came.

For some reason, it seems Arsenal remain the only team capable of delaying the restart in their matches.