Mikel Arteta confirms he was ‘really worried’ after Arsenal star’s rash challenge

Arsenal picked up a 4-2 victory over Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard were the goalscorers in the opening half. James Justin brought the Foxes back into the game, but Arsenal came out on top.

Trossard induced an own goal from Wilfred Ndidi in stoppage time before Kai Havertz made it 4-2.

The Gunners could have easily won the game by a bigger margin. Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen made 13 saves, which kept them in the contest until injury time.

Speaking after the victory, manager Mikel Arteta was asked about Riccardo Calafiori, who avoided a potential red card in the 70th minute.

Calafiori, who was already booked in the 49th minute, was guilty of fouling Facundo Bounanotte.

Referee Sam Barrott did not deem the foul as another yellow card offence. Bounanotte ended up receiving a booking after he asked Barrott to brandish a red card to Calafiori.

Arteta told Arsenal.com: “I haven’t seen the action but I got really worried when that happened because he gave the foul, but I haven’t seen the replay.”

Arsenal have dropped points against Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City in the Premier League this term. They went a man down on both occasions.

The Gunners could have suffered a similar fate against the Foxes, but they were somewhat fortunate.

The referee balanced things out later in the game. Oliver Skipp avoided a second yellow card for a blatant foul during the closing stages.

Nonetheless, Arsenal need to be more cautious going forward. A red card for Calafiori could have seen them drop costly points in the pursuit of the title.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com.