Torreira Appeal Rejected, Three Match Ban to Follow

The 1-1 draw with Tottenham didn't close the gap between Arsenal and their North London rivals, and in isolation it wasn't a bad result. However, it was a game that brought trouble for Lucas Torreira and could spell trouble for Arsenal's top four hopes. He was on the bench during the first half of play but bought on at half-time, and initially, all was well. However, during stoppage time there was an incident with rival player Danny Rose. The referee Anthony Taylor served him with a red card after a sliding tackle saw his studs catch Rose, and the player left the field. The team at bonusbets.com look at the story and see how this will impact the upcoming games.

The decision was appealed on his behalf by the club, but it seems that the FA are not prepared to say that it was a genuine accident and the red card stands. They have now levied their punishment which is actually quite severe and sees him serving a three-match ban, which will not please Gunners manager Unai Emery as the squad is puddle deep due to injuries. There is hope that Lichtsteiner and Maitland-Niles will be fit enough to rejoin the team, but the gap left by Torreira could prove damaging, and there are no definite dates for the return of any others at this point, with some like Rob Holding out for the rest of the season after his knee ligament injury in December.

Naturally, fans are up in arms and have taken to social media to express their anger at the decision, as two similar incidents one involving Rose and one involving Sanchez were not taken any further. Sanchez clashed with Koscielny who has just returned from injury, and it seemed as though he was stamped on by the Tottenham player. At the time there was no official acknowledgement, but the footage was reviewed by the FA afterwards, and they have confirmed no action will be taken. Meanwhile Rose high footed the ball which caught the chest of goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the 68th minute, thankfully after treatment at the side of the pitch, he was cleared to return. However, the feeling is that both Rose and Sanchez should also be serving match bans and frankly, you can see why tensions are running high.

Regardless the action will stand, and Torreira will now miss two home games against Manchester United and Newcastle and one away match to Everton on 7th April. After a brief stint in fourth place on the table the team are now back in fifth under Manchester United which is another reason the ban will bite hard as the two teams meet today with a chance to close the gap on Tottenham in third. The battle for fourth still remains close with just one point separating Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea.

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