Arsenal suffered a humiliating defeat to West Ham at the Emirates seeing the Gunners earn their fifth red card of the season.
It was a disastrous afternoon in North London as Mikel Arteta watched his dream of lifting the Premier League trophy drift further away.
Arsenal had the chance to capitalise on Liverpool’s draw with Aston Villa but failed to do so, losing 1-0 at home to West Ham in a dire contest.
Jarrod Bowen netted the match-winner just before half-time, with the Gunners left scrambling for a result before being dealt a hammer blow in the 73rd minute of play.
Premier League statement on Myles Lewis-Skelly red card
For all of the praise that Myles Lewis-Skelly has earned this season, the Hale End graduate had a nightmare against West Ham.
The teenager was introduced from the bench early into the second half to replace Riccardo Calafiori but, failed to make the impact that Arsenal needed.
When Mohammed Kudus looked to charge through on goal, Lewis-Skelly deemed there was no other option than to haul the Ghanaian down, seeing his yellow card upgraded to a red for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
William Saliba was sent off against Bournemouth for the same offence, leaving the teenager with little to argue as VAR found him guilty.
#ARSWHU – 71’ VAR OVERTURN
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…
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre)
February 22, 2025
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Shortly after the incident, the Premier League Match Centre released a statement explaining why Lewis-Skelly’s booking was upgraded to a sending-off.
“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.”
Referee Craig Pawson had no choice but to send the 18-year-old off for his offence, leaving Arsenal a goal and a man down at home.
Arsenal record for most red cards in a season
It’s not the first time that the young defender has seen red as Lewis-Skelly was controversially sent off against Wolves earlier in the season.
That red was overturned but, such outcome is impossible on this occasion, as the 18-year-old was in the wrong entirely in a desperate attempt to clear the danger.
Interestingly, discipline has become an issue for Arteta, as Arsenal have now picked up five red cards this season in the Premier League, closing in on their record.
Arsenal’s record for the most red cards in a Premier League season is seven, which happened over the 1998/99 campaign.
On a bad day at the office, the Gunners were not only punished by the opposition but by themselves too, with Lewis-Skelly now set for a spell on the sidelines.