‘Fuming’ Mikel Arteta wants FA to overturn controversial Myles Lewis-Skelly red | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has called on the Football Association to overturn teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly’s hugely controversial red card in the 1-0 win at Wolves.

The 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly became the third youngest player to be dismissed in Premier League history when he was shown a straight red card by Michael Oliver in the first half for taking down Matt Doherty in his own half.

The decision has been met with disbelief by pundits, with Alan Shearer calling it “one of the worst decisions that I’ve seen in a long time”.

Arteta said he was too “fuming” to comment on it, but wants the decision overturned in the same way Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes was let off following a red card against Tottenham earlier in the season.

“I am absolutely fuming but I leave it with you,” he said. “I think it is that obvious that we don’t need any comment today and hopefully the right thing will happen.

“Hopefully we don’t need to (appeal the decision) and if we have to, there is a really good precedent, what happened with Bruno this season as well.

“OK, we were in a position that we shouldn’t be in, at least let’s be in a position that we should be in for the next few weeks and allow that player to continue to his job.”

The Gunners overcame adversity to win the game through Riccardo Calafiori’s 74th-minute goal, four minutes after the hosts had also been reduced to 10 men when Joao Gomes was sent off.

And that kept their title hopes alive as they cling on to Liverpool’s coat-tails, six points behind having played a game more.

“I’m extremely proud of the players,” the Spaniard added. “I mean, you can talk about our courage, you can talk about spirit, but as well about intelligence, the way they managed the game emotionally, it was unbelievable, especially with what we had to face and how they felt about it.

“All of them just faced the situation. We went to a second half and the only message was to go out there to win the game. That’s it.

“If somebody doesn’t feel it, don’t go and they certainly did it in a really convincing way.”

For Wolves, who had chances to lead when they had a man advantage, it was a fourth defeat in a row and they remain out of the bottom three on goal difference alone.

Boss Vitor Pereira, whose side have lost the last four games, says Gomes’ 70th-minute red card for two yellow cards was the decisive moment in the game.

“The moment he got the second yellow card was the moment of the game because we created two clear chances to score the first goal.

“After Arsenal have quality and it was difficult.

“Joao is a player he gives 100 per cent every match for the team, he is a team player, he wants to help.

“He is emotional, we spoke at half-time and I said, ‘You have a yellow card and you must be calm’. He said, ‘OK. I will control it’.

“I don’t want to speak about the yellow card, I must accept.

“But we played against Arsenal playing our game. This is the kind of the game where the result doesn’t reflect what happened on the pitch.”