Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg has claimed that Jurrien Timber was very lucky to escape a second yellow and a resultant sending off in the north London derby on Sunday.
Gabriel scored from a corner-kick, a set piece routine that has attracted plaudits, in the 64th minute to help Arsenal to a 1-0 win in the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Apart from the Brazilian, Timber has also attracted praise for his solid performance at left-back in the derby but he was involved in a fracas during the first half.
He was booked for a foul on Pedro Porro but it did lead to a confrontation between both sets of players with Timber and Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario squaring off against each other.
The Dutchman grabbed the Spurs goalkeeper’s shirt but it was ignored by the officials during the game and he was only booked for the foul on Porro.
Arsenal legend feels Timber lucky to escape a sending off
The game was at 0-0 at that stage and Ljungberg believes Arsenal were lucky not to see Timber get sent off in the first-half for his mistake.
The Arsenal legend stressed that he should have received two yellow cards as he clearly grabbed the Tottenham goalkeeper’s shirt, which is a bookable offence in itself.
A sending off before half-time would have likely changed the complexion of the game and Tottenham would have had the advantage for the rest of the derby.
“There he is lucky not to get two yellow cards”, Ljungberg said on Viaplay (relayed by Aftonbladet)
“It is clear that he grabs Vicario’s shirt.”
Arsenal are pleased to get the three points regardless of the circumstances of the game given they were missing two key players in Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
They have a big game against Manchester City at the Etihad next weekend but will now focus on their Champions League trip to Atalanta on Thursday night.
