Howard Webb's presence explained after Arsenal left fuming with red card in defeat to Bournemouth

The Gunners were beaten 2-0 by the Cherries and lost defender William Saliba to a straight red card in the first half after VAR stepped in to review his challenge on Dominic Solanke

The Sky Sports' presenting team were forced to deliver clarity on rumours circulating about Howard Webb's involvement during Arsenal's match against Bournemouth in which William Saliba was shown a controversial red card.

The pivotal moment in the first half saw Gunners star Saliba dismissed after a VAR review, with referee Rob Jones changing his initial yellow card to a red. With Webb, the head of PGMOL, present at the game, some fans raised eyebrows given some contentious decisions this season, including those affecting Arsenal.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher initially hinted at concerns about Webb's role but later removed his social media post. Amidst the debate online, anchor Dave Jones and pundits Jamie Redknapp set the record straight regarding Webb's presence at the match. "There have been one or two people you might have seen on social media speculating about what Howard Webb was up to in the crowd, the head of the PGMOL," Jones said. "He's got that earpiece in as well, he's got his phone out."

"But what we understand he is doing is listening to a match feed of the VAR officials and their communication with the on-field officials, as we do as broadcasters. But he has no input, he has no ability to talk to the officials who are actually making the decisions.

"He's not trying to [influence things], he's watching the game," Redknapp replied. "For anyone to think [he'd] have the audacity or the ego to think 'i'm going to influence this game - we're talking about Premier League football now, I think it's nonsense for anyone to even question that.

"He's at the game, he's listening to the audio. He can't turn round to the referee. We've got VAR there and everybody looking at it, why would he even dream to get involved?".

Bournemouth managed to make the most of their numerical advantage, with Ryan Christie breaking the deadlock and Justin Kluivert sealing the win from the spot. This loss was Arsenal's first away defeat in the Premier League since December 2023.

Following the match, Arsenal's Declan Rice spoke about the side's shortcomings. It marked the third instance this season that an Arsenal player has been sent off, including Rice himself on a previous occasion.

"We can't make silly mistakes," Rice stressed in his interview with Sky Sports. "You need all your best players on the pitch at all times. The belief is so high and we will stick together. This is football, whatever happens the most important thing is that you stick together and stay in the right direction."

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