'Clear error' - Referees chief Howard Webb reveals stance on William Saliba red card in Arsenal's defeat at Bournemouth after getting caught up in controversy - as VAR audio is released

Saliba thought he'd escaped with just a yellow card after he hauled Bournemouth striker Evanilson down in the first half of last month's clash at Vitality Stadium. That was until referee Rob Jones was instructed by the video assistant referee Jarred Gillett to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor, with it then becoming apparent to Jones that Saliba denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity and therefore deserved to be sent off.

There was plenty for Jones and Gillett to review, including the distance between Evanilson and David Raya's goal and Ben White's ability to get across to defend the Bournemouth forward. Audio from their discussion has now been released, with the referee shown various angles of the incident.

"The goalkeeper's moving backwards and the likelihood is the attacker will gain possession of the ball," Gillett says.

"I'm with you Jarred, I completely agree. Ben White is far further away than we expect, it's a red card," Jones concludes.

According to Webb, Jones' initial decision to show a yellow card was a clear error and the correct decision was eventually reached.

“I think that the offence committed by William Saliba in this situation did deny Evanilson an obvious goalscoring opportunity," Webb said on Match Officials Mic’d Up. "I think the yellow card that was issued by Rob Jones on the field was clearly and obviously wrong.

“There's two things that VAR can do here to prove that the on-field decision was wrong. Firstly, you can see that Ben White is a long way away. He's not going to get to Evanilson from that position.

“And then secondly, they can see that David Raya is backing off and when the ball dies in front of Evanilson, even though it's some distance from goal, he's going to get on to that ball. He's going to have time to gain nice control just for the goalkeeper to beat. So, for me, a good intervention by the VAR, a clear and obvious error in not showing a red card on the field.”

Arsenal went on to lose the game 2-0, with Mikel Arteta lamenting his side's third red card of the season. The defeat kickstarted a run of four-straight games without a win for the Gunners in the Premier League and they're now nine points behind leaders Liverpool.