BLUES SEE RED
Luiz is sent off after warning Chelsea to keep their cool
DAVID LUIZ was sent off at Stamford Bridge for a studs-up challenge – on the same day as he demanded his team-mates keep their cool.
The Brazil defender wrote in his programme notes that Chelsea had to keep their “emotions under control” against Arsenal. But three minutes from time, already on a booking, Luiz (left) was handed a straight red card for a dangerous lunge at Sead Kolasinac. It was the fifth sending-off for Chelsea in the last eight games but boss Antonio Conte suggested bad luck was to blame. He said: “It’s a strange situation. But in normal situations we have to improve. In
tactical situations, physical situations, you need to try to improve. Also, you have to be more lucky in the future.”
And Conte accused referee Michael Oliver of not clamping down on what he believed were Arsenal’s attempts to wind up Luiz.
He added: “When a player is fouled in a continuous way – he continued to push him – the referee, I want to use his whistle.”
But Gunners boss Arsene Wenger (above) thought the dismissal was entirely justified. He said: “It was excessive force. Kolasinac was not completely on his feet.
“Even Luiz would accept there was a big distance and he went in too strong. After that, it’s the decision of the referee. It looked to me like excessive force.”