“This is the most dangerous and aggressive player I have ever faced in my career as a defender. I have never played against such a player before”: One Arsenal defender is cited by a Man City striker as the greatest defender in the world.

The Belgium international could be seen poking the ball away just as Arsenal prepared to take a freekick during the opening 45 minutes, but managed to escape unpunished.

So, how did Jeremy Doku escape a yellow card in Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal before Leandro Trossard‘s dismissal? Let’s take a look…

Why Michael Oliver did not punish Manchester City No.11 Jeremy Doku
The answer is fairly obvious – to those who watched the entire incident play out.

As Arsenal players and fans alike appealed after Doku prodded the ball away, Michael Oliver could be seen pointing to where the ball eventually settled, saying: “It was there.”

The Belgian was simply passing the ball back to where the foul took place, rather than kicking it away and delaying the restart – if anything, he was helping to speed up the restart.

In stark contrast, Trossard decided to boot the ball far, far away from where Manchester City were awarded a freekick, many seconds after the whistle had already been blown – so Oliver had little choice but to dismiss the Arsenal No.19 just before the interval.