Super Eagles star Wilfred Ndidi drives Arsenal fans crazy after avoiding red card in Premier League tie

Wilfred Ndidi playing against Arsenal's Bukayo Saka | Imago

Super Eagles star Wilfred Ndidi drives Arsenal fans crazy after avoiding red card in Premier League tie

Ayoola Kelechi 11:42 - 30.09.2024

The Nigerian midfielder's escape was a sore point for Arsenal fans despite their win over Leicester City

Arsenal fans were left fuming on Saturday when Leicester's Wilfred Ndidi narrowly escaped what seemed to be a clear second yellow card during their Premier League clash.

The Super Eagles midfielder, already booked earlier, kicked the ball away after a foul on Bukayo Saka, leading to outrage among Gunners supporters who believe he should have received a second yellow card for delaying the restart of the match.

Arsenal win despite Ndidi assist

The decision to let Ndidi stay on the pitch may have been a talking point, but it didn’t stop Arsenal from putting on a strong performance, much to the relief of their supporters.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Arsenal took a two-goal lead through Leandro Trossard, who returned to the Arsenal squad after serving a one-game suspension in the EFL Cup.

Leicester City fought back after going behind, and Wilfred Ndidi marked the game against Arsenal severally as the Nigerian midfielder assisted James Justin’s equaliser against the Gunners.

WIlfred Ndidi celebrates his assist for James Justin's goal | Imago
WIlfred Ndidi celebrates his assist for James Justin's goal | Imago WIlfred Ndidi celebrates his assist for James Justin's goal | Imago

Despite the setback, Arsenal rallied to 4-2 after Ndidi’s unfortunate own goal in additional time was followed by Kai Havertz’

Ndidi's lucky escape sparks outrage

The moment that sent Arsenal fans into a frenzy happened in the 35th minute after Leicester’s Stephy Mavididi fouled Saka.

Wilfred Ndidi against Arsenal | Imago

Ndidi, already on a yellow card, kicked the ball away from Saka, seemingly delaying play, as Arsenal’s Trossard did before getting sent off against Manchester City.

Many supporters quickly pointed out the similarities between the Ndidi incident and the one that got Trossard sent off in Arsenal's game against Manchester City just last weekend, as well as the scene that saw Declan Rice also suffer a similar fate earlier this season for the same offence.

While Ndidi may not have delayed a quick restart, unlike Rice and Trossard, many Gunners fans took to social media to express their frustration, accusing Premier League referees of double standards.

Despite the outrage on social media, Ndidi appears to be safe from any punishment and only has his own goal as a sore point from the match against Arsenal.