Arsenal have been told that William Saliba was rightly sent off against Bournemouth. Despite former Premier League referee Mark Halsey claiming that VAR didn't need to overturn an on-field yellow card, Dermot Gallagher has taken the opposite stance.

but failed to take any points from the game. Second-half goals from Cyrus Christie and Justin Kluivert put the game out of reach for the Gunners.

- referee Rob Jones initially handed out a yellow card. That was upgraded upon review after VAR assistants at Stockley Park suggested an on-field check.

Jones swiftly showed Saliba red, a decision which frustrated the travelling Arsenal fans. PGMOL chief Howard Webb was present at the game and was at the centre of angry chanting from the away end.

He was also pictured live at the Vitality Stadium checking his phone during the VAR check. football.london understands that

For Gallagher, looking at the incident for Sky Sports' Ref Watch, Arsenal could have little complaint. Gallagher said: ". A) the ball is going over his head, but it’s going down the middle, Ben White is a long, long way from Evanilson, so Evanilson for me is always favourite to get that ball.

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"Another factor is that Raya actually backed off, so [David] Raya’s start position that becomes harder for him to get the ball because he reversed.”. "The Arsenal defender fouled Bournemouth striker Evanilson

The distance between the offence and the goal was lengthy, the general direction of play saw the ball coming across Evanilson and not in front of him and also the location and number of defenders was questionable.

"The likelihood of him keeping or gaining control of the ball would have probably been in the favour of the Cherries forward because David Raya was back-pedalling towards his own goal." It came just a day before Adarabioyo was allowed to remain on the pitch for Chelsea after a similar incident.

Gallagher explained that decision and why it was the right one, compared to Saliba's red card. He said: "I think it’s a number of things, firstly, the player is not in possession of the ball, you have to say, will he get in possession of the ball? Possibly but [Levi] Colwill is alongside him, so it’s a footrace between the two.

"Direction of the ball, the ball is going towards the corner flag, it’s moving away, so he’s going away from goal, so if he’d got the ball, he’d still have that. Distance from goal, again I felt that Colwill will have that chance to make up that ground if he gets the ball first, so there’s too many variables.”

As for the Bournemouth penalty, which effectively ended the game as a contest. Gallagher believes the right call was made. Gallagher added: "Penalty for me, he [Raya] doesn’t get the ball, he goes with his hands to get the ball as the goalkeeper would. But it’s not a red card is it?

"This is the thing, he has every right to try and get the ball, he doesn’t because the player moves the ball away, there he can’t get the ball because it’s too far away. Yellow card for bringing the player down, that’s all it is, not red because of the double jeopardy."