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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
George Flood

Arsenal defender Sokratis to serve two-match ban after yellow card against Everton

Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos will miss the club's next pair of Premier League matches against Crystal Palace and Watford.

Having already collected nine yellow cards in domestic action so far this term, the Greek centre-back was walking a disciplinary tightrope heading into Sunday's meeting with Everton at Goodison Park.

Sokratis lasted just 25 minutes on Merseyside before picking up his 10th caution of the 2018-19 campaign - his first in English football - after hauling down striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin to thwart an attack from the hosts.

10 yellow cards in a given top-flight season automatically incurs a two-match suspension, with the 30-year-old now set to sit out the trip to Watford's Vicarage Road on April 15 - a fixture sandwiched between a two-legged Europa League quarter-final tie against Napoli, which Sokratis will still be available for.

He will also be absent for the visit of London rivals Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium on April 21.

Former Borussia Dortmund stopper Sokratis previously missed Arsenal's 3-2 defeat to Southampton at St Mary's in December after accumulating five yellows in the opening four months of the season.

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