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Football London
Football London
Sport
Robert Warlow

'Maybe Arteta has a point!' - Arsenal fans split as William Saliba is sent off in Wimbledon loss

It was a night to forget for Arsenal's youngsters as they crashed out of the Papa John's Trophy at the hands of AFC Wimbledon.

Despite fielding a team that featured players with first team experience, including Sokratis and Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal were beaten 3-0 by the south London side, with the Gunners ending the game with nine men.

Tim Akinola saw red after being shown a second yellow card, having kicked the ball away late on, before William Saliba was also sent off following a strong challenge.

The two dismissals came with the score at 2-0, after Ryan Longman and Paul Osew had given the hosts the advantage, before Joe Pigott added a third goal in the 90th minute to compound the misery for the Gunners.

But it was the performance and dismissal of Saliba that got Arsenal fans talking, with the young Frenchman seeing red in the latter stages, having shown flashes of his ability during the course of the game.

Indeed, the teenager impressed some fans, despite his dismissal, with Saliba showing a calmness under pressure at times.

Here's what some fans have been saying about the 19-year-old, who is yet to feature for Arsenal at first team level since joining from Ligue 1 side Saint Etienne.

Arsenal's academy manager Per Mertesacker was in attendance to see the game as Steve Bould's men suffered a disappointing defeat.

One positive for Arsenal was Martinelli's return from injury, with the Brazilian starting the game.

However, he was taken off at half time after looking shattered in the latter stages of the first 45.

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