Arsenal are appealing the red card for Eddie Nketiah picked up against Leicester City on Tuesday, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Arsenal fail in Eddie Nketiah appeal

Arsenal's English striker Eddie Nketiah (R) walks off the pitch past Referee Chris Kavanagh (2nd R) after receiving a red card during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium in London on July 7, 2020. (Photo by Shaun Botterill / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s English striker Eddie Nketiah (R) walks off the pitch past Referee Chris Kavanagh (2nd R) on July 7, 2020. (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Charles Watts reports that Arsenal appealed the Eddie Nketiah red card against Leicester City this week. The Mirror add that the club are appealing both the red card and the resulting suspension.

Obviously, if the FA overturn the red card, they would revoke the suspension too. But if they don’t overturn it, they can still reduce the mandatory three-match suspension on the grounds that it would be excessive in this case. Hence the two separate appeals.

Whilst overturning the red card completely seems unlikely, the Mirror claim Arsenal “hope he could be back to face Liverpool and/or City”.

I’m not so hopeful, though. Arsenal tried and failed to reduce Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s suspension with an appeal earlier in the year. It was a similar scenario, where the forward clearly didn’t mean to injure the opponent, but just caught him badly.

The one argument you can make in this case (that you couldn’t with Aubameyang) is that Nketiah is looking the other way when he starts going for the ball. He doesn’t even know the Leicester player is there until too late.

Whilst there was clearly an element of endangering an opponent, there’s no intent there. If Jamie Vardy can stud Shkodran Mustafi in the face without punishment because he ‘didn’t mean it’, Nketiah should get a similar dispensation. He won’t, but he should.