Arsenal defender William Saliba was shown a straight red card during his side's 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
The France international was initially brandished with just a caution after hauling down Cherries forward Evanilson before a VAR intervention ultimately led to Saliba being shown a straight red.
Mikel Arteta's side went on to lose their first game of the Premier League season at the Vitality Stadium, leaving an early blip in their hopes of success. With a crucial game to come next weekend, Arsenal now have a defensive headache to contend with.
How many games will William Saliba miss for Arsenal after his red card v Bournemouth?
After being shown a straight red card for his actions, the standard punishment as per Premier League rules is a three-match ban.
But according to the precise letter of the law, such a suspension is only for examples of violent conduct or dangerous play. These are applied in instances of a high tackle or an off-the-ball altercation.
When it comes to last-man fouls, officially deemed "professional fouls", the punishment is only a one-game suspension, which will come as something of a relief to Arteta and his side.
However, Saliba is available to feature in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, which he is likely to do. But Arsenal's next game is against top-of-the-table Liverpool at Emirates next weekend in the Premier League.
His omission will come as a huge loss, with Jakob Kiwior perhaps being prepared to partner Gabriel in the heart of the Gunners' defence.
Arne Slot's side has already scored 15 goals this season, conceding just three goals in the league. Breaking down the Merseysiders may be a tough ask for Arsenal, even on home soil and rallied by their supporters.
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"Absolutely, we are obviously very disappointed with the result and gutted because we had to play a game in that context, even more difficult than in the previous two that we already faced this season," said Arteta in his post-match press conference.
"Playing for 65 or 68 minutes with ten men at this level is just an impossible task, an accident waiting to happen to not get the points and I cannot fault the team for their effort, commitment, how intelligent they play in the way they have to do it."
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