LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal’s bench celebrated Monday’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace as if it was the Premier League title decider despite only being the second week of the season as their side hung on to take the points despite a second-half red card for Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The Japan defender fell foul of a stricter interpretation of time-wasting rules this season, getting booked for dallying at a throw-in on the hour mark and then being sent off for a pull of Jordan Ayew’s shirt in the 67th minute.
“It shows how much we want it,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said of the celebrations.
“When you see the players on the bench … they have to come and help the team. They were magnificent and they changed the dynamic of the game. I say thank you so much to them because they really contributed to winning the game,” he added.
Arteta said it would take some time for teams to get used to the crackdown on time-wasting that has seen more yellow cards and additional time being added on at the end of each half.
“It’s going to be very difficult for us. I guarantee you, we will have to play with 10 or maybe with nine or with eight depending where we put the standards and the level. We can play eight against eight, it can be very entertaining,” the 41-year-old said wryly.
His Palace counterpart Roy Hodgson has seen many adjustments in the interpretation of the rules in a managerial career spanning almost 50 years and the 76-year-old was sanguine about the changes.
“These rules and these ideas are thrust upon us, we don’t have too much say in the matter, but we have to learn to live with them,” he told Sky Sports.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
