Rob Holding endured a dreadful north London derby as his sending off left Arsenal in disarray at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The defender was guilty of playing the occasion rather than the game as his obsession for Heung-Min Son resulted in him being sent for an early bath during the first half.
The first was brandished after he deliberately held Spurs’ South Korean star back on the attack. And on 33 minutes he received his second yellow for a deliberate elbow barge on Son.
In between that, Tottenham were given a penalty after Cedric Soares tripped Son over in the box. Harry Kane scored the resulting spot-kick.
talkSPORT’s Ian Abrahams labelled Holding ‘stupid’ and ‘idiotic’ when describing the second yellow card.
Meanwhile, Gary Neville said: “It’s madness from Holding. He’s been erractic, he’s lacked composure, and he’s off.
“Son played Holding like a little boy.”
Arsenal legend Ian Wright couldn’t believe what he saw either and believed the incidents occured as Holding was scared of his opponent.
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Rob Holding's north London derby nightmare
*Source: SofaScore
Minutes played: 33
Ground duels won: 1/5
Fouls committed: 4
Clearances: 0
Blocks: 0
Red cards: 1
“Rob Holding is terrified of Son’s pace,” he said on Premier League productions. “In each instance, we are seeing Rob Holding trying to win the ball.
“Especially after the first couple, you say okay it’s going into him. Let him get hold of it and maybe lay it back because you can’t afford to go down to ten men.
“He has got no complaints [for the red card]. That right side has been a problem for us. It has been a mismatch. You can see how uncomfortable Holding was.
“In the end, the way he has been sent off, he has no defence of himself there.”
Even former referee Mark Clattenhburg had little sympathy for the Englishman, also branding him stupid and naive.
He told the Daily Mail: “Holding had already been fouling Son prior to receiving his first yellow, almost targeting the Spurs forward in a running battle.
“Although referees allow a degree of feistiness in these derbies, Tierney finally lost patience with Holding and booked him for his third foul on Son, this time for pulling back his opponent.
“Given he was already on a yellow, it was therefore stupid of Holding to block Son’s run using an elevated arm.
“Antonio Conte’s teams love making it so that the referee has decisions to make. Holding fell for it hook, line and sinker, and his naivety sank Arsenal.”
That set Arsenal up for a disastrous evening for the Gunners, who succumbed to a resounding 3-0 defeat against their rivals.
Kane’s close-range finish extended Spurs’ lead before Son’s strike early in the second half ended the contest.
The result blows the race for fourth wide open with Spurs now just a point behind Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Arsenal go into their final two matches – against Newcastle and Everton respectively – facing a potential defensive crisis. Holding will be suspended, Gabriel went off with an injury, and Ben White could also miss the game with a knock.
Since Mikel Arteta was appointed manager of Arsenal in December 2019, the club have had 13 red cards.
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