Five issues with Myles Lewis-Skelly's red card in Arsenal's win at Wolves - Premier League hits and misses

Arsenal beat Wolves 1-0, but Myles Lewis-Skelly's first-half red card for clipping Matt Doherty dominated the headlines. Here are five issues we have found with Michael Oliver and VAR's decision:

One - you don't see red cards for that. "He's 70 yards from his own goal," said Tim Sherwood. That is the starting point.

PGMOL classes serious foul play as "a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality".

Cynical? Yes. But it is extremely hard to make the argument that Lewis-Skelly's challenge endangered Doherty's safety, or that he used excessive force or brutality.

More common sense was needed.

Two - VAR gave it. The serious foul play call was checked and confirmed by VAR Darren England. See above for the common-sense point to an official who had replays, slow-motions and time to fully assess it.

Three - Joao Gomes' challenge was arguably worse. How the Wolves midfielder got a yellow for a seemingly higher, more aggressive and more dangerous challenge and Lewis-Skelly got his marching orders is simply baffling. The consistency did not even last half a match.

Four - Michael Oliver doesn't like to "impact games negatively by overreacting" apparently. That's what PGMOL chief Howard Webb said last season when Mateo Kovacic avoided a red card for Man City at Arsenal. Did he need to send Lewis-Skelly off there?

Five - More freak dismissals for Arsenal - Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were both sent off for kicking the ball away - but have we seen any since? Joao Pedro's penalty at Brighton despite William Saliba seemingly getting the ball. Arsenal are getting freak decisions this season and it seems to be heavily weighted against them - so it is little wonder their fans are becoming increasingly frustrated.Sam Blitz

Manchester City do have another way, who knew? For years under Pep Guardiola they have been multi-dimensional but never before have they favoured the direct route.

But City are also not as spritely as they used to be. They lack most of their former certainties and have one of the oldest squads by average age in the Premier League - now it's about working smarter, not harder.

Clearly the demographic of Guardiola's team has had its limitations this season but they're still savvier than most. Ederson's season average has been to play 8.6 passes long, but in their win over Chelsea he played 16, collecting another assist for Erling Haaland, which changed the face of the game entirely.

No doubt Guardiola has suffered during his most gruelling season yet but finding a plan to fit the narrative will forever be his greatest strength. "We read the situation, the game was up and down and with that we are the worse team, we don't have the legs," the manager said post-match.

"We have to make the ball work for us and maybe it's less attractive, but control was much better."

Haaland's presence and uniqueness was key, too, and his summary of events told a similar story: "Even Manchester City can go direct, it's a good thing."Laura Hunter

In games where Liverpool sustain so many attacks and are tasked with breaking down the opposition, there is no better creator in world football than Trent Alexander-Arnold. He was in his element in the 4-1 win against Ipswich, who could only stand and admire him at times.

Spraying the ball around the pitch in his usual effortless style and breaking lines with some amazing passing. There was a cross that he hit on the half volley from almost the touchline that was so close to being knocked in by Luis Diaz. It would have been the assist of the season. This lad sees things that other players don't.

He grabbed an assist for Cody Gakpo's goal with a sumptuous cross that teams better than Ipswich would not have been able to defend and he deserved a goal of his own too but crashed one back off the bar. In this mood, in this exhibition-like game, he was a privilege to watch. Liverpool fans may have to savour these performances while they can.Lewis Jones

There is absolutely no stopping Alexander Isak at the moment. To say he is in inspired form would be an understatement, but any praise that comes his way is totally warranted after Newcastle's 3-1 win at Southampton.

The best striker in the Premier League right now? He simply has to be.

Since Newcastle's 3-3 draw with Liverpool on December 4, Eddie Howe's side have played 12 games. Isak has only drawn a blank twice. He now has 19 goals in 25 games in all competitions this season. Seven more and he will set a new personal best, eclipsing last season's 25.

The records are starting to fall, too. His double at St Mary's ensured he became the first Newcastle player to score in five consecutive Premier League away appearances, overtaking Peter Beardsley's previous club record of four in December 1993.

More importantly, his new tally of 48 Premier League goals is the joint-most of any Swedish player in the competition, along with Freddie Ljungberg, and he has also gone ahead of team-mate Callum Wilson (47) as the outright second-top goalscorer for Newcastle in the competition, behind Alan Shearer (148).

As Newcastle seek a return to the top four, this electric form will be imperative.Dan Long

David Moyes has made a seamless return to the dugout at Everton, but in celebrating his 700th game as a Premier League manager with a 1-0 victory at Brighton, there is one key difference in personnel.

Jake O'Brien had not started a league game under Sean Dyche. Supporters had questioned recruiting the 23-year-old for £16.4m from Lyon when money was still tight.

Having being used by Leighton Baines in the FA Cup victory over Peterborough, however, Moyes liked what he saw in the Republic of Ireland defender.

"I'd watched the game and I thought he'd done quite well," Moyes said of that encounter. "He is a centre-half, but a lot of young central defenders make their debuts as full-backs.

"I was one when I was at Celtic, for example. But if you look at a lot of centre-backs, sometimes midfield players might have to play wide. So Jake at the moment might need to. We have got two really good centre-backs so to get him in, we've tried to use him a little bit as a full-back. A little bit of a hybrid at times, sometimes playing a bit further in.

"He's improving, he's got a long way to go, he's got a lot of things to do. I've been really pleased with the two performances. He's come into the team and we've won two games. In the main, he kept Kaoru Mitoma pretty quiet."

O'Brien stood up to the task impressively, first with Jesper Lindstrom in front of him and then slightly more inverted when Nathan Patterson was introduced. Everton's ability to keep clean sheets away from home predates Moyes' arrival, but now they have a coat to their armour.Ben Grounds

Bournemouth were jaw-droppingly outstanding in their statement 5-0 home victory over Nottingham Forest.

The quality of the goals, the free-flowing football and their defensive solidity shone in a win which will increase the belief this joyful Bournemouth side can qualify for Europe.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola is the architect of all of this and he will no doubt be linked with bigger jobs in the coming months with the magic he is working on the south coast.

Bournemouth thrashed Forest to record their biggest victory in the top flight since April 2019. Iraola's seventh-placed team have now beaten four of the top seven this season, so their 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions is no accident.

In a topsy-turvy Premier League season that has seen the bigger sides struggle, Bournemouth have taken full advantage and this stunning display will make them feared.

Leaders Liverpool go to the Vitality Stadium next with Bournemouth eyeing another impressive victory.

Beat the Reds, and Bournemouth will not just be seen as European hopefuls but true Champions League contenders, especially with fifth place potentially being enough for Champions League qualification this season.Declan Olley

Another week, another defeat, another step closer to what seems like inevitable relegation. Without wanting to sound like a broken record, this season has been as miserable as they come for Southampton - and it is far from over.

The record for the fewest points accrued in a single Premier League season is held by Derby, who picked up just 11 in 2007/08. Matching this or setting a new record altogether is still wholly possible.

But on Saturday, another record was set - Saints have now lost six consecutive home league games for the first time in their history. They have not tasted league victory at home since November 2, when they beat Everton 1-0. In fact, that remains their only league win this season to date.

They have won just one of their last 36 Premier League games (D7 L28) and, when converting to three points for a win all time, Saints' six points is the second lowest after 23 top-flight games, with only Bolton in 1902/03 ever having fewer at this stage (3).

Ivan Juric has certainly instilled more fight in this team and they battled until the end here, but without the results to go with it, the seemingly inevitable is drawing closer.Dan Long

A strange game at Molineux. Wolves started well and looked like they would frustrate Arsenal, with Pablo Sarabia even going close to giving the hosts the lead after his effort sailed just over the bar in the first half.

Momentum seemed to shift after Lewis-Skelly's red - but not in the way you would think.

Arsenal played like the team with 11 on the field and even before Joao Gomes departed for his reckless tackle on Jurrien Timber, the Gunners looked like the only side capable of breaking the deadlock.

Forcing David Raya into making just one save when they had more players on the pitch is not good enough from Wolves. "We had some difficulties to play but after this, we started to play again and to break the first line of pressure," Pereira said after the game. "Then came the second yellow card."

Wolves showed against Manchester United that they can punish teams with 11 vs 10 but simply did not have the same drive, threat or determination on this occasion.

A strong opportunity to secure points in the fight for survival now escapes them.Patrick Rowe