One of the big stories in the Premier League today was probably received pretty well by a lot of Arsenal fans, because with Manchester United coming to play us at the Emirates stadium at the weekend, a three match ban for their main striker and top scorer Romelu Lukaku would on the face of it weaken United and increase the chances of an Arsenal win.
I thought the ban looked to be a sure thing after seeing the incident which clearly shows the Belgian international forward lashing out at the Brighton defender Gaetan Bong just before Ashley Ypung´s very fortunate deflected winner. Sky Sports, however, are reporting that the three man panel could not agree although we have no official word from the EPL on that decision.
To be honest, I was already thinking that Lukaku missing the game against the Gunners might not be a good thing and the reason for that is the fact it would probably mean Jose Mourinho was even more likely to roll up to north London with a big red bus.
Arsenal need to win to close the gap on the teams above us and a Mourinho bus parking job would not help, whereas with Lukaku he may well make it a more open game as they need a win themselves with Man City having a sizable gap that will probably get bigger if United drop points,
So although it would be a bit of a travesty and a big let off for United if Lukaku receives no punishment, it may actually be good news for Arsenal.
Bob.