Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly is set to be sidelined after receiving a red card against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon at the Emirates.
The Gunners were beaten 1-0 by the visitors, with Jarrod Bowen's 44th-minuted winner enough to see the Hammers take all three points.
Lewis-Skelly was initially shown a yellow card after dragging down Mohammed Kudus on the halfway line late in the second half, but VAR recommended an on-field review, and the 18-year-old was promptly sent off by Craig Pawson for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity
The defender was also shown a straight red card by Michael Oliver against Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 25, but that suspension was rescinded, but he is unlikely to be so fortunate this time around and will serve a one-match ban.
The full-back will be unavailable for his side's Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, and unless the Gunners improve their performance levels, it would not be surprising to see them fall further behind in the title race.
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How damaging was the defeat?
Arsenal's defeat against West Ham left them eight points behind league-leaders Liverpool, who drew 2-2 with Aston Villa last Wednesday and had played an extra game, but the Reds now have the opportunity to move 11 points ahead of Mikel Arteta's side when they play Manchester City on Sunday.
The Gunners were also fortunate to beat Leicester City on February 15 considering they needed substitute Mikel Merino to break the deadlock in the 81st minute.
With several stars like Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus already ruled out of the Gunners' clash against Nottingham Forest, losing the creativity of Lewis-Skelly could prove particularly damaging.
Arsenal started Merino as the team's central striker against West Ham, but the natural midfielder had an unsurprisingly limited impact in the final third, with his teammates often playing desperate crosses into the penalty area rather than meticulously playing through the Hammers.
It should be noted that if Nottingham Forest win against Newcastle United on Sunday, they will have the opportunity to match the points total of Arteta's side with a win next Wednesday.
Arsenal will almost certainly have to beat Liverpool at Anfield in May if they are to have any chance of winning the title, but given they have not won at Anfield since 2011, it would be an unexpected result.
Perhaps Arteta can still salvage the season, with the club set to take on Feyenoord in the Champions League round of 16 on March 4, and he will hope that the clash can be the beginning of a successful European campaign.
Lewis Nolan
