Luke Ayling SENT OFF after sparking riot for two-footed lunge on Arsenal’s Martinelli in blow to Leeds’ relegation fight
LEEDS defender Luke Ayling was sent off for a horrific two-footed lunge on Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli as the challenge sparked a heated row at the Emirates.
In the 27th minute of the Premier League clash, the 30-year-old opted to leap in and take the Gunners attacker out on the by-line, leading to the Arsenal players reacting furiously.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially only showed Ayling a yellow card, much to the dismay of the home supporters.
But after being told by the VAR to go to the monitor, Kavanagh changed the yellow to a red - compounding Leeds' misery after Arsenal had taken an early 2-0 lead.
Amid returning from the monitor, Leeds forward Raphinha was also booked for harassing the referee.
Speaking about the challenge, Stephen Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Luke Ayling has let the club down, he's let his fans down, the team mates down.
READ MORE IN ARSENAL
"Imagine what Joe Gelhardt is thinking, third start of the season and he gets dragged off because of a senior player being stupid.
"It's beyond me. We all make mistakes but at this stage of the season when you need a togetherness and you need all your players especially with the injury record that Leeds have got.
"They need him (Ayling), he's important to them."
Ayling was on the books with Arsenal as a youngster, coming through their youth set-up from 1999 to 2009.
Most read in Premier League
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS - BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
He was then a part of the first team squad for the 2009/10 season but never featured for the club.
But it was not a pleasant return to North London for the English defender as he was dismissed before half-time.
Leeds are in a perilous situation as Everton and Burnley continue to pick up points in the battle to avoid the drop.
Jesse Marsch's men did win three games out of four shortly after his arrival, but have now managed just one win since the 3-2 victory over Wolves in mid-March.