AN Arsenal Under-21s clash with Leicester City in the Premier League 2 was thrown into chaos before kick off after an assistant referee was unable to officiate due to an injury.
Kick-off was delayed as an announcement was made over the PA system asking if there were any trained officials in the crowd at Meadow Park.
The players were held in the dressing rooms for nearly 10 minutes as club officials scrambled to find someone who could step in at the last second.
Fortunately, after a 12-minute delay, the issue was resolved, and the game was able to get underway.
It appeared that the fourth official stepped in as an assistant, with the injured linesman taking up the fourth official’s role on the sidelines.
Unbelievably, this is not the first time this unusual circumstance has arisen for the Young Guns.
A crowd member had to step in during the 2018/19 season after an official had to drop out of the Under-23s’ 2-2 draw with Swansea.
Arsenal were hosting Leicester City in their penultimate home Premier League 2 game of the season.
Marli Salmon, who has broken into the Gunners first team this season, captained Arsenal’s youngsters after returning from a suspension for dissent last time out.
Jaden Dixon, who earned his senior debut against Mansfield last week, was also starting.
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There was no sign of wonderkid Max Dowman in the matchday squad, he now appears to be a crucial part of Mikel Arteta‘s first team setup.
Dowman, 16, was involved in training with the senior squad this morning and is expected to be part of the Gunners’ matchday squad to face Everton tomorrow.
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