London – Arsenal will have both Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain available against Swansea on Tuesday after winning their appeals over the bizarre mistaken identity dismissal at Chelsea.
Gibbs was mistakenly shown a red card during the first half of Saturday's 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea by referee Andre Marriner instead of Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had committed the handball in the six-yard box and admitted his guilt to the official at the time.
Marriner had since apologised for the mistake and the Football Association confirmed on Monday that the sanction against Gunners left-back Gibbs had been removed, and instead transferred onto Oxlade-Chamberlain.
However, Arsenal then subsequently moved to have that offence downgraded on appeal, claiming the England midfielder had not in fact technically prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity as the shot from Chelsea's Eden Hazard looked to be going just wide.
That claim was also upheld, meaning both Gibbs and Oxlade-Chamberlain will be able to face Swansea at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
A statement from the FA read: “An Independent Regulatory Commission today heard two claims from Arsenal, one of mistaken identity and the other of wrongful dismissal, both in relation to Saturday's game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
“The commission ruled that the dismissal of Kieran Gibbs was a case of mistaken identity and transferred this to his team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
“Subsequent to deciding this matter, the commission then considered Arsenal's claim for wrongful dismissal in relation to Oxlade-Chamberlain. This claim was upheld, meaning Oxlade-Chamberlain will not serve any suspension with the standard punishment withdrawn with immediate effect.” – Sapa-AFP