Moises Caicedo's tackle on Mikel Merino.

(Video): Chelsea given straight red as key player puts in horrible, stupid tackle

By SuperFrank - 30th Nov 2025, 05:25pm

Chelsea’s game against Arsenal has taken a twist with a first half red card for Moises Caicedo.

He went in with a straight leg, crunching into Mikel Merino’s ankle on a 50/50 ball in midfield.

Referee Anthony Taylor gave a yellow initially, but all of us watching at home had seen the incident and knew what was coming next. After going to see the incident on the pitchside screen, Taylor had to give a red.

What a stupid moment from a player who has been our star in the season so far, and was going to be a key factor today. He was way too fired up, and can have no arguments about the decision. It was a nasty challenge which put Merino at risk.

You can see the incident in the clips embedded here:

Moisés Caicedo has been SENT OFF for this challenge on Mikel Merino 🟥 pic.twitter.com/02bxHYVYth

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2025

[Footage from Sky Sports]

Chelsea prepare for second half siege

Enzo Maresca with Moises Caicedo. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

This puts Chelsea in a a horrible position and likely makes an ugly game even worse. The Blues will now spend the rest of the game trying to waste time, and trying to get an Arsenal player sent off to level things up.

What a pity – this had the potential to be a really exciting game and potentially a vital game for Chelsea. Instead, at best we’ll get a scrappy game and a siege. They’ve at least made it to half time, and can regroup and maybe make a change.

In other news…

Estevao isn’t the only interesting player given a start by Enzo Maresca today, you can see the full team lineup here.

Cole Palmer could start today, but even if he doesn’t he will be back in soon, and that means someone is going to miss out. We speculate about who that could be, here.