Ex EPL Ref Discloses Why Ruben Dias Escaped Red Card for Kicking Out at Ben White

• Ruben Dias and Ben White were involved in a heated moment during Man City's clash with Arsenal
• The City defender was caught kicking out at his opposition defender midway through the first half
• A section of fans believe the Portuguese international should have been red-carded by the referee

Manchester City defender, Ruben Dias was lucky to escape a red card during their Premier League cracker against Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Dias formed part of City's strong back three as they took on the Premier League leaders at the Etihad Stadium.

According to Sportbible, Pep Guardiola's charges kicked off the encounter on a high note, with Kevin De Bruyne handing them the lead after just seven minutes of action.

John Stones went on to double City's lead moments before the break to put the hosts in full control of the match.

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However, there was a controversial moment involving Dias and Arsenal's Ben White before the interval, with many contending the Citizens' defender should have been sent off.

The Portuguese ace flicked out a boot at White and made contact with the Arsenal star's leg, leaving him rolling on the floor and clutching his ankle.

Why Dias was not carded

Incredibly, Dias managed to escape a red card, with the centre referee booking him instead - much to the chagrin of Arsenal fans.

However, it seems the centre referee made the right call - at least going by Mark Clattenburg's observation.

According to the former Premier League referee, there was not enough force in Dias' challenge to warrant a red card.

"Yeah, what I think they did is they looked for a potential red card," Clattenburg said on BT Sport, per Sportbible.

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"Did [Dias] use any force in the challenge with the kick out to [White]? He didn't, it was more of a petulant kick and therefore the VAR was correct in identifying that was a yellow card offence."

Arteta: Arsenal can still win

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Mikel Arteta being optimistic Arsenal can still beat Man City to the Premier League crown this season.

The Gunners' title bid suffered another blow on April 26, after they were demolished at the Etihad Stadium by the reigning champions.

The defeat means Arsenal are now winless after their four most recent EPL outings, with three of these fixtures ending in draws.