Arsenal were briefly down to 10 men against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday evening when Myles Lewis-Skelly was blocked from entering the field.
Riccardo Calafiori picked up an injury in the second half against Shakhtar with Mikel Arteta forced into a change.
The Arsenal boss turned to Lewis-Skelly, who has impressed at youth level for England.
But the left-back’s introduction was delayed when the fourth official stopped him from entering the pitch, despite Calafiori already walking off.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was told to take out his earring
AMAZON
The fourth official appeared to tell Lewis-Skelly to remove the earring in his left ear before going on.
Arteta looked as though he pleaded with the fourth official as another Arsenal coach joined in.
Lewis-Skelly appeared confused as he raised his arms before frantically trying to remove the piece of jewellery.
The referee blew his whistle for play to continue while Arsenal were down to 10 men with Shakhtar pushing for an equaliser.
Lewis-Skelly eventually entered the field 70 seconds after he was originally meant to as Shakhtar failed to take advantage of the extra man.
The 18-year-old was making his second Champions League appearance for Arsenal having previously been brought off the bench against Paris Saint-Germain.
He made his senior debut off the bench in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City last month.
That match saw Lewis-Skelly get involved in a heated altercation with Erling Haaland at the end of the match, something which came as no surprise to his manager.
The fourth official waved for play to continue
AMAZON
“He is a competitor,” Arteta said.
“You look at him, in every duel he goes, the way he reacts with his team-mates, you speak to him it’s constantly eye contact. He’s nudging, he’s asking questions, it’s a special character.
“He can play in three positions basically, as a left back, as a No 6, as a No 8, he’s very versatile. He adapts, from there he can occupy different spaces.
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Riccardo Calafiori might be an injury doubt for Arsenal’s game against Liverpool this weekend
PA
“He’s very adaptable, that’s the good thing about Myles – he’s very intelligent, very thorough.
“He has some unbelievable questions every time you ask him to do something, and he has the competitive edge which I think is demanded at this level. And he really wants it, so we are going to use him in different positions.”