Christian Kabasele is available to maintain his ever-present record in the heart of the Watford defence in the Premier League at Arsenal tomorrow after his red card in the Carabao Cup penalty shootout defeat to Tottenham Hotspur was rescinded.

The Belgian international had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes as a substitute when he was sent off by Lee Mason after conceding a penalty when he was adjudged to have fouled Dele Alli in the 18-yard box.

The laws of the game state a player can only be dismissed for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity if he has made no attempt to play the ball; replays clearly showed the opposite was the case in this instance.

Head coach Javi Gracia said he couldn’t understand Mason’s decision for the dismissal and the Hornets lodged an appeal after the 4-2 spot-kick defeat.

Watford have stated that appeal was successful last night, meaning the Belgian international is available for selection at the Emirates Stadium.

The FA’s statement read: “Christian Kabasele’s one-match suspension has been withdrawn with immediate effect after his wrongful dismissal claim was upheld.

“The Watford player had been sent-off for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday [26/09/18].”