Mikel Arteta said it was “an accident waiting to happen” – but just how costly could Arsenal’s red card problem be to the Gunners’ title hopes?
Just eight games into the new Premier League season and already Arsenal have had three players sent off.
William Saliba was the latest to be shown red after he was dismissed for the first time in his career in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Bournemouth, which ended Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the campaign.
It follows red cards for Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard earlier in the campaign and each time Arsenal have gone down to 10 men they have dropped points.
When asked on Match of the Day whether Arsenal have a disciplinary problem after Saturday’s loss, former England striker Alan Shearer said “it has to change”.
He added: “Quite clearly they’re not going to get enough points if it doesn’t – you’ve seen the games it’s happened already this season, with the two draws and this defeat.
“It can’t continue.”
indeed, they were left with an “impossible task” following Saliba’s 30th-minute dismissal, according to Arteta, but might the Gunners’ disciplinary record also prove fateful to their grander aspirations?
‘There are things we have discussed’
In the short term, Arsenal’s latest dismissal is a blow because Saliba will miss the home game against current Premier League leaders Liverpool on 27 October.
The Gunners are currently one point behind the Reds in the table, but should Arne Slot’s side win against Chelsea on Sunday and then beat Arsenal, they would move seven clear of Arteta’s side.
Champions Manchester City could also move clear of Arsenal – their closest rivals in the past two seasons – with victories over winless clubs Wolves and Southampton in their next two.
“Playing for 65 minutes with 10 men at this level is an impossible task. It’s an accident waiting to happen not to get the points,” said Arteta.
On his side’s disciplinary issues, the Spaniard added: “There are things that we’ve discussed in relation to certain topics. Certainly we need to play with 11 if we want to be in the position we want to be.
“I thought what we did with 10 men was quite remarkable.”
Like the red cards shown this season to Trossard against Manchester City and Rice at Brighton for delaying the restart, Saliba’s sending-off was an avoidable one, with Trossard’s awkward pass creating a situation from which his team-mate could not recover.
Midfielder Rice said he was “proud” of his team-mates for the fight they showed but rued the “naivety” which ultimately cost them.
“We’ve kicked ourselves in the foot three times in eight games,” he said.
“We can’t make silly mistakes. You need all your best players on the pitch at all times. The belief is so high and we will stick together.”
How does their red card record compare to past title winners?
The concerning news for Arsenal is that collecting too many red cards does not bode well to a side’s chances of winning the title.
Manchester City have won the Premier League in each of the last four seasons and they have never had more than two red cards in any of those campaigns.
Indeed, the last time they had more – four in 2019-20 – was when Liverpool won the title instead.
You would have to go back to 2015-16 – when Leicester claimed that fairytale win – to find the last time a side won the Premier League with as many red cards as Arsenal have now.
However, the Foxes were shown their three red cards across that entire season.
Arsenal are already counting the cost, having dropped a total of seven points following those incidents – without which they could have made a perfect start as they seek a first league title for more than 20 years.
It is the first time since 2011-12 that Arsenal have had as many as three players sent off in the opening eight matches of a Premier League season.
Red cards didn’t stop Wenger’s Arsenal
Players getting sent off has been an issue during Arteta’s time at Emirates Stadium.
Since he took charge on Boxing Day 2019, the Gunners have been shown 18 red cards in the Premier League, which is at least five more than any other side during that time.
It is an issue he has spoken about before. In January 2022, after three red cards in four games that month, Arteta said: “We played [the] last three games with ten men. When you do that it’s difficult to win matches.”
However, a poor disciplinary record did not hold back Arsenal when they were managed by club legend Arsene Wenger.
The Frenchman won the Premier League three times with the Gunners and on all three occasions his side picked up at least three red cards. In 2001-02 they even won the title despite six dismissals in that campaign.
A total of 78 red cards were shown in 828 Premier League games under Wenger.
