Mikel Arteta makes huge Arsenal decision vs Shakhtar Donetsk to make Liverpool take notice

Mikel Arteta has seen his team receive more red cards than any other Premier League side since he arrived at the Emirates Stadium. It is a contentious issue that has reared its head again this season, with Arsenal already on three dismissals for the season in the league.

But Arsenal avoided picking one up in the Champions League on Tuesday night and it shows Arteta is very quickly learning his lesson. Arsenal have dropped five points this season due to red cards, and 17 in total since the Spaniard arrived at the club.

The five lost points this year would see them top the Premier League table. Arsenal have not suffered in the Champions League yet this year, but there might have been an instance had Arteta not acted quickly.

Leading 1-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, Ben White was something of a surprise substitution at half-time. The Englishman was hooked at the break, with Mikel Merino coming on and Thomas Partey dropping into right-back.

The reason? White's yellow card in the first half.

Arteta said afterwards: "Ben, it was my decision to take him out. He had a yellow card and we’ve played enough with 10 men in recent periods. They had a lot of density on that side, a lot of players on that side, so I didn’t want to take any chances there."

READ MORE: Why Gabriel Magalhaes shouted at Gabriel Jesus as Arsenal make statement vs Shakhtar Donetsk

READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Calafiori injury, Martinelli display and Arsenal tiredness

Can he continue to hook players on yellow cards that might be in danger of reds in the coming weeks and months? At some point he's going to have to trust his players not to get involved in anything while already cautioned and let them use their own in-game intelligence. Liverpool come to the Emirates Stadium this weekend and Arne Slot will certainly be looking at what Arteta did with a player on a yellow card.

The likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz - if he plays - will be licking their lips at the opportunity to run at Arsenal's potentially makeshift back-line and force yellow cards and then substitutions or reds. It will be a bit of a concern for Arteta.

But it is that in-game intelligence that he cannot do much about. Two of those red cards this season though were for kicking the ball away. Arteta described it as "passing the ball" but no matter how you look at it the rules are the rules and Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were guilty of breaking them.

Will you tell the players to stop doing it, he was asked after Trossard's sending off. Arteta flippantly responded: "Just leave the ball. Don't touch the ball. We will play without the ball."

But that is one thing Arteta cannot solve by himself. Discipline comes in many different forms. Arteta and his coaching team can coach the defensive side of the game, the clever fouls, the ways you will get into trouble with the referee and the ways you can get away with things.

What he cannot coach is telling his players to stop kicking the ball away and delaying restarts. That is a silly way to pick up a second yellow card and something Arsenal players have fallen foul of twice already this season.

That is all in the mind of the individual, much like losing your temper in the heat of the moment. A psychologist can work with the players on things like that, all Arteta can do is say "stop doing it". If they don't listen, what more can he do?

To be fair, Arsenal have not made any headlines for kicking the ball away since that Trossard red card against Manchester City. But if it does happen again, Arteta will be sure to get more questions on the subject.

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.