William Saliba is sent off against Bournemouth as Mikel Arteta gives instructions(Image: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta has no excuses if Arsenal fail in Premier League title quest

22 Oct 2024, 10:00 by Lee Wilmot · football.london

Much has been made of Arsenal's inability to keep 11 men on the pitch so far this season. Mikel Arteta may well argue that two of the three red cards his team have been shown this season were not deserved, but all were brandished within the letter of the law.

Arsenal suffered two red cards in reasonably quick succession earlier in the campaign for kicking the ball away and delaying the restart - Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard the recipients.

William Saliba became the third player to see red when he was sent from the field for denying a goalscoring opportunity against Bournemouth on Saturday evening. The Frenchman hauled down Evanilson just over the halfway line and while the Cherries frontman had a long way to go, he was clean through.

Three red cards is the most of any team in the Premier League so far this season, and Arsenal have had more dismissals than any other team since Arteta has been in charge of the Gunners. Quite a lot more.

There have been 18 red cards during Arteta's reign, according to research by SportsCasting - five more than next worst Everton and Wolves. It is an issue that the Spaniard really needs to solve, particularly as it is costing them in the Premier League title race.

On every occasion they have received a red card so far this season, the Gunners have dropped points. A 1-0 lead at Brighton became a 1-1 draw, a 2-1 lead at Manchester City became a 2-2 draw and a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth ended as a 2-0 defeat. That's five points lost.

Those five points would see them top of the table. But it is not just isolated to this season. While Arsenal did not drop any points due to red cards last year or the year before - they picked up no sendings off in 2022/23 - they have dropped plenty of points in previous seasons too.

The five points this season make it 17 points dropped in total since Arteta has been in charge due to red cards received. With Liverpool coming to the Emirates Stadium this weekend, it is a problem Arteta needs to solve quickly before the Gunners' Premier League title hopes go up in smoke.

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