You always need to have some players with a bit of an edge in your team, but you’re always going to struggle if you pick up an astronomical amount of red cards.
Arsenal have David Luiz who could be considered as a walking red card so that does put them at an immediate disadvantage ,but this stat suggests that Mikel Arteta has a real problem that he needs to sort out:
9 – Since Mikel Arteta’s first game in charge of Arsenal on Boxing Day 2019, the Gunners have been shown nine Premier League red cards, six more than any other side. Freefall. pic.twitter.com/MHMtEUiDsX
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 2, 2021
They lost at Wolves tonight after a couple of red cards, although the decision to send of David Luiz does look a bit harsh as it doesn’t look like he’s trying to bring the player down.
Bernd Leno’s decision to handle the ball and essentially end any hope of getting back into the game was simply down to a lack of discipline when it comes to decision making on the pitch, so it’s not like Arsenal have an aggression problem that Arteta needs to deal with.
MORE: Video: Arsenal their own worst enemy again as Bernd Leno handles the ball outside the box and sees red card against Wolves
That’s now four games this season where they’ve had at least one red card and they haven’t won a single one of those games, so it’s something that needs to be fixed if they want to climb the table in the second half of the season.
Luiz red card was just planned by the referee