Six games, two red cards; my fears. by Lagos Gooner
Okay guys, the game against Chelsea has been played and drawn. We went into the game with the belief of getting something out of the game and we did get a fair result; a draw against Chelsea with a man down was a very fair result if we are to be truthful to ourselves. However, in this article, I will like to talk about our disciplinary records, since Arteta took over.
We have played six games under Arteta and during that period, we have seen two red cards issued to two of our first team players; Aubameyang and David Luiz. These red cards were issued two games apart. I am not so comfortable with the two red cards, and that is why I am crying out.
In our past five games, I have noticed how our players mark their opponents; the close marking and reducing the space for the opposing player to do something tangible with the ball has helped the team in conceding less goals and lesser shots on target. The zeal and passion found in our players, especially when they fight to win the ball back, is quite commendable. The question however is; will the passion to win the ball at all cost not cost us more red cards in future games? Won’t it cost us losing more players in games where we may wish to finish the game with eleven players on the field of play? I feel that Arteta needs to work on that.
In the game against Palace, in as much I would give Auba a pat on the back for moving to win back the ball and avoiding a counter, I would also love to tell him that if he had failed in winning the ball back it won’t have been the end of the game. Palace probably may not have scored with that counter attacking move, and we would have still had a complete set of eleven players on the field for us. With eleven players we may well have won that game. Stepping on a player’s ankle and almost destroying his ankle is not such a good thing to do. Thanks for the show of passion Auba, but the show of passion cost us a man.
Against Chelsea, I don’t know if it was extreme passion or lack of passion that made Luiz challenge Tammy the way he did. I know Luiz is prone to making silly mistakes at times but making a silly mistake like that inside our penalty box was heartbreaking. From the way Luiz started the game against Chelsea, I was scared of him being sent off. Luiz needs to learn to be calm, cool and calculated in his defensive duties henceforth.
Mikel Arteta should please think of teaching our players how to mark or tackle a player without costing the team a red card. We need dedicated and passionate players on the field, not in the dressing room. We are Arsenal and we are proud.
Sylvester Kwentua