Where will the next card come from I wonder..
It appears now that the times are slowly changing, and we are slowly but surely being known as the club with a poor disciplinary record.
Despite beating Wolves 1-0 the other night, yet again we ended the game with 10 men.
Us Arsenal fans have now gone from wondering what sort of performance our players will be going to put out, to now thinking ‘where will the next red card come from’ and that if we end each game with 11 players we will be lucky.
In three out of the last four games, we have had three players sent off:
Liverpool 0-0 – Xhaka
Liverpool 1-0 loss – Partey
Burnley 0-0 – no player sent off
Wolves 1-0 win- Martinelli
I do not remember a time where a player would be sent off every game for at least three games in a row, maybe one game but not three. But if something isn’t done, then this could be a really worrying trend for our players.
We know they play with passion and fight but if they continue to get sent off week in week out, and make our chances of winning games an uphill task when it doesn’t need to be, then they will need to rein in some of that passionate mentality and fight or we will be left with no squad.
Yes, we have been calling for more fight and passion from our players and there is nothing wrong with it, but they need to work out ways of dealing with it without getting sent off, because this is getting ridiculous and no matter how much we can argue not all of our red cards should have been, the reality is, they were and the players have already been sent off, where more often than not the decision will not change.
It appears that our latest disciplinary record puts Arsenal in the frame to be an easier target for referees, well that is the excuse that could be given, but we already know some referees do not like us so why do we need to give them more ammunition to make games harder for us!
Arsene Wenger would not tolerate this sort of disciplinary record on the pitch from his players so why should Arteta.
And for a manger who seems to be all for punishing players when they act irresponsibly, more recently with what he did to Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, could it be fair to say that for those players who get sent off, punishment should be more serious where Arteta’s decision making is concerned?
Because maybe then, and only then, will it possibly change the style of play, mentality and attitude of some players, and may stop so many of them getting sent off for at times some stupid and reckless moments!
Shenel Osman
@sh3n3l_
WATCH – Mikel Arteta discusses the Wolves win and Arsenal’s red cards