Mikel Arteta is not looking to put more attention than he feels is necessary on Arsenal’s red card record since he took charge.
William Saliba’s dismissal against Bournemouth on Saturday was Arsenal’s 18th red card in the period since December 26, 2019.
It is a tally at least five more than the next highest in the Premier League in that time (Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton have 13).
“The most effective way (to address the sending offs), I have to be very honest, is not talking about it,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference for Shakhtar Donetsk.
“Because we tried and we showed and we talked and we repeated the message that we had to play with 11 and it happened again after a week or after three weeks and they said, ‘guys, let’s try something else’. And then it disappeared. So I don’t know if it’s the right way or not but that’s what happened, that’s the reality.”
Saliba’s red card, which Arsenal will not appeal, was the north London side’s third in eight games this season after Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were sent off against Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City respectively.
That has already beaten their tally from last season (two) after Takehiro Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira saw red against Crystal Palace and Burnley. The most they have amassed in a single season Arteta was five in the 2020-21 season, while they did not receive a red card in the 2022-23 season.
As well as insisting these frequent dismissals need to be “eradicated”, the Arsenal manager spoke about the nature of them making a solution less clear than other issues.
“They are all different ones,” Arteta added. “We’ve also had two different periods where we had a lot and then not any. Now, we have had three in a row.
“We have had red cards for taking a throw-in (Tomiyasu). You can have red cards from making a really bad tackle (Vieira) or the last man makes a mistake and it’s a penalty.
“What we have had is a lot but I don’t know what is little in five years. But it’s something that we have to avoid, that’s for sure.”
Compared to going down to 10 men away to Manchester City, Arsenal’s approach against Bournemouth was more open and led to a chance that could have won them the game at 0-0.
Gabriel Martinelli missed the opportunity and Bournemouth opened the scoring minutes later, but on his players’ reaction, Arteta said: “It absolutely galvanised and they show their teeth and they fight against the situation and they get comfortable.
“They say, ‘OK, this is what we have to play, how we have to do it. We’re going to do it and we are happy with that’.
“But we understand as well the margins of being successful and earning the results that we want minimises and obviously we need to change that.”
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
