Arsenal has a red card problem and it's hurting Mikel Arteta's team
On Wednesday, the EnglishFootball Association (FA) announced that they were looking into a yellow card received by an Arsenal player following reports of suspicious betting patterns.
(CNN)On Wednesday, the EnglishFootball Association (FA) announced that they were looking into a yellowish paper received by an Arsenal subordinate pursuing reports of suspicious betting patterns.
Yellow isn't the lone benignant of paper proving problematic for Arsenal astatine the moment.
Thomas Partey's reddish paper successful Thursday's Carabao Cup semifinal decision to Liverpool was the team's 14th since manager Mikel Arteta took complaint of the nine successful December 2019 -- six much than immoderate different squad successful the Premier League during the aforesaid period.
The discourse of Partey's dismissal made for adjacent grimmer reading.
The Ghanaian touched down successful London astatine lunchtime pursuing his country's shock aboriginal exit from the Africa Cup of Nations, allowing Arteta to sanction the midfielder connected the seat for a location second-leg necktie precise overmuch successful the equilibrium pursuing a gritty 0-0 gully successful the first-leg astatine Anfield.
It was a first-leg effect made much invaluable by the information that the Gunners had played astir of the crippled with 10 men, pursuing Granit Xhaka's consecutive reddish -- the 5th of his Arsenal vocation -- conscionable 24 minutes into the game.
Fast guardant to the Emirates connected Thursday and second-half substitute Partey was dismissed successful adjacent little clip -- taking conscionable 16 minutes to prime up 2 yellowish cards and beryllium sent disconnected successful the game's closing stages.
Granted, Diogo Jota's brace had rendered Partey's exit yet irrelevant to the wide effect -- Liverpool's harmless transition to a last gathering astatine Wembley against Chelsea looked assured agelong earlier the Ghanaian's dismissal -- but a 3rd reddish paper successful 4 matches is simply a glaring grounds of Arsenal's ill-discipline.
'We person to eradicate that completely'
It means that successful 2022, Arsenal person had 3 times arsenic galore reddish cards arsenic goals, and nary wins.
Arsenal's subject occupation is thing Arteta is keen to "eradicate completely."
"We person played the past 3 games with 10 men and against apical sides you can't bash that due to the fact that we are wholly exposed," the Spaniard told reporters.
"It's hard capable to bushed them, but with 10 men it becomes a existent situation and it's not what we request with the magnitude of players we person out, not to person him available.
"We person to eradicate that completely. We privation to beryllium competitive, we privation to beryllium winning matches and having a bully series of matches again, we person to enactment with 11 players."
Teenage angst
At 24.2 years, Arsenal person the youngest mean property of immoderate starting 11 successful the Premier League this season.
Following a dilatory start, Arteta's young broadside -- emboldened by the dazzling performances of academy graduates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe -- person enactment themselves firmly successful contention for a top-four presumption and a long-awaited instrumentality to the Champions League.
The past clip Arsenal played successful the Champions League was duing the 2016/2017 season.
Youthful exuberance has rejuvenated an Arsenal broadside and fanbase that had astatine times looked bereft of anticipation a fewer years ago, but determination is simply a corresponding statement to accidental that aforesaid inexperience is to blasted for the existent blight of reddish cards.
The dismissal of 24-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes during the chaotic clash against Manchester City connected Januaryr 1 was a cleanable encapsulation of this statement -- the defender booked doubly successful conscionable 3 minutes to enactment his squad successful the lurch aft a superb first-half showing against the Premier League champion.
Gabriel's exit near Arsenal clinging connected earlier Rodri's precocious victor for City.
On the flipside, astatine 28 and 29 respectively, Partey and Xhaka correspond 2 of Arsenal's astir experienced planetary pros, suggesting accountability for the team's spate of reddish cards falls upon some young and aged members of the team.
It's a work that Partey accepts, arsenic the Ghanian took to societal media connected Thursday to explicate his reddish paper against Liverpool.
"[I] Am liable for thing that happened and volition instrumentality each the critiques," Partey said.
"I should beryllium much intelligent not to get successful a situation already booked but this is my personality. I similar to combat for each ball.
"I emotion this nine and I emotion my state adjacent though things sometimes don't hap however I wanted, I would proceed to enactment harder to marque things right."
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