Arsenal aren’t generally known as a club that constantly start brawls, fights and riots, but that just makes the occasions where things do kick off all the more memorable.
Arsenal players are generally more likely to come off the pitch with an injury than a red card, and the fans will more often leave the stadium early to catch the last train than to wait outside the away end for a fight. However, let’s have a look at five times when that wasn’t the case:
2League Cup final 2007
Encounters between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger were always lively, but there’s one particular clash which stands out when it comes to ill-discipline: The League Cup final in 2007.
With the scores level, the first major incident of physicality came about when John Terry was kicked in the face by Abou Diaby. Terry had to leave the pitch to seek medical attention, but as the kick was deemed unintentional, Diaby avoided punishment.
After Didier Drogba put Chelsea ahead, though, everything kicked off. A fight started between many Arsenal and Chelsea players, which saw Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor sent off for Arsenal, John Obi Mikel sent off for Chelsea, both teams fined £100,000, and Emmanuel Eboue retrospectively banned for three matches after punching Wayne Bridge.
Arsene Wenger was found guilty of improper conduct and charged £2,500 for comments about the Assistant Referee, and Cesc Fabregas was pretty lucky to escape any further action, among others. Fabregas and Frank Lampard picked up yellow cards for their roles in the fracas.
Click ‘Next’ for more Arsenal brawls, fights and riots