Arsenal apparently have a discipline problem but, with the stats telling a very different picture, what’s really going on?
Gabriel Martinelli’s red card against Wolves on Thursday night was Arsenal’s fifth of the season prompting cries of despair about Arsenal’s discipline problems on the pitch.
Leaving aside the myriad problems with Martinelli’s red card, and the fact Sky Sports pondered if it was the strangest in Premier League history, five red cards is not good.
Something is up.
A side that gets five red cards, you’d think, would be one that is renowned for being aggressive and petulant.
You think of teams Stoke and Wolves and Leeds.
You don’t think of Arsenal, who have been derided for being far too soft for far too long.
A side that has a discipline problem so bad that it results in five red cards should also be quite high up on the foul count and yellow card tables, too. Right?
After all, it is a rare thing to just have players sent off without those other elements.
Remember when Michael Oliver didn't even give a free kick when Harry Kane took Gabriel out mid-air? https://t.co/WJFzhxiNWV
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) February 11, 2022
That’s when you start to suspect something is going on.
In terms of fouls committed, only Leicester have committed fewer than Arsenal.
That’s right, Arsenal sit at the bottom of the foul table, cushioned from last place by just one team.
That is not a sign of indiscipline.
Remember when Michael Oliver should have ruled out both Spurs goals against Arsenal but didn't https://t.co/M47IzYrq35
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) February 11, 2022
In fact, the team at the top of the table – Watford – have committed 42% more fouls than Arsenal yet have only four red cards (-25%) and just three more yellows than Arsenal (7%).
Remember Arsenal being spineless softies for over a decade yet still getting to 100 red cards before anyone else? https://t.co/PxkZQpO0kW
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) February 11, 2022
When it comes to yellow cards, only four teams have fewer cards than Arsenal – West Ham, Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester City).
That tells us that Arsenal don’t make that many fouls or pick up that many yellows.
Arsenal, on average, get a yellow card every five fouls which is about standard for the league. Liverpool, as usual, are an outlier, getting nearly eight fouls before they get a card.
Every time I look at these stats it’s the same for them.
One stat that might, somewhat, point away from refs and more to a problem at Arsenal is the number of tackles they have made where they have actually won the ball.
This is just off the top of my head. THIS season. No red cards, dodgey VAR calls. The agenda is real. pic.twitter.com/gTSMb6RjA0
— DAN ~ ROBOFISH (@R0bofish) February 12, 2022
That’s another table that sees Arsenal near the bottom, with only Burnley below them. You could, therefore, say that Arsenal aren’t that good at tackling and that’s the problem.
Arsenal and Burnley’s foul stats are actually quite similar (202 v 203 and 38 yellows v 40) but they are even worse at winning the ball in a tackle than Arsenal – 187 v Arsenal’s 204.
So, if that’s a factor, how come Burnley haven’t had a single red card all season?
Manchester City, who are the next worst at winning the ball in a tackle (209) have eight fewer yellows than Arsenal (despite five more fouls) and just one red.
Perf | Perf | Perf | Perf | Perf | Perf | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Squad | # Pl | 90s | CrdY | CrdR | 2CrdY | Fls ▼ |
Fld | TklW |
Watford | 29 | 22.0 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 288 | 210 | 236 |
Southampton | 25 | 23.0 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 277 | 220 | 247 |
Crystal Palace | 24 | 23.0 | 44 | 1 | 1 | 264 | 282 | 261 |
Leeds United | 28 | 22.0 | 61 | 1 | 0 | 253 | 210 | 253 |
Brentford | 26 | 24.0 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 250 | 240 | 264 |
Chelsea | 25 | 24.0 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 244 | 268 | 255 |
Manchester Utd | 25 | 23.0 | 47 | 2 | 1 | 241 | 198 | 219 |
Liverpool | 27 | 23.0 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 236 | 173 | 223 |
Newcastle Utd | 28 | 22.0 | 55 | 2 | 1 | 225 | 212 | 238 |
Aston Villa | 29 | 22.0 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 220 | 294 | 226 |
Norwich City | 26 | 23.0 | 41 | 1 | 1 | 219 | 279 | 247 |
Wolves | 21 | 22.0 | 39 | 1 | 1 | 219 | 199 | 271 |
Brighton | 24 | 22.0 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 218 | 188 | 267 |
Tottenham | 24 | 21.0 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 216 | 239 | 213 |
West Ham | 24 | 24.0 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 216 | 180 | 240 |
Everton | 31 | 21.0 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 207 | 217 | 258 |
Manchester City | 23 | 24.0 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 207 | 211 | 209 |
Burnley | 22 | 20.0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 203 | 164 | 187 |
Arsenal | 27 | 22.0 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 202 | 212 | 204 |
Leicester City | 24 | 21.0 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 184 | 231 | 236 |
Martinelli’s red aside, it is hard to argue with too many of the cards Arsenal players get.
That isn’t the problem.
What is an issue is how we watch, week after week, other players getting away with fouls that SHOULD be a booking or a sending off, fouls that Arsenal players are punished for harshly.
Remember when Fellaini grabbed Guendouzi by the hair and hauled him back and it wasn't even a yellow? https://t.co/M47IzYrq35 pic.twitter.com/M2OIt0oeyZ
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) February 11, 2022
Arsenal players rarely, if ever, seem to get the benefit of the doubt.
Can you imagine an Arsenal player stamping on an another’s face without it being a free-kick like happened at Everton when Tomiyasu’s face was used as a doormat?
This wasn't even a free kick https://t.co/EgU87PEzUM
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) February 11, 2022
You can’t imagine any other player seeing red in the way Martinelli did, that’s for sure.
For whatever reason, Arsenal are held to a far higher standard on the pitch.
We saw that in the game against Wolves itself when Michael Oliver declined to book a Wolves player for a worse SPA foul than the one he sent Martinelli off for.
The letter of the law! He had no choice! Except when he did, here. https://t.co/yPj5wNo8Es
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) February 11, 2022
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