Arsenal have made a deliberate effort to improve their discipline this season, and it’s working wonders for the team so far.
John Cross reports for the Mirror that Arsenal’s turnaround in their disciplinary record this season is a deliberate effort, with Mikel Arteta also remaining calmer on the touchline.
The Gunners are certainly seeing the results of those efforts, receiving the joint-fewest yellow cards in the Premier League with 22. Only Newcastle United can match that.
Arsenal haven’t received any red cards either, whilst Newcastle have received two, so the Gunners are top of the Fair Play table for 2025/26. That’s in addition to being top of the actual table.
Manchester United and Nottingham Forest are the two closest teams to Arsenal in the Fair Play standings, with Newcastle’s two reds knocking them down to eighth.
United have 23 yellows and one indirect red card, whilst Forest have 26 yellows but no reds, putting both teams on 26 points to Arsenal’s 22. Chelsea are bottom of the table with 52 points, with Spurs close behind on 50.
Arsenal are also doing well with penalties, as one of just two Premier League teams not to have conceded one this season. The other, somewhat surprisingly, is Chelsea.
The Gunners have won three penalties at the other end, which is slightly above average, though well below Brentford’s seven.
All of those stats have combined to give Arsenal’s title challenge a helping hand.
The team have never had to play with 10 men, they’ve never had to face a penalty, they’ve taken a few of their own, and they’ve rarely had to deal with suspensions (only the one-game yellow-card ban for Riccardo Calafiori).
Given the club’s injury problems this season, things could have gone a lot worse with a few more red cards. Let’s hope the current trend continues.