Arsenal face worst record in Prem history

THE odds are already stacked against Arsenal to lift the Premier League title this season — owing to their disciplinary record.

The Gunners crashed to a 2-0 away defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday, with the game-changing moment coming in the 30th minute as William Saliba was shown a straight red via VARintervention.

That is now three red cards in eight Prem outings this term after Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard’s dismissals against Brighton in August and Manchester City in September respectively.

It was the 18th red card Arsenal have been shown in the Prem since Mikel Arteta took over on December 26, 2019 — six more than any other side.

Should they pick up another this term, it will be Arsenal’s 108th red card in the Prem era —a joint-record alongside Everton.

And it may well spell the end for their hopes of knocking Manchester City off their perch and claiming a first English league title crown since the Invincibles of 2004.

On this occasion, the numbers do not lie.It must be said that it is very rare for a Prem team to go through an entire league season without having a player sent off.

Only three sides have managed that Manchester United in 1992/93 and Chelsea in 2004/05 and 2016/17.

But the correlation between the number of red cards and chances of finishing on top of the pile are clear for all to see, especially in recent times.

Of the 32 campaigns in the Prem era, 17 league winners have managed to avoid picking up three reds or more.

Up until the 2011/12 season, of the 20 league winners, 13 of them were shown three or more red cards.

The most was six in 2001/02, from Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, who needed a late charge with 13 straight wins to snatch the title away from Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man United.

In Arsenal’s three Prem titles since 1992/93, they have received three red cards or more, and only once have they won the league with more than three, in 2002.

But since 2012/13, only two teams have picked up three or more red cards and went on to be victorious: Chelsea’s four dismissals in 2014/15 and Leicester who saw three in 2015/16.

Between 2016 and 2024, no winner has picked up more than two.

In their six title-winning campaigns over the last seven years, Pep’s City have earned just nine red cards.

Their only blip came in 2019/20 when they picked up four reds while losing out to Liverpool, who received just one. In the modern era of Premier League footballthen, good discipline usually leads to glory — something Arteta needs to defy in the remaining 30 league games this season.  — Sun

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