Martin Keown has been speaking to talkSPORT after Arsenal suffered a 2-0 loss in the Carabao Cup last night, and he’s shared one concern of his.
What’s the story?
Well, Keown is starting to become worried about the amount of red cards Arsenal are picking up under Arteta.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the 55-year-old said: “What is the problem with the players? That doesn’t reflect well on the manager. Arsenal are not good enough to win games with ten players. Mikel Arteta has to step in and get the right balance from the players.”
Keown makes an excellent point.
In some ways, it’s good to see that the aggression is there, although when mixed with stupidity, it can be a dangerous combination.
Amazingly, since Arteta replaced Unai Emery, the north Londoners have picked up 14 red cards, six more than any other Premier League side.
So far in 2022, Arsenal have actually received more dismissals than they’ve scored goals, which is worrying.
Mikel Arteta must address Arsenal problem
Arsenal haven’t exactly earned a reputation for being a thuggish, physical side under Arteta, which suggests the majority of these red cards have been down to foolishness.
In truth, they have. Thomas Partey somehow managed to pick up two yellow cards in the space of three minutes last night, which is poor.
Gabriel Magalhães managed to do the same in just two minutes against Manchester City recently, so there’s a concerning trend.
Clearly, the likes of Partey and Gabriel are not thinking, and it does reflect badly on Arteta.
Why hasn’t the Spaniard instilled more professionalism and street smarts into his side? That’s the question that should be asked.
It doesn’t matter how well Arteta gets Arsenal playing – if they fail to keep 11 players on the pitch this often, the Gunners are going to struggle.
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