Arsenal received yet another red card under Mikel Arteta’s tenure as the Gunners’ manager on Thursday night.
Having just seen both Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka return from suspension, it was still somehow surprising that yet another sending off occurred in the 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux.
As is the regularity with which Arsenal gain red cards, it was hardly a shock to see Mikel Arteta asked about ensuring all the eleven players remain on the pitch in his pre-match press conference. Premonition much?
“We have to play with 11 players on the pitch. We need most of the players available and fit as much as possible. We need to maintain the togetherness. We have to keep improving our game model and we have to go game by game,” said Arteta ahead of the game with Wolves.
“To do that we have to be super focused, and we have to perform on the day and the rest will come because we are in the hands and the position where it's possible and we can achieve it but only if everybody has that mindset.
Yet as Arsenal were looking to close in on all three points at Molineux with a one-goal lead, Gabriel Martinelli, surprisingly, was sent off for two yellow card offences in the same phase of play.
From the outset, Arsenal's loss of control will be put on Martinelli's shoulders because of the sending off, however, a relatively composed Arsenal seemingly lost their head when Mikel Arteta decided to bring off their most composed individual.
The control of the game was relinquished by the substitution of Martin Odegaard way more than the red card. The Norwegian has become such a clear stalwart of the side that his influence on the team is most obvious when he is not present.
The 22-year-old is effectively the conductor of Arsenal’s tempo and when he was brought off, it showed in the drop in mental stability for the entire team, particularly Martinelli's.
Fans have questioned how top scorer Emile Smith-Rowe has been kept out of the side but Martinelli and Odegaard have given the manager little choice.
It is unsurprising that Odegaard possesses the Norway armband considering his maturity despite his young years. Perhaps next season Arteta needs to consider handing him the Arsenal captaincy? For now though a short-term fix must be found.
The solution is simple, and Mikel Arteta must act responsibly and rapidly to curtail the actions of his team. The coach needs to instil more discipline in the side and can even use Odegaard as an example.
So many players have been moved on and sold, but the problem continues to persist. The Spaniard cannot simply keep changing pieces until the issue subsides.
The 1-0 victory was nearly lost, and Wolves had plenty of opportunities to take the points away from the Gunners. With 16 games to try and achieve Champions League qualification, losing players to suspensions will not help and cost Arsenal everything.
Odegaard is the example and perhaps Arteta will think twice about removing his influence from the team for the sake of a like-for-like substitution.
Make sure you have subscribed to The Arsenal Way! The Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Arsenal content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews. You can follow Tom Canton from the TAW team to keep up to date with his work.
