Mikel Arteta's Arsenal could match an unwanted Premier League disciplinary record in Sunday's crunch clash with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners return to home turf on the back of an unsuccessful jaunt to the South Coast last weekend, where they lost William Saliba to an early red card in a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth, their first defeat of the season in any competition.
Saliba was initially booked for a last-man foul on Evanilson, but the Frenchman's punishment was upgraded to a red card after referee Rob Jones reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor.
The Frenchman's dismissal represented a third Premier League red card in just eight games for Arsenal, who have also seen Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard take the walk of shame in 2024-25.
Rice was already on a booking when he delayed the restart in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, before a yellow-carded Trossard did the same in the 2-2 stalemate with Manchester City last month.
Arsenal bidding to avoid equalling Liverpool record
© Imago
Should Arsenal's indiscipline rear its ugly head again and the Gunners go down to 10 men on Sunday, they will match the undesirable Premier League record of four red cards in the first nine games of a single season.
Liverpool are one of three teams in that exclusive club, having received four red cards in the opening nine games of a campaign twice before, including in the 2023-24 season under Jurgen Klopp.
Last year, the Reds had Alexis Mac Allister sent off against Bournemouth in gameweek two, Virgil van Dijk dismissed versus Newcastle United in gameweek three and both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota ejected against Tottenham Hotspur in gameweek seven.
Liverpool also suffered from a streak of misdemeanours in the early phase of the 1999-00 season, when Steven Gerrard, Frank Sinclair, Sander Westerveld and Steve Staunton were all red-carded in the space of three games.
The first club to have four red cards in the first nine gameweeks of a Premier League season were Leicester City in 1994-95, while Sunderland also suffered the same fate in 1996-97.
How can Arsenal replace Saliba for Liverpool clash?
© Imago
Maybe the question would be better framed as can Arsenal replace Saliba - the Gunners have only won 45% of the Premier League games that he has not been involved in compared to 74% with the imposing 23-year-old in the side.
Saliba's ban comes at a time when Jurrien Timber is on the road to recovery from a muscular problem, although Arteta insisted in his pre-game press conference that the Dutchman was pushing to make the cut.
Should Timber be passed fit, either he or Ben White could act as Gabriel Magalhaes's central defensive partner, although the Englishman could still occupy that role and Thomas Partey feature at right-back if Timber is ruled out.
Jakub Kiwior cannot be completely discounted either, but Arteta is unlikely to consider the Pole for the role of Saliba's deputy for two reasons, the first being that he and Gabriel are both left-footed.
Secondly, Kiwior endured a disastrous cameo at Bournemouth after being substituted on in the first half, giving away the Cherries' penalty for Justin Kluivert to tuck home before being withdrawn himself.
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