Arsenal

Arsenal

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Arteta admits he has ‘run out of ideas’ to fix Arsenal flaw despite ‘extremely’ impressive aspect

Mikel Arteta shouting during an Arsenal match

Mikel Arteta admitted he has “run out of ideas” for how to stop Arsenal getting players sent off after witnessing another dismissal unlike any he has seen before in their win over Wolves.

Arsenal earned their first win of 2022 at the sixth attempt by beating Wolves 1-0. Gabriel Magalhaes scored the only goal of the game despite the opponents having more chances.

The main talking point from the game was another red card for an Arsenal player. Gabriel Martinelli got his marching orders for two yellow cards in the same passage of play.

First, he shoved Daniel Podence taking a throw-in, before bundling over Chiquinho from the advantage. He was booked for both and became the latest Arsenal player to be red carded.

Manager Arteta has been trying to solve the problem of discipline in recent weeks, and had to admit they made it difficult for themselves again. But he was proud of their resilience against a threatening Wolves side.

Arteta told BBC Sport: “We put ourselves in trouble with the red card and we had to dig in. Wolves threw seven players up front and it was difficult to maintain a clean sheet but we defended the box extremely well.

“We have to go game by game and there are small margins to win games. We have to keep improving. Our reality is the next game.”

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But he still has plenty to reflect on about the game that has just gone. Once again, issues of discipline are coming to light in more unusual circumstances than before.

On Martinelli’s red card, he added: “I’ve never seen that. I’ve been 18 years in this country and I’ve never seen something like it.

“We made it even more difficult for ourselves playing with 10 men. We suffered a lot in the last 10 minutes. I’ve never seen something like it.”

Arteta proud of Arsenal spirit despite flaw he can’t fix

Arteta has faced questions about Arsenal’s red-card record all too frequently recently. He knows it is an issue they have to stop, but is no longer sure how.

He continued: “To win football matches like that [with 10 men] is extremely difficult and we have to stop it.

“We’ve been talking about it. I have run out of ideas [about how to stop it], I think.”

But although he knows being at a numerical disadvantage is not helping them, they still managed to win against Wolves. As such, they have risen to fifth in the Premier League table.

A return to European football – and ideally the Champions League – is essential for the Gunners this season. The spirit they showed against Wolves was a positive for Arteta to take, which he now wants to see replicated in the remaining games (with a full complement of players on the pitch, too).

He concluded: “The character, how we dug in, the spirit we showed, I’m really proud of the boys. There was togetherness and unity.

“We need to play with 11 players in the last 16 games and that is key. To win games with 10 men is very unlikely.”

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