The table that proves Arsenal are the angels of the Premier League
Not only are Arsenal the best football team in the Premier League, they are also the best behaved…
The Gunners are on course to the win the title following a season in which they are yet to receive a red card.
Not only that, they are the only side not to have conceded a penalty which we are attributing to good ethics and discipline rather than whichever conspiracy you might point towards.
It is no coincidence that two of the three sides without a red card are those at the top of the Premier League table.
In an era when man-to-man contests carry more weight in the final outcome, managers are constantly preaching the need to keep 11 on the pitch.
Arsenal and City listen. Chelsea and Spurs, evidently, do not.
Here, based on one point for a caution, three points for a red card as a consequence of two yellows, and five points for a straight red, is the Premier League discipline table…
1) Arsenal – 49 pts
Yellow cards: 49
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 0
A huge turnaround for Arsenal, who received the most red cards last season and 12 more yellows than this season’s total. We doubt their last two matches – against relegated Burnley and a barely-bothered Crystal Palace – will prompt the Gunners to gather a dozen cautions. Though it should be mentioned that the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel said afterwards that Mikel Merino should have received a second yellow card in the 4-1 win over Villa.
=2) Liverpool – 59
Yellow cards: 54
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 1
If the draw with Chelsea is anything to go by, perhaps the reason Liverpool have the second-joint fewest yellow cards is because they no longer feel able or willing to press and harass opponents like they used to.
READ: Top 10 moments when joyless, buzzkill VAR got it wrong even when it got it right
=2) Aston Villa – 59
Yellow cards: 54
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 1
Villa have received two red cards in all competitions this season, both against Newcastle at Villa Park. Ezri Konsa was sent off in the Premier League meeting at Villa Park in August before Marco Bizot received his marching orders in the FA Cup.
4) Leeds United – 60
Yellow cards: 57
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 0
Dirty Leeds? Apparently not. Even the red card they received – for Gabriel Gudmundsson at Palace – was later shown to be wrongly awarded.
5) Manchester City – 63
Yellow cards: 63
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 0
No reds for City this season – they finished last term as the Premier League’s cleanest – but Bernardo Silva was lucky to escape a dismissal for lashing out against Brentford on Saturday.
6) Nottingham Forest – 63
Yellow cards: 58
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 1
Neco Williams’ dismissal against Palace in February was the first straight red card for handball by an outfielder in the Premier League since Chelsea’s Reece James in August 2021.
7) Brentford – 70
Yellow cards: 65
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 1
The red card received by the Bees was for Kevin Schade kicking out at Villa’s Matty Cash, but Nathan Collins was lucky not to be sent off against Manchester United in September when the officials thought a yellow was punishment enough. It was not.
8) Newcastle United – 70
Yellow cards: 58
Red cards for two yellows: 2
Straight red cards: 1
There was little argument against Anthony Gordon’s straight red for his lunge on Virgil van Dijk, but the second yellow for Jacob Ramsey for a supposed dive against Manchester United was harsh.
=9) Burnley – 71
Yellow cards: 58
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 2
Burnley have received half the number of red cards this season as they did in 258 games during seven years under Sean Dyche.
=9) Manchester United – 71
Yellow cards: 58
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 2
One of United’s two straight reds was because Lisandro Martinez picked an inappropriate time to play with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.
11) West Ham United – 75
Yellow cards: 75
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 2
Remember when Lucas Paqueta talked himself into a red card at home to Liverpool? That was… odd.
12) Crystal Palace – 76
Yellow cards: 68
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 1
Adam Wharton received the red for two yellows against Chelsea, while Maxence Lacroix was given a straight red for pulling back Matheus Cunha in the defeat at Old Trafford.
13) Fulham – 78
Yellow cards: 73
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 1
Fulham were close to making it through the season without a red card before Joachim Anderson’s mad lunge against Bournemouth on Saturday. Which brings a premature end to his season, so it’s not all bad news for the centre-back.
14) Everton – 83
Yellow cards: 65
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 3
Everton’s four dismissals this season sees them overtake Arsenal as the club with the most red cards ever (113) in the Premier League.
15) Brighton – 86
Yellow cards: 86
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 0
No reds for Brighton, but the second-highest number of yellows, suggesting the Seagulls know how to share their fouls.
16) Wolves – 87
Yellow cards: 87
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 2
The red for two yellows was later judged to have been incorrect because Ladislav Krejci should not have received his first caution for fouling Ismaila Sarr in the late defeat at Palace. But having received that yellow card, three minutes later, he kicked the ball away to get a second in a game Wolves missed a penalty and conceded a last-gasp winner. Which neatly sums up their season.
17) Bournemouth – 93
Yellow cards: 83
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 2
Those Bournemouth bad boys were bottom of this table last season with 111 points, and they have got down and dirty again this season.
18) Sunderland – 93
Yellow cards: 78
Red cards for two yellows: 0
Straight red cards: 3
Should Sunderland have received a fourth red card against Manchester United? Bruno Fernandes thought so after catching Nilson Angulo’s forearm in the face. That certainly looked more dangerous than Dan Ballard interfering with Tolu Arokodare’s hair.
19) Tottenham – 109
Yellow cards: 91
Red cards for two yellows: 1
Straight red cards: 3
Half of Spurs’ red cards came against Liverpool in December, when Xavi Simons was late on Virgil van Dijk and Cristian Romero woke up and decided to be Cristian Romero. Just as he did when Spurs went to Manchester United and the skipper took a lump out of Casemiro’s ankle.
20) Chelsea – 109
Yellow cards: 80
Red cards for two yellows: 3
Straight red cards: 4
There are countless indicators of the p*ss-poor attitude running through the Chelsea dressing room, but this is certainly one of the leading ones. Some of them were beyond brainless.