Mikel Arteta 'honest' as Arsenal boss explains way to fix discipline problem | OneFootball

Gunners saw third player sent off in eight games on Saturday

Mikel Arteta believes the best way for Arsenal to solve their discipline problem is by not talking about it.

Arsenal, in contrast, have won all five of the games when they have kept 11 men on the pitch and Arteta has admitted it’s an issue.

And asked how to address it, Arteta said: “The most effective way, I have to be very honest, is not talking about it.

“Because we tried and we showed and we talked and we repeated the message that we had to play with 11 and it happened again after a week or after three weeks and they said: ‘Guys, let’s try something else’.

“And then it disappeared. So I don’t know if it’s the right way or not but that’s what happened, that’s the reality.”

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice admitted Arsenal were naive and had to stop making “silly mistakes” after their red card against Bournemouth.

Marching orders: William Saliba was sent off for Arsenal against Bournemouth on Saturday

AP

“Well I think for example what happened in those three cases has nothing to do with aggression in my opinion,” said Arteta.

“But yeah, everybody has got his own opinion. We want to be super competitive when we are and we show that it’s great. When you show it and it doesn’t go your way and you lose, it’s something else, it’s part of the judgement.

“Well, I mean, playing with ten men, obviously there is an issue. The truth is when you analyse the three very different actions and the outcome of them, the reasons are very different. Regardless of that, we cannot continue to play with ten men, especially at this level.

“And you see how struggling, all the teams have to win football matches. When you want to do it against ten men for 65 minutes, the task becomes almost impossible. So, we need to eradicate that. It's clear why, the reason and how, it doesn't matter. We have to focus and it has to happen.”

Arsenal will be without Saliba for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool as he is now suspended, but Arteta believes it could motivate his side.

“It’s absolutely galvanised and they show their teeth and they fight against the situation and they get comfortable,” he said.

“They say, ‘OK, this is what we have to play, how we have to do it. We’re going to do it and we are happy with that’. But we understand as well the margins of being successful and earning the results that we want minimises and obviously we need to change that.

“I think the relentlessness and the attitude of the team is remarkable. I told them yesterday I was again two times more and after the way we played with ten men in those conditions, being the third time you have to go through that emotionally, coming back from the international again, it’s incredible.”