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Arsenal are reaching the midway point of the season and are certainly not where they would have hoped to have been. This is even more the case when considering the drop-off seen by Manchester City, as they are currently six points behind leaders Liverpool having played a game more than their title rivals.
With two more games to go until the completion of matchday 19, this means that the league is of course just a couple of fixtures from the suspension threshold...Tap Here to Read the Full Story ▶▶
Premier League cautions reaching a tally of five before the twentieth match in the league incur a one-match ban for players.
Currently, there are five Arsenal players who are still at risk of reaching the five-yellow card mark. However, one of them, Bukayo Saka, who is on three is not in any danger as he will miss the forthcoming matches through injury after suffering a hamstring problem at Crystal Palace.
That leaves four players therefore who could indeed incur a ban. The player most vulnerable is Jurrien Timber who sits on four yellow cards for the season and must avoid being booked against either Ipswich Town at home or Brentford away.
With Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu out, it is vital the Dutch international avoids this caution as his absence would be very damaging. The next game after Brentford is a tricky away trip to Brighton that Timber would be very much needed for.
Declan Rice has already received five yellow cards this season but two of them came in the same game against the Seagulls at the Emirates earlier in the campaign. These were of course upgraded to a red card and do not count toward his yellow card tally.
Jorginho, despite being limited in his minutes compared to many of the others on this list is also on three yellow cards. He played the full ninety against Spurs earlier in the season and was booked just after half-time, while the other two came against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.
Lastly, the recently rejuvenated Gabriel Jesus was at one point on more bookings than goals scored. His five in his last two games has changed that thankfully but he too is on three yellow cards ahead of the midway point.
It would require these players to be booked in both the next two league matches for a suspension to occur which appears unlikely, thankfully for Arsenal. Yet it should be considered that there is another marker. Should players reach ten yellow cards before the completion of matchday 32, they would get a two-match ban and so must be mindful...Tap Here to Read the Full Story ▶▶
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