Arsenal are set for a hefty fine from the FA after Chelsea held them to a battle-hardened 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon. Moises Caicedo’s early red card threatened to derail a cagey-but-poised match, but the Blues found enough inspiration to extend their unbeaten run to seven games across all competitions, keeping the Gunners within six points of their reach in the Premier League table.
Referee Anthony Taylor was thrust into the centre stage for much of the opening exchanges, with a stop-start affair producing six bookings in the first half alone. A Trevoh Chalobah header from a corner shortly after the second half began proved to be both a taste of the Gunners’ own medicine and the spark they needed, as Mikel Merino soon found the equaliser.
In the end, that’s how the scoreline would stay for Mikel Arteta’s side, who - already feeling they could have taken more from the match given their numerical advantage - will blush even more once they’re hit with a fine for breaking a little-known rule.
Arsenal Face Hefty Fine Following 1-1 Draw with Chelsea
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Arsenal have been comparatively more disciplined when you consider last season’s antics, which saw the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly at the centre of more than one red-card incident as Arteta’s side were written off for being too emotional. Prior to their trip to Stamford Bridge, their tally of 12 bookings was the lowest of any club in the Premier League, but having picked up a further six over the weekend, they will now be fined £25,000 after surpassing the threshold for bookings in a singular match.
A Premier League team is fined £25,000 if they receive six or more yellow cards in a single match, as confirmed by Kieran Gill of the Daily Mail (see his post below). The fines increase with subsequent offences. For example, the second time a team collects six or more yellow cards results in a £50,000 fine, and a third instance triggers a £75,000 fine, with penalties escalating further for additional breaches of the limit.
Viktor Gyokeres was booked within minutes of coming off the bench to replace Eberechi Eze after he was late to a stray ball and connected with Robert Sanchez following a rebound. He joined Martin Zubimendi, Piero Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori, and Myles Lewis-Skelly in Taylor's book.
Stamford Bridge Affair Proved Difficult to Keep a Lid On for Referees
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Usually, referees use the initiative of letting the game flow in big matches, which often means turning a blind eye to reckless tackles and raising the usual threshold for a booking or free-kick. Taylor, however, seemed to struggle to keep a lid on tempers on Sunday afternoon.
He, very surprisingly, only gave Chelsea a single yellow card. But his decision to overturn one of those bookings and instead issue a red card to Caicedo - after a two-footed challenge was reviewed on the pitchside monitor - ultimately proved to be a key difference-maker, as Enzo Maresca’s side would almost certainly have tightened their grip on proceedings after a fast start, but were made to rue their rashness in the end.
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Six points separate the two sides at the top of the table, with Manchester City sandwiched between them - one point above Chelsea and five behind Arsenal. The Gunners are undoubtedly the favourites for their first title in a little more than two decades, but as the busy winter schedule rolls around, things may not stay predictable for long.