Arsenal Arteta Rice Lewis-Skelly
Keith Hackett
Mon 2 June 2025 17:30, UK
Arsenal can feel hard done by over their disciplinary record in the Premier League this season after statistics were revealed, says Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the Gunners have been “harshly” treated with some of the decisions against them during the season just gone.
Mikel Arteta‘s side were forced to settle for another year without silverware come the end of the campaign, finishing second to Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
While it was far from the only reason they fell short, there were certain games where Arsenal were undoubtedly not helped by decisions that went against them.
Keith Hackett
Keith Hackett has reacted to some interesting figures around Arsenal
Arsenal set red card high despite low foul tally
Early in the season, Declan Rice was shown a second yellow card for Arsenal after tapping the ball away in a clash with Brighton, a game where they would eventually be held to a draw.
A similar situation emerged when Leandro Trossard was sent off against Man City just a few weeks later, with the Gunners again dropping some costly points having led at the time of the red card.
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Meanwhile, there was also controversy around Michael Oliver’s sending off Myles Lewis-Skelly away at Wolves, a decision that was eventually overturned.
In total, Arsenal were given six red cards in the Premier League during the 2024/25 campaign, more than any other club in the division.
However, Arteta’s side also conceded 399 fouls during the season, which was only the 17th-most among club’s in English football’s top-flight.
Now, Hackett has stated that he feels those figures indicate Arsenal have been unlucky when it comes to refereeing decisions recently.
Arsenal Arteta
Keith Hackett admits Gunners sympathy
After being asked by Football Insider what he made of those figures around the North London club’s discipline this season, the former referee said:
“If you remember, I thought the Rice send off for the tapping of the ball slightly away was nonsense.
“I think sometimes what happens is that when an incident takes place, Arsenal players, probably motivated by the manager, surround the referee and in doing so put the referee under a bit a pressure.
“I think the outcome is that that may escalate. I think throughout the season there are a number of incidents where Arsenal have been treated fairly harshly.
“Certainly you look at some of the stats, the ones that you quote, I think that’s not a good look for the PGMOL.”
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