Arsenal suspension uncertainty hands Mikel Arteta a selection headache progressing into Man United encounter
After Arsenal’s return to Premier League action, Albert Sambi Lokonga is still walking the disciplinary tightrope.
The Gunners, who were unbeaten in ten games across all competitions heading into the November international break, were brought back down to earth on Saturday evening with a loss to Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta’s team travelled to Anfield with the intention of ending a dismal run of results in this particular fixture, having lost the previous five in a row, but they returned to London with their unbeaten record no longer intact.
Goals from Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, and Takumi Minamino secured a 4-0 win for the Reds, and it could have been a lot worse for Arsenal if it hadn’t been for Aaron Ramsdale.
Having said that, there was some good news to be had from the Liverpool game.
The first is that there will be no new injuries as Ramsdale recovers from a collision with Jota, and the second is that there will be no yellow cards before the game against Newcastle United next Saturday.
The north London club does, however, have Lokonga as the one key player who is walking the suspension tightrope.
The FA confirmed at the start of the season that any player who accumulates five bookings before the cut-off point of 19 matches will face an automatic one-match ban.
Lokonga and the rest of Arteta’s Premier League squad have another seven gameweeks to avoid suspension after playing 12 games this season.
However, because Lokonga is the only Arsenal player with four yellow cards in the Premier League this season, the most recent of which he received against Watford, he has lost his safety net.
As a result, if he is booked against Newcastle United, he will be ineligible to play against Manchester United five days later.
As a result, Arteta must make a critical decision.
Does he start Lokonga against Newcastle, risking the Belgian international receiving another yellow card that will keep him out of the trip to Old Trafford?
With Thomas Partey back in action against Liverpool, Arteta’s midfield options are nearly full, so he could rest his £15 million summer signing to keep him fresh for Man United.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the next Arsenal player with the most yellow cards in the squad, with two.
Cedric Soares, Gabriel Magalhaes, Benjamin White, Nuno Tavares, and Martin Odegaard are among those on one yellow card, so they should be able to rest up for a few weeks.
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Arsenal suspension uncertainty hands Mikel Arteta a selection headache progressing into Man United encounter
