Arsenal continued their strong form with a 2-0 victory over Luton at the Emirates, in what was a comfortable win overall.
Mikel Arteta’s side secured a two-goal lead in the first half, with Martin Odegaard opening the scoring before an own goal from Daiki Hashioka meant there was no way back for Luton.
It was a far cry from the heavy 5-0 and 6-0 wins seen in recent months, but with Arteta making several changes ahead of a busy schedule, it was a comfortable, low-intensity performance with no injury issues following the three points.
Arsenal were disciplined and limited Luton to just one shot on target, and also came through the game with just one yellow card. However, Arteta was unhappy with this, as Kai Havertz was booked for an unnecessary dive nowhere near the Luton goal.
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Mikel Arteta calls for Kai Havertz to improve discipline
Speaking after the game, Arteta admitted that Havertz, who picked up his eighth yellow card of the season, needed to work on his discipline in this regard.
“Yeah, we have to be careful. Hopefully he doesn’t get booked anymore because with the 10th we know what happens,” he replied when asked about Havertz.
“I am surprised! That’s a different player. I don’t know, I will have to go back and look at those cards, but it’s something to improve.
“We don’t want our players to have that many and I think we are the best in the league on that. Something to improve.”
Should Arsenal worry about Kai Havertz suspension for yellow card accumulation?
Havertz has now picked up eight yellow cards in 29 Premier League appearances this season, as well as two in the Champions League and one in the Community Shield.
As per Premier League rules, players who accumulate 10 yellow cards in the first 32 games of the season will receive a two-match ban.
Havertz missed Arsenal’s defeat to West Ham in December after picking up a one-match suspension for picking up his fifth yellow of the season in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool.
If the German is cautious, then Arsenal will not have to worry about another suspension. If Havertz is booked against both Brighton and Aston Villa in the coming weeks, then he will miss two games, but after the Villa game, the slate is wiped clean with regard to suspensions.
This means that, if Havertz avoids a yellow against Brighton, he will not have to worry at all during the Villa game, but this should be a wake-up call that he needs to watch his discipline and cut out some aspects of his game which lead to yellow cards.