Arsenal are closing in on a Premier League feat nobody has achieved before

Arsenal are now just two matches away from greatness and three victories away from immortality. Beat Burnley on Monday and then Crystal Palace on the final day and Mikel Arteta will have delivered the club's first Premier League title in 22 years. After that, attention will turn to the small matter of a Champions League final against holders Paris Saint-Germain at the Puskás Aréna. If the Gunners do get over the line, could there be an under-the-radar, overlooked factor behind this?

Many are attributing Arsenal's success this season to their defensive record, set-piece proficiency and improved squad depth, all of which are undeniably key reasons. However, improved discipline is also a factor worth highlighting. With just two matches remaining, Arsenal are yet to have a red card in the Premier League this season, nor have they given away a single penalty.

This is a vast improvement on previous seasons under Mikel Arteta, especially the most-recent campaign.

Arsenal red cards and penalties conceded per season under Mikel Arteta

Note: Statistics courtesy of FBref - *joined mid-way through this season.

In four of the previous six seasons, Arsenal had collected at least four league red cards, picking up as many a six last time round, which severely damaged their title aspirations. Meantime, they gave away 28 penalties across those six campaigns, an average of almost five a year, but zero thus far in this title push. So, how rare is it for a team to end a Premier League season with zero on both counts? Well, spoiler alert, the answer is extremely.

PL clubs with 0 red cards and 0 penalties conceded in a season

Note: Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

No, that is not an incomplete table. This is the 34th season of the Premier League, since the competition was formed in 1992, and never before has a team gone through an entire campaign without picking up a single red card and not conceding a single penalty.

Many have come close throughout history, most recently Liverpool in 2021/22, giving away no spot-kicks, but their unblemished record was ruined by Andy Robertson's red card at Tottenham during a 2-2 draw.

This is obviously a huge credit to Arteta and his players, including the key defensive trio of David Raya, Gabriel and William Saliba. The Spaniard has collected a third successive Premier League golden glove, while also conceding only four goals in 13 Champions League appearances to date.

As already noted, indiscipline was a real issue for Arsenal not so long ago. Last season, Premier League points were dropped in matches after Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard, Saliba, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Mikel Merino were all given their marching order. This time though, they boast a completely clean slate, and might just end up with the two biggest trophies on offer to show for their efforts.

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