New Declan Rice suspension risk explained as Arsenal face three-game worry ahead of Liverpool

The start to the Premier League season has certainly been both an entertaining and challenging one for Arsenal having come through a five-game run unbeaten despite away trips to Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City. Along the way they have suffered several injuries to key players such as Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino while also seeing multiple players sent off.

Arsenal were a side who managed to keep the bookings down last season receiving just 62, only Man City were branded fewer, 52. However this season they are joint-fourth on 15 yellows and the highest for red cards for the sending-off of Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice against City and Brighton respectively.

Trossard will return to availability for Arteta this weekend following the serving of his suspension in the midweek League Cup third-round win over Bolton Wanderers. Rice served his at Tottenham as the Gunners mercifully managed to hold onto their one-goal lead in the North London Derby.

The yellows against Brighton took Rice’s tally for the season up to three in total and then he received yet another yellow card last weekend at the Etihad Stadium. This caused concern for many who believed that this had put Rice on a dangerous footing because he sits just one yellow card away from a further suspension just six games in the new league campaign.

Players who received five yellow cards before the completion of game week 19 receive a one-match suspension as per Premier League rules. However, the reprieve for Arsenal is that because two of the yellow cards were received in the same game and incurred a red, these do not in fact count toward the total tally of yellow cards.

This means that Rice is currently considered to be on two yellow cards and not four. For him to miss the Liverpool game therefore, he does not need to worry about getting a booking in just one of the next three games against Leicester, Southampton and Bournemouth, he would need to be booked in all three were he to then be suspended for the visit of Arne Slot’s side.

READ MORE: Saka and Jesus moment, what Arteta did to Nwaneri - Three things spotted during Arsenal v Bolton

READ MORE: Arsenal receive unexpected triple title boost as dream Carabao Cup scenario emerges

This also means of course that Leandro Trossard remains on zero yellow cards because both the two he has picked up this season occurred during the game with City. Arsenal do however have many other players on two yellows just five games into the new league campaign.

Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber all have two, with the latter pair being key starters so far, they may need to be cautious across the next 14 games so as to not pick up three more which they would do should their current rate continue.