Arsenal were back in the spotlight for time-wasting against Brighton, so we’ve taken a look at the numbers to see which teams are doing it the most in the Premier League in 2024-25.
In the closing stages of the first half of Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday, Ethan Nwaneri was booked for time-wasting.
It was the ninth yellow card an Arsenal player has received for wasting time in their 20 Premier League games this season, which is at least two more than any other team.
Much has been made of Arsenal’s game management (or dark arts, depending on your allegiances) under Mikel Arteta. Arsenal have appeared willing to push the limits of the game’s rules in order to eat up time and slow games down when it suits them, and the numbers prove that they do.
Half of the Premier League’s teams have received no more than three yellows this season for wasting time. Six teams have picked up two or fewer. A reminder that Arsenal have nine.
Arsenal fans might claim foul play on the part of the officials here. Some teams might be targeted unfairly by the referees. The narrative around Arsenal’s dark arts could play into the thinking of the referees in charge of their games, making them more likely to dish out cards.
But Arsenal rank fourth for the average time they take to get the ball back into play following any restart – a corner, free-kick, throw-in, penalty, kick-off or goal kick – in the Premier League this season. They take an average of 30.7 seconds to get the ball back into play. Only Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Brentford (by 0.1 seconds) are slower to restart play.
Arsenal’s numbers do need some important context, though. No team has received more red cards in Premier League games this season than Arsenal (3), meaning they have spent longer periods than most trying to run down the clock with one man fewer on the pitch. This was particularly obvious when Arsenal were 2-1 up but a man down from the 45th minute onwards away to Manchester City back in September.
However, the data proves that Arsenal pick their moments to take their time over restarts. They do it when it suits them, and that is likely what leads to their yellow cards.
At Brighton on Saturday, there were 46 seconds between the ball going out of play for a corner and Nwaneri being booked.
You could understand him taking his time, given Arsenal were a goal up and moments away from the half-time whistle. They wanted to give Brighton as little chance as possible to get the ball down the other end of the pitch should they clear it.
But Nwaneri was warned by referee Anthony Taylor after 28 seconds and then proceeded to wait another 18 seconds before Taylor lost patience. They have now picked up more yellow cards for time-wasting in the first half of games this season (3) than any other Premier League team in 2024-25.
Arteta’s side taking their time over corners is nothing new. They have taken 47.9 seconds on average to take their corner-kicks this season, with no other team taking more than 38.1 seconds (Brentford second).
However, any cards they receive at corners have surely been worthwhile, given Arsenal have had so much success from set-pieces this season, scoring more goals from corners (9) than any other team in the Premier League.
They also rank second for the time they use up before taking a goal-kick (32.4 seconds), behind only Ipswich Town (36.3 seconds). Ipswich have received six cards for time-wasting this season.
However, after conceding a goal – when they might be in a rush to get the ball back into play – Arsenal are the third-quickest to restart matches with their own kick-off, taking an average of 68.8 seconds. Only Newcastle (67.3s) and Nottingham Forest (66.1s) are quicker. Clearly, there is thought to their slow corners and goal-kicks; the time they take might be part of the reason for their success.
Bournemouth are the Premier League’s second-worst culprits for yellow cards for time-wasting this season, ranking second to Arsenal with seven.
They also hold the record for the earliest yellow card for time-wasting in the top flight in 2024-25, with Justin Kluivert booked inside four minutes of the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.
They also have yellow cards for wasting time in wins over Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United, Southampton and Everton, perhaps showing that the tactic has been helpful for them. For Arsenal, only two of their nine cards for time-wasting have come in games they have gone on to win.
The average time Bournemouth take to restart play is the fourth-quickest in the Premier League this season, at 26.9 seconds, suggesting they waste time at opportune moments in big games when they are in the lead. Those yellows will all – aside from maybe the Kluivert one – have been worth taking.
Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Ipswich, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest rank joint third for cards received for time-wasting, with six apiece.
Forest are the slowest team to restart games, in part because they have had a few extreme games. They have secured one-goal wins over teams like Tottenham and Liverpool this season – at Liverpool they got two cards for time-wasting – and they also went down to 10 men when drawing 1-1 at Chelsea and 2-2 at Brighton. On each occasion, Forest slowed play down at every opportunity.
Plenty of other teams choose to almost never engage in the dark arts.
Much has been made of Ange Postecoglou’s refusal to change how his Tottenham team approach games depending on the score, but three teams have fewer cautions for time-wasting than them (two).
Liverpool and Southampton have received only one each, and Leicester City have not picked up a single yellow card for running down the clock illegally.
For relegation-battling Southampton and Leicester, this may not come as a surprise. Southampton have been leading for less time than any other team in the Premier League this season (201 minutes, 41 seconds), while only Saints and West Ham have been ahead for less time than Leicester (306 mins, 19 secs). They have had less opportunity than most to waste time.
But Liverpool have been in front more than everyone else (900 mins, 48 secs) and they have won six separate games by exactly one goal. And yet their only yellow card for time-wasting came six minutes into a win at Wolves when the game was still goalless.
One might call it admirable that Liverpool haven’t chosen to waste time in an obvious enough way to get caught for it.
Others might say it was naïve, and Arne Slot could – or perhaps should – be a little more canny. Time-wasting is the most frustrating thing in the world when a team is doing it against your team, but it can also be the difference between three points and one. With Arsenal trying to chase them down and having dropped points in three of their last six games, Liverpool might need to be a little smarter when managing games.
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