A disappointment, but there could be good news to come.

 

 

• 100 Years of Chapman at the Arsenal; latest episode
• Football clubs and the definition of madness

By Tony Attwood

Yesterday gave us a disappointment of a result, leaving Arsenal with five draws this season – something generally associated with lower-level clubs.  Indeed the only three clubs in the Premier League who have more draws than Arsenal are Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove and Ipswich Town – not generally the sort of clubs Arsenal seek to be associated with.   

Arsenal are also fifth in the table of goals scored but do have the second-best defence in the league, only Liverpool conceding fewer.

 

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	14	11	2	1	29	11	18	35
2	Chelsea	15	9	4	2	35	18	17	31
3	Arsenal	15	8	5	2	29	15	14	29

 

Of course the league table does show us that being a big club does not mean getting up near the top of the league as the positions of Tottenham Ho (11th), Newcastle U (12th) and MancU (13th) show, but really we don’t want Arsenal to be seeking that sort of compensation.

But then again of course we are at nothing like the level of 2020 and 2021 after 15 games…

 

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
3	Arsenal 2024	15	8	5	2	29	15	14	29
1	Arsenal 2023	15	11	3	1	33	14	19	36
1	Arsenal 2022	15	13	1	1	36	12	24	40
7	Arsenal 2021	15	7	2	6	18	22	-4	23
15	Arsenal 2020	15	5	2	8	15	19	-4	17

 

However Arsenal have sunk quite a way down from the diizzy/ heights of 2022, when aside from having 11 points more in 2022 Arsenal had scored seven more goals and conceded three fewer.

So of course we are not back down to the level of 2021 which saw Arsenal come fifth at the end of the season, but there is a  certain slipping back, which can to a degree be excused by injuries, but really should not be continuing.

But Arsenal does now have an opportunity to put things right for leaving aside this week’s Champions League match on Wednesday, which I’ll look forward to shortly, Arsenal have a forthcoming fixture list of Everton, Crystal Palace in the League Cup, Crystal Palace in the League, and Ipswich Town, and then Brentford on New Years Day.

Of course League positions can change by the time Arsenal face each of these teams, and the League can always offer unexpected results, but at the moment the league table suggests none of them should be a particular challenge for Arsenal.

 

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
3	Arsenal	15	8	5	2	29	15	14	29
15	Everton	14	3	5	6	14	21	-7	14
17	Crystal Palace	15	2	7	6	14	20	-6	13
18	Ipswich Town	15	1	6	8	14	27	-13	9

 

So it certainly should be a case that recovery from yesterday’s draw should not prove too difficult for Arsenal.  And of course, in between these games, we have not only the Champions League match this week but also the League Cup quarter-final at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday 18th.  That match, incidentally, will be live on Sky Sports in case you don’t have a ticket.   Kick off is at 7.30pm.

The other clubs left in the competition are Newcastle, Brentford, Southampton, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester U.

Meanwhile, a significant part of Arsenal’s problems this season have of course been injuries and it is interesting therefore to take a look at the number of injuries Arsenal have suffered this campaign as seen in  Physioroom’s Premier: Laguie Injury Table 

This shows Arsenal with a total of 24 injuries in 2024/25 – the highest of any club.  Tottenham are on 21, Manchester U on 19, Manchester City on 18, Chelsea 17, Newcastle and Liverpool on 14 each and at the bottom West Ham on 5.

One can only imagine what West Ham’s position in the league would be if they had an injury rate of even half of Arsenal’s, as opposed to just on one-fifth of the Arsenal level.

Of course some injuries are pure chance, but some are clearly the result of deliberate foul play, and when referees are seen not to be treating clubs equally that can certainly enhance the desire of the opposition to put in dangerous tackles when they know the chance of being carded or being sent off as a result is low.

But at least the current situation is one in which the number of missing players is coming down.  Physioroom’s report, for example, notes the Arsenal current injury level as just four players: Ben White (Knee), Calafiori (Knee), Gabriel (Knee) and Lewis-Skelly (Knock).   They give ManC’s list as six players and Tottenham Hotspur’s total as eight, and I suspect we will be hearing quite a lot about their injuries as a continuing excuse for their position in the league table.

Tottenham’s last five seasons have ended up with the club finishing in sixth, seventh, fourth, eighth and fifth.  And this does show a real contrast with Arsenal’s evolution noted above, of eighth, eighth, fifth, second, and second.

Arsenal’s current position is clearly disappointing, as was last night’s result, but it’s not all over yet by any means, and the next few matches could well see another leap forward.