By Tony Atwood
Some headlines caught my attention this morning, perhaps most notably the one saying “Arteta frustrated and disappointed by Arsenal’s inability to see off Sunderland.” If the reflection had been otherwise, I would have worried about the reaction ahead of the next game, especially with it being a) 14 days away and b) at home against Tottenham (of whom it has been said).
Of course, we are not used to injury-time goals going against us, so it is frustrating and annoying, but on the other hand, we can still reflect that we are top of the league. Even if Manc win their match at 4.30pm against Liverpool, we will still be four points clear and quite possibly with a better goal difference. If Liverpool win we will be five points clear and certainly have a better goal difference than our nearest rivals.
So, as the disappointment of a draw conceded at the very end fades, the reality of the league table takes over, and it is something which at the start of the season I would have settled on, if offered it after 11 games. And besides, it is much better than one year ago and come to that, a bit better than two years ago.
| Date | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal now | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 26 |
| 4 | Arsenal one year ago | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 19 |
| 4 | Arsenal two years ago | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 24 |
Added to which, Arteta’s reaction that, “It’s disappointment and frustration, because we wanted the three points. We had to navigate through a tough game. We knew that,” was, I felt, just right.
And I do think that is good as we are not getting excuses – we are offered clear improvements for the future, as with the statement, “You have to rely on defending the box when they start to commit six, seven players there. It can be from a direct play, it can be from a throw, or it can be from any situation. We can defend the action better. And today we haven’t done it, we have conceded a goal.”
That is a good reaction, but I do think we should not lose sight of where we have got to. As another recent headline said, “12 shots in 12 hours: as Raya equalled Arsenal’s 122 year old record of not conceding. OK they now have to start again in that regard, but given the determination of this team, and the fact that results have been achieved with so many players injured, we can hope for further developments when they return after the forthcoming wholly unnecessary break in the action.
Of course, there is also a downside as we could well lose more players during international matches – one can only hope that some of them learn the lesson and decide not to play for their countries.
Arsenal, as of course we know, are top of the league. But I wondered how that achievement this season comparess with clubs at the top of the league after 11 games in other seasons. Here’s the result….
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | END |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal today | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 26 | |
| Liverpool 2024 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 28 | 1st |
| Manchester C 2023 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 8 | 20 | 27 | 1st |
| Arsenal 2022 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 28 | 2nd |
| Chelsea 2021 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 4 | 23 | 26 | 3rd |
| Tottenham Hots 2020 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 24 | 7th |
With 20 goals scored in 11 games, Arsenal have the lowest number of goals scored after 11 games of any of the teams that were top of the league at this point in the previous five years, and we can see the reason: our forwards are injured.
But with five goals conceded, Arsenal have the second best defence of any team at is point over the five years. Only Chelsea in 2021 did better.
Twice at this point the club at the top of the league has had a much better goal difference. Arsenal are on +15, while we can see totals of +23 and +20 at this point twice in recent years. But, goal difference by this stage is pretty much mid-range for this point in the season for the club at the top. Again, the return of the forwards will help.
But at this stage of the season the club at the top is usually doing a bit better than Arsenal are this season. Thus, we might be top of the league but we have done it with a less-than-expected number of points. If it had been achieved with the full forward line in place, that would be worrying, but with the forwards set to return, that leaves me hopeful.
So, looking back at the past, where did the club that was top of the league after 11 games end up at the end of the season? Somewhere between 1st and 7th is the answer – there is no guarantee that the good form of the first 11 games will be sustained, although it can be.
