By Tony Attwood
Frank’s small-club approach set club up for embarrassment, says the Telegraph, and well we might agree – indeed we have been thinking that for some time. Before the game the Mirror said, Thomas Frank can make himself an instant hit by derailing Arsenal
And the Sun? They did “Watch Spurs star Richarlison score ‘goal of the season’ from just inside Arsenal half as Neville calls it ‘inch perfect’
I kid you not. That is what the Sun is running! Back on Plaent Earth, however, we have “Eberechi Eze adds an ‘aura’ to Arsenal, says delighted Mikel Arteta who is further quoted as saying “When a player has such a talent, these things happen.” Well, yes.
Of course, that then makes my job somewhat harder since you will have already seen it all, and read all about it, but at least I can give you the league table as not all the media want to show Arsenal this far ahead… or the Tinies this far below…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 29 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 23 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 22 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 21 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 18 |
Of course, the constant need to put down Arsenal in the media has vanished for a day at least, although I suspect we will soon have the “anyone can win the league if they spend the amount of money Arsenal have spent in recent years (conveniently ignoring ManC).
Quite why it is Arsenal that gets this treatment is a matter of speculation – but what we can see is that it becomes a habit that each journalist copies from the others, and it is only slowly changed when a few fine wins and a position at the top of the table suggest it is all working. But it was noticeable that this last weekend, despite Arsenal’s prime position at the top of the table, there was a lot of doubt about Arsenal in the media. It was as if they all thought that Tottenham, a team that hadn’t won the league for 60 years or so, and was only just holding on to a Euorpa leagoue spot (now relinquished) could outwit Arsenal.
The reason for this goes back a very, very long way right back in fact to the days of Chapman, when he transformed a club that had just missed relegation in the season before he came into a club that could win the league. (100 seasons in the First Division is being published as a series on the Arsenal History site)
And not just Chapman but those managers who followed him, each taking the club up to higher levels than the media ever anticipated. And maybe that is what he problem is – the media are always caught out by Arsenal. That’s why they hate us so much.
Last summer, we had people writing to Untold saying that Arteta should be sacked because he didn’t have a winning mentality and had failed to win the league three times. Arsenal we were told had reached their level, which was good but not good enough. Manchester City, Liverpool… these clubs would never be overtaken by Arsenal because, well, because this was Arsenal. The League is won by teams in the north west, not by teams in London (although they hinted Tottenham might do it soon)..
Yet that story has been doing the rounds since Chapman’s day – the argument then being that footballers in London were too distracted by the bright lights of the West End and so wouldn’t train properly. No evidence was put forward to support this view of course, but it was the idea.
So it has gone on, and this morning’s league table is a real problem for the media, as they sink back into their favourite retreat of simply contradicting earlier statements on the basis that no one remembers what a journalist said yesterday (which is generally true).
But let us try and stay on planet earth for a while and consider Arsenal’s position now compared with other clubs in recent years after 12 games..
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal 2025 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 29 |
| 1 | Liverpool 2024 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 31 |
| 1 | Manchester C 2023 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 12 | 20 | 28 |
| 1 | Arsenal 2022 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 31 |
Yes after a dozen games Liverpool last season and Arsenal in 2022 were doing better than Arsenal this season, although the goals scored are identical, and Arsenal have let in two fewer.
And mention of Liverpool also reminds us of where they are now – we ought to be reminded since the media seem to have lost interest of late….
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 29 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 19 |
| 8 | AFC Bournemouth | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 19 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 18 |
| 10 | Manchester United | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 18 |
| 11 | Liverpool | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 18 |
So what does all this tell us? In terms of points, we are not doing as well as we were in 2022. In terms of goals scored, we are equal top with Erling Haaland. That in terms of defence, we are the best, and Tottenham have conceded more than double the number of goals Arsenal have. In terms of goal difference, Arsenal are four better than ManC….
So now it is Bayern next and then Chelsea away, which means the media will be full of the phrase “thick and fast” simply because they can’t think of anything else to say. Mind you, I often have the problem of not knowing what to say, but at least I can enjoy the games.
