By Bulldog Drummond
The end of last season saw Arsenal go through what was, by any measure, a very decent run of results in which we scored 21 goals in the last 11 games, those games running up to and including the cup final.
We scored in every game except the Aston Villa away match which came in between the FA Cup semi-final and the final itself, and so may be excused because of having the collective minds on the game after.
But of particular note is that just eight goals were conceded in that run of eleven, giving us eight victories, one draw and two defeats – the sort of run that generates the feeling among the players that the obvious result of each upcoming game is another victory.
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 25 Jun 2020 | Southampton v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 28 Jun 2020 | Sheffield United v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | FA Cup |
| 01 Jul 2020 | Arsenal v Norwich City | W | 4-0 | Premier League |
| 04 Jul 2020 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 07 Jul 2020 | Arsenal v Leicester City | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 12 Jul 2020 | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 15 Jul 2020 | Arsenal v Liverpool | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 18 Jul 2020 | Arsenal v Manchester City | W | 2-0 | FA Cup |
| 21 Jul 2020 | Aston Villa v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 26 Jul 2020 | Arsenal v Watford | W | 3-2 | Premier League |
| 01 Aug 2020 | Arsenal v Chelsea | W | 2-1 | FA Cup |
Then in the three games thus far this season the run has been continued with even the under 21s joining in with an away win in the FA Trophy against Ipswich.
| Date | Match | Result | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug 2020 | Arsenal v Liverpool | W | 1-1 (5-4) | FA Community Shield |
| 08 Sep 2020 | Ipswich Town v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Football League Trophy |
| 12 Sep 2020 | Fulham v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Premier League |
As for the games against West Ham, we do normally win these – we have had 68 wins, 39 draws and have lost just 35 times across the years in a sequence of matches that goes back to 1906, Curiously we only won six of the first 20 games against WHAM, and the series included the notorious 1925 FA Cup games over which allegations were made some 20 years later that the Arsenal team were drugged.
Indeed in the last 26 games West Ham have beaten Arsenal just twice, which must be one of our best runs against any other established Premier League team. Also worth noting that we have twice knocked in five goals against them in these games that stretch back to 2007.
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 29 Sep 2007 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 01 Jan 2008 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 26 Oct 2008 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 31 Jan 2009 | Arsenal v West Ham United | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 25 Oct 2009 | West Ham United v Arsenal | D | 2-2 | Premier League |
| 03 Jan 2010 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | FA Cup |
| 20 Mar 2010 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 30 Oct 2010 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 15 Jan 2011 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 06 Oct 2012 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 23 Jan 2013 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 5-1 | Premier League |
| 26 Dec 2013 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 15 Apr 2014 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 28 Dec 2014 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 14 Mar 2015 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 09 Aug 2015 | Arsenal v West Ham United | L | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 09 Apr 2016 | West Ham United v Arsenal | D | 3-3 | Premier League |
| 03 Dec 2016 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 1-5 | Premier League |
| 05 Apr 2017 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 13 Dec 2017 | West Ham United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 19 Dec 2017 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 1-0 | League Cup |
| 22 Apr 2018 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 4-1 | Premier League |
| 25 Aug 2018 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 12 Jan 2019 | West Ham United v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 09 Dec 2019 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 07 Mar 2020 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
Thus everything points to a solid home win – which is when of course the complacency can come in. But I don’t get the feeling our manager is the sort of man who will allow that to happen.
Arsenal do have a bit of a tradition of screwing up the first home game of the season, and West Ham have the advantage of the officials, who as we have seen, have started to give many more decisions in favour of the away team rather than the home team. But even so it looks like an Arsenal win.
