By Tony Attwood
Yes one year ago after 12 games played, Tottenham were top of the league. And just to prove that I am not making it all up, here is the table
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 25 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 18 | 9 | 25 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 24 |
| 4 | Southampton | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 23 |
Yes, just look at that top four including Tottenham, Leicester and Southampton, all sitting in the Champions League positions after 12 games in 2020.
No sign of Arsenal in the top four, for we were actually 15th and looking down not up. And just to prove it here is the whole of that league table after 12 games last season.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 25 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 18 | 9 | 25 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 24 |
| 4 | Southampton | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 23 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 22 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 20 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 20 |
| 8 | Everton | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 20 |
| 9 | Manchester United | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 20 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 20 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 18 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 17 |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 17 |
| 14 | Leeds United | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 22 | -5 | 14 |
| 15 | Arsenal | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 13 |
| 16 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 21 | -6 | 10 |
| 17 | Burnley | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 18 | -12 | 9 |
| 18 | Fulham | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 8 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 26 | -16 | 7 |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 21 | -16 | 1 |
Now as it happened after 12 games (for most clubs, some having played one more some one less,) we were five points above relegation, but that was never a worry and the three clubs at the bottom after 12 or 13 games were the three who went down. But, the gap above us was huge – we would have needed five points to overtake Newcastle at that stage!
But we did make something of a recovery, and almost caught Tottenham (as you will recall, from all their excitement at the time, the leaders after 12 games) by the end of the season. As it was we did overtake seven of the clubs above us. Here’s how it ended, in you have forgotten…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 38 | 27 | 5 | 6 | 83 | 32 | 51 | 86 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 73 | 44 | 29 | 74 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 68 | 42 | 26 | 69 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 58 | 36 | 22 | 67 |
| 5 | Leicester City | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 68 | 50 | 18 | 66 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 62 | 47 | 15 | 65 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 68 | 45 | 23 | 62 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 39 | 16 | 61 |
No sign of Southampton, who clearly got too excited by their new top four status. They sank to 15th.
So where we are now can’t really be taken as a guide to where we will be at the end of the season. Here’s the comparison chart taking in the last few seasons to compare with now, each showing the position after 12 matches…
| Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Arsenal 2021 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 20 |
| 15 | Arsenal 2020 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 13 |
| 6 | Arsenal 2019 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 17 |
| 5 | Arsenal 2018 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 15 | 11 | 24 |
| 6 | Arsenal 2017 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 22 |
| 4 | Arsenal 2016 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 25 |
| 2 | Arsenal 2015 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 26 |
| 8 | Arsenal 2014 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 17 |
We have 20 points after 12 games which is an improvement on the last two seasons, but we might care to look back to 2014/15 where we were three points further behind where we are now.
And because you might not believe me when I remind you of what happened in 2014/15, starting from that low base of 8th position and just 17 points, here’s the final table – the end of the season.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 38 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 73 | 32 | 41 | 87 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 83 | 38 | 45 | 79 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 71 | 36 | 35 | 75 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 62 | 37 | 25 | 70 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 58 | 53 | 5 | 64 |
Yep we rose from the depths of being eighth in the league and just having 17 points after 12 games, to come third, five points above the fourth is not a trophy slot and 11 points above the mighty Tottenham Hots.
So maybe all is not yet lost.
Get a proper website and stop living rent free inside spurs head.
Interesting though the season Arsenal finished 3rd they scored 71 goals, we’re nowhere near that likely outcome after 12 games this season. This season and the last fiour seasons our goals against have been similar but our goals scored over this and the last two seasons has been very poor, I would be surprised if we make top four because of this stat but as you say who knows.
Bbbb that is a most illuminative comment not least because it comes from a person who doesn’t even provide a real email address when asked to on the form. It is sadly typical of people who write this sort of stuff.
I would venture that there was a definitive creative midfielder in 2014/5 in the team starting (Ozil perhaps??) & that has a huge bearing on the rest of the season. As Mark above says, we’re not scoring at a rate of knots, so unless Artetta decides to buy another apart from Odegaard, I don’t see that improving over the rest of the season. It looks like he thinks Partey & Lokonga must do the creation, but it’s not going so well. Otherwise keep up the good play & beat Newcastle & Manure then we’ll be fine. Come On You Gunners!!
Bbbb
I really hope there’s more inside this Spurs head of yours than there is in their trophy room otherwise there isn’t going to much to see is there.
As such even ‘rent free’ seems a bit exorbitant.
Ps I thought my alias lacked imagination but having seen yours mine seems positively psychedelic.