Arsenal: thank goodness there are no fans on the board

By Tony Attwood

In the last article I noted the “last six matches” table which shows that taking just the last six league games into account for all the clubs in the Premier League we are second only to Liverpool, and (if I may stress this) ABOVE MANCHESTER CITY ON GOAL DIFFERENCE.

Now I capitalise that little fact, because throughout recent months the media has been telling us that

a) we need new defenders (apparently we are going to sign a new full back in the summer window)

b) we need new attackers immediately (apparently we were desperately trying to buy several all the way through the January window and only the slowness and ineptitude of Edu meant we didn’t).

c) we should never have let Aubameyang go, for Lacazette and Eddie just aren’t up to it.

In reply, those of us who actually go and watch Arsenal, know well enough that we can and do score goals all the time.  That’s why the “Saka and Emile Smith Rowe” song is sung so widely around the ground.

But of course, even though the media has widely changed its tune since it has become so far removed from reality, and even committed readers are now laughing at what they are saying, the point still needs to be made – hence the last six table in the last article.

However, less the view is taken that I am merely chosing the “last six” because it shows Arsenal in a good light, let’s go a little further.  Here is the last ten games and this time I’ll give a home and away breakdown.

				H	O	M	E			A	W	A	Y
	Team	P		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		GD	Pts
1	Manch C	10		4	0	1	18	6		4	1	0	12	2		22	25
2	Liverpool	10		5	0	0	12	2		2	2	1	8	6		12	23
3	Arsenal	10		3	1	1	8	3		3	0	2	13	6		12	19
4	Manch U	10		3	1	1	7	3		2	3	0	8	5		7	19
5	Chelsea	10		2	3	0	9	6		2	2	1	5	3		5	17
6	Tot Hots	10		2	1	2	10	7		3	1	1	8	7		4	17

Thus this suggests that this is not a flash in the pan, as it were, but that consistently over the last ten games Arsenal are the third best team in the league, achieving more than top four favourites, Chelsea.

But of course contrary to this the nay-sayers can point out that Arsenal are still just sixth in the league, and the actual league table is the only thing that really counts.  Except that not only are we doing rather well at the moment but that we also have two or three games in hand over those above us.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Manchester City	26	20	3	3	63	17	46	63
2	Liverpool	25	17	6	2	64	20	44	57
3	Chelsea	25	14	8	3	49	18	31	50
4	Manchester United	25	12	7	6	40	32	8	43
5	West Ham United	26	12	6	8	45	34	11	42
6	Arsenal	23	13	3	7	36	26	10	42

It doesn’t take much to realise that a draw in one of our two games in hand over Manchester United (and three in hand over West Ham) will give us 43 points and a better goal difference, thus putting us in the “not a trophy” position of fourth.  It would also put us within touching distance of Chelsea, although their goal difference is so much better than ours, that gives them effectively one more point.

And if we look back to the league table at the top of this page we see that Manchester United and Arsenal are running pretty much neck and neck at the moment.  Although as the earlier piece today showed we are just edging it over the last six games.

So overall, not a time to get too carried away, but a time to be fairly satisfied with the fact that Mr Arteta has ignored the raging turnips (if turnips can rage) writing in the blogs and newspapers, who have been calling day after day, week after week and month after month for a complete overhaul of the Arsenal squad.

But I do want to add one more of the league tables based on a set number of games.   As we all know, and as the media revelled in, Arsenal had poor start to the season, losing their first three league games.  It was something the media loved because it gave them the easiest of headlines, both at the end of last season and the start of this.  Headlines such as