By Tony Attwood
After five straight wins the first defeat is bound to bring some nervousness among the fans if not the players – and certainly there didn’t seem to be any sign of uncertainty among the players at all. It was as if they knew they were vastly superior to everyone else and that result against Manchester United was the merest of blips.
And certainly that is the truth that the league table shows in the immediate aftermath of the match… Others can play their games in hand but none will catch us. And what’s more those three goals did our goal difference no harm at all.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 18 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 6 | 17 | 17 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 17 |
| 4 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 13 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
| 6 | Fulham | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 10 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
So for the moment at least Arsenal are the third top scoring team in the league, have the fifth best defence, and the third best goal difference – before the playing of the other Premier League games today. And most certainly no one is going to overtake us at the top of the league until the next round of games.
The only worrying thing is that Arsenal are still the most fouled club in the Premier League – and that is going to increase our injury figures if it continues for much longer.
But most of all the contrast with a year ago is astounding – and not just for Arsenal but for other teams as well.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 16 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 15 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 14 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 5 | Everton | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 14 |
| 6 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 14 |
| 7 | Brentford | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 12 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 11 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 10 |
For while Arsenal have risen up, other clubs such as West Ham, Aston Villa and Everton have all slipped backward. We are indeed moving in the right direction.
And perhaps best of all – it is all being done with the youngest team in the league.
It amuses me that Liverpool scored nine in one game and have still scored fewer and have a worse goal difference than us 🙂
There were so so many things for any reasonable Arsenal fan to take from yesterday’s game but for me winning of course and especially keeping another clean sheet do it for me, for us to compete at the top you need a competitive defence and we currently have the best I’ve seen in 18 years.
WOO HOO , HOO ! And forward we march ! Well done the lads ; 3 points away from home , a clean sheet , and the inclusion of more youth !
Are we already in Arsenal heaven ?
Too early ?
We were quite good in dealing with them , while putting them to the sword . That too after MA winning the Manager of the Month . Possibly one of the most poisoned of chalices !
Up the Gunners !
From the Express
“Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is perilously close to being suspended ahead of a crucial run of fixtures for Mikel Arteta’s side. The Gunners face north London rivals Tottenham next and the Brazilian striker will have to be on his best behaviour to avoid a ban.
In just seven Premier League appearances, Jesus has already picked up four yellow cards in an Arsenal shirt. Only five other players in the topflight have collected the same number of bookings,….
It is not until each respective club’s 19th league match of the season that the threshold to receive a ban is lifted from five cards to 10. Therefore, Jesus will be hoping not to receive a yellow in any of Arsenal’s next 12 league matches, which won’t be until early 2023 at least following two postponements”.
Looking at those figures it looks inevitable that at some point between now and the turn of the year we are going to lose our new striker for at least one match. But that’s not all, at this rate he could be on TEN bookings before the threshold and be out for even longer.
Is he really that dirty? .
For a bit of perspective:
In 7 games Jesus has been penalised with 14 fouls for 4 yellows
In 7 games Harry Kane has been penalised with just 6 fouls for 2 yellows
Given the new leniency directive referees are now supposed to be working to, the amount of fouls Jesus gets called for is ridiculous, especially when compared to Kane for example. Nothing to do with the fact he plays for Spurs and England I suppose??
In 7 games Jesus has committed 14 fouls for 4 yellow cards, a card every 3.5 fouls.
In 7 games Arsenal have been fouled 91 times for 13 yellow cards, a card every 7 fouls.
Now I’m not saying both bookings were or were not valid. They are subjective calls and can go either way, but what I will say is I saw much worse fouls in the match committed by Brentford players that did not receive a yellow. I see similar transgressions to both those cards waved away regularly throughout the season. It was Jesus’ first foul.
So yes, they both could well of been yellows, but it does seem to me that the rules are being applied to Jesus in a much harsher manner, than to our opponents for example. Twice as harshly in fact.
@Nitram,
I fully agree. The fouls/yellows stats yesterday were crazy, or rather they showed how Arsenal are being mistreated. Then, if Jesus has a ban, well Eddie will be on hand and he has shown he’s good as well.
But still, this all stinks, as it has for 2 decades or so.
Also, Jesus is repeatedly fouled by opponents, with out any intervention by referees. Typically he gets a yellow card for the first hint of retaliation
Chris
I’ve done some more stats on in the next article showing how he was treated at Man City compared to his start at Arsenal.
John L
I thought that and tried to find the stats showing fouls on him to cards but as yet I haven’t managed to find them.
Nitram et al
It’s smple
Contact by Arsenal – foul/card.
Contact by opponent – nil/nil.
To my point, as noted by Nitram, Jesus was carded for his first foul!
Brentford were clattering the Arsenal players anytime they could get close enough, for 2 yellows. Fortunately they couldn’t get close as often as they would have liked. The starting outfield players may be fastest group we’ve seen in some time. Luckily.