- Exactly how did Arsenal beat Liverpool in the League after losing in the FA Cup?
- How an ex-Arsenal player is scoring more goals now, and why it doesn’t matter
- And on the Arsenal history society site: The 1970s: Arsenal’s sixth consecutive defeat, only 19,000 in the ground.
By Tony Attwood
The question last night
In the final post of yesterday (An end of the day Arsenal quiz: there’s just one question) we posed a little question: Which clubs have scored more goals against Arsenal, than Arsenal have scored against them, in the Premier League? And the “in the Premier League” bit is key – so I am not including FA Cup games nor games played in the old Football League Division One days and the like.
Three of us took part at this end, and our guesses were that the only contenders could be Mancheseter United, Liverpool and Chelsea, on the grounds that they had been in the PL all the way through and had won it quite a few times
In the end the results showed Arsenal’s overall record against each of their Premier League opponents.
| Opposition | P | W | D | L | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 64 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 81 | 109 |
| Manchester United | 63 | 19 | 18 | 26 | 73 | 88 |
| Chelsea | 63 | 25 | 18 | 20 | 87 | 85 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 63 | 24 | 24 | 15 | 102 | 79 |
It is quite interesting how few clubs have actually won the Premier League: just Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City. But only Liverpool and Manchester United have scored more goals against Arsenal than vice-versa, although Chelsea are close. So there we are: Liverpool and Manchester United.
So now moving on to this weekend’s game… Arsenal v Brentford tomorrow at 5.30pm And looking as we always do at the home and away form of the clubs there is an enormous difference for the season. Arsenal have secured 22 points more at home than Brentford away, scored 19 more goals and conceded nine fewer.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Arsenal home | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 12 | 22 | 32 |
| 15 | Brentford away | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 21 | -6 | 10 |
On this basis Arsenal’s average home win is 2.6 goals for Arsenal and 1 for the opposition. For Brentford it is 1.3 for them, and 1.6 for the opposition. So that is looking like a 3-1 win to Arsenal based on the past figures.
But if we look at the last six games as you will anticipate what with all the publicity about Arsenal’s recent form, the gap between the two clubs is enormous. (Data from the Fishy).
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal home | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 3 | +23 | 18 |
| 18 | Brentford away | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 4 |
Of course what we need, as ever. is a goal by Odegaard in the first couple of minutes to settle everyone down and take us toward another good thrashing. The average Arsenal goal score over the last six league games is 4.5 for Arsenal at home and 0.5 for Brentford. 4-0 or 5-1 is suggested.
Indeed it is interesting that in this recent run, four of Arsenal’s last six games have been away with a goal difference of 19 to 1, while only two have been at home (goal difference 7 to 2). So we are catching up on the home games.
Thus Arsenal’s home form has been good this season but not as exceptional as the away form. Here’s the home form table… Data from 11v11.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 11 | 26 | 35 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 12 | 22 | 34 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 12 | 22 | 32 |
Interestingly, Liverpool are at home to Manchester City on Sunday, so to go top of the home league table Arsenal not only need to win but Liverpool to lose, and the combined scores would need to be five goals in Arsenal’s favour. But that of course would give Manchester City three more points – I think I would sooner see them draw along of course with another thumping Arsenal victory.
But while we are looking at comparisons let’s do a little more historical table-pondering. Arsenal are currently five points behind last season but six goals to the good compared with a year ago and with two goals fewer conceded.
That points total of course is disappointing – what I was hoping for was last season’s showing to be repeated but without the dip in form near the end of the season. However it is gratifying to see just how far the club is above its positions in the three seasons previous to that. 10 points above 2022, 23 points above 2021 and 24 points above 2020. As for the goal difference, in four years it has risen by +42.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Arsenal 2024 | 27 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 68 | 23 | 45 | 61 |
| 1 | Arsenal 2023 | 27 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 62 | 25 | 37 | 66 |
| 4 | Arsenal 2022 | 27 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 43 | 31 | 12 | 51 |
| 10 | Arsenal 2021 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 28 | 7 | 38 |
| 10 | Arsenal 2020 | 27 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 39 | 36 | 3 | 37 |
Even though we are not top of the league I am still finding the recent form rather pleasing!
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Dont forget last season, when Lee Mason secured a draw for Brentford.
On the subject of comments by Alan Shearer that he would hate to play for Arteta because he is to animated in telling his players what to do from the sideline.
In response to Shearers comments and the rest of the anti sideline animated police, Arteta is just trying to motivate and get the best out of his players.
Alex Ferguson did it all the time and no body said anything.
Why are the media and pundits always on Artetas case, the readers are beginning to get fed up with the numb minded stupid irrelevant comments, it’s a form of bullying that no body likes and shows the media and pundits in poor character for agreeing with and highlighting such bullying comments.
@daveg
Arteta is passionate, cares about the club and wants the very best. If he was English and managed one of the media’s favourites he would be roundly applauded for, “wearing his heart on his sleeve”!
The media are what they are. Ignore their bias and ineptitude. There is much to be enjoyed at the moment.
COYG
John L
Indeed, plus some additional warning signs about tomorrow!
We are the 5:30 kick off on Sky, a fixture we have yet to win this season, and a fixture slot notorious for, ahem, ‘controversial’ VAR/PGMOL shenanigans – think Liverpool at Spurs, the 4 errors for one goal at Newcastle, the numerous VAR issues at Villa Park, Anfield for both teams, Man City refused at least one penalty vs Chelesa at Etihad stadium, etc.
Add to that the fact that Paul Tierney, who helped Liverpool win at the City Ground last Saturday and was allegedly pursued by Evangelos Marinakis after the match, is on VAR duties, and has the one of highest away win percentages for PGMOL officials, and tomorrow looks like a trap…
@Vikrant,
Arsenal scoring multiple goals makes sure the incompetence of the referees has little impact. Doing so rather early in the game, mitigates it even more.
Don’t get mad, score goals….that must be Mr Arteta’s mantra
Chris
You may be right to a degree. I have often thought that Arsenal needed a 4 goal lead to minimize the impact of referees attempting to ’tilt’ matches, recently it looks like the players are on a similar wavelength. It helps that Mikel Arteta also played for us, thus he knew what refs havr done to Arsenal in the past!
An additional bad omen is that Mr.Arteta has been given the manager of the month!
Enough with the negativity already. We shall beat Brentford to a pulp despite the presence of the moppet in the VAR room. Consider that most pundits are former players and have been hit in the head many times over a period of several years. If you expect them to remain lucid you must have been hit in the head too.
Shearer still hasn’t forgotten Wembley 1998. Ignore him. Arteta wouldn’t pick him anyway.
Back in the day we could say , ” dock us 2 points , lock up our captain in Chelmsford nick, we’re Arsenal and we’ll have your lights out”.
Today the dopey pundits rabbiting on about Mikel being happy and jumping about a bit is pathetic. Even the other night when the Arsenal women won through to another Cup Final the Guardian couldn’t wait to tell us that a “Free Palestine” demo wasn’t prevented .
So from their ramblings are we to discern that our Stadium and the immediate environs are to be policed by Arsenal because we are separate from uk laws . Id like an answer to that development. If true i’m applying for a visa to Highbury and Islington where i understand we can now evict troublemakers of the journalist variety or maybe employ our own referees .