- Breakaway football leagues: the women have done it. What next?
- The figures that reveal that Arsenal are perfectly set for next season
By Tony Attwood
The 38 games seasons started in 1988/9, and thus there have now been 35 such campaigns.
Out of these 35 Arsenal have exceeded either 80 points or 80 goals in just eight campaigns – that is 34% of the time. Arsenal have exceeded 80 goals five times (that is in 14% of the seasons) and have exceeded 80 points six times (17% of the seasons).
Which shows us that this is rather a special moment. The only time the club has got over 80 goals and 80 points two seasons running, and indeed the only time Arsenal has exceeded the 80/80 mark other than 2004/5.
And let us not forget that this has come in a season where there were calls for the manager to learn how to rotate. Not only would that have been irrelevant even if it were true, the fact is that compared to other managers it wasn’t true. Some teams did rotate more, but when that happened it was because they had more injuries than Arsenal.
So to be clear, only three times in the PL era, (8% of the seasons) have Arsenal exceeded both 80 goals scored and 80 points gained. Two of those seasons have been the last two seasons.
As noted above the other season was 2004/5. But the Unbeaten Season does not qualify for 80/80 status since Arsenal scored only 73 goals that season but did get 90 points. In fact when Arsenal won the league in 1998 it was with just 68 goals scored! Goals and winning the title don’t always go hand in hand.
This last season’s 91 goals was Arsenal’s best ever, and the 28 conceded was second only to the 26 conceded in the unbeaten season. The goal difference of 62 is the best ever.
But what is particularly interesting here is that all this was achieved without the one thing that so many football correspondents in newspapers and the bloggers who hang on their coat tails have demanded: a top scorer knocking in 20 or more goals.
This season just completed, Arsenal’s top scorer in the league was Saka with 16. Last season it was Odegaard and Martinelli each with 15.
Eight players scored more than Arsenal’s top man this season just finished. Haaland (27), Palmer (Chelsea – 22), Isak (Newcastle – 21) Foden (Machester C – 19), Solanke (Bournemouth – 19), Watkins (Aston Villa – 19), Salah (Liverpool 18), Son (Tottenham – 17).
Given that Newcastle came 7th and Bournemouth 12th, that suggests that while a top-scoring player can be useful in the team, it is no guarantee of success. Yes, Manchester City do have two players in the top scoring list but they only scored five more goals than Arsenal across the whole 38-match season. That is 0.13 goals per game.
And the benefit of the system Arsenal have evolved of spreading the goals around can be seen by the injury and loss of form of Martinelli this past season.
If we consider the top five scorers for Arsenal in the league last season and this season just finished we can see a slight difference:
2023/4 – total 91 goals: Saka (16), Havertz (13), Trossard (12), Odegaard (8), Rice (7)
2022/3 – total 88 goals : Martinelli (15), Odegaard (15), Saka (14), Jesus (11), Xhaka (7)
So in 2023/4 the top five scorers for the club knocked in 56 goals in the league between them.
In 2022/23 the top five scorers for the club scored 62 goals in the league between them.
What we can see is that the shift is to an ever more diverse set of players scoring goals in league matches is working. The top five goal scorers got more goals this season than the one before. Nevertheless, the media constantly link Arsenal with a 20 + goals a season man: a total change of direction.
It is of course possible that Arsenal could suddenly change policy. And we could look back to when Arsenal across two league seasons scored 176 goals.
But as far as I can see only twice has Arsenal ever exceeded such a goal-scoring record in its entire league history. Both occasions were in the 1930s under Chapman, and that, we should remember, not only included four extra games a season but also a time when Arsenal could score 78 goals in a season and come 14th in the league.
Indeed three times in the 1930s Arsenal scored 115 goals or more in a season – but they were also letting in 59+ a season. It was a time when even though it was easier to catch players offside (as the rules were different) defending was in its infancy.
So to all intents and purposes, this is the best Arsenal attack ever, and it is built around not having a 20+ man leading the line, but on sharing out the goals.
Many are calling for Arsenal to sign a 20+ goals a-season player, but I really do think that would require a total change in the way the team plays, and that may not be a good idea.
Sometimes we need the option in certain games to make a tactical change. It is not a case of sticking to that tactical change, but having the option.
For example against low blocking teams, it would be nice to have a bit of muscle up front to either create space or bully his way through. Or when we are over powered in midfield against ManCity, it would be nice to have the option of a commanding center forward we could target and by passing their midfield with the TargetMan winning the ball and holding onto it to bring others into play. We would need a strong tall TargetMan in the mould of Ibrahimovic, Drogba, Henry, strong forwards that do not go down easily. Havertz is good in the positional sense as a TargetMan, but he goes down too often and cannot keep the ball.
We need that tactical option of a clinical, technical TargetMan for certain games.
It will still allow other forwards to score but it will also improve our team up another level. There is always a need for improvement. Even if we are scoring a lot of goals, we can always score even more. We were lacking this against Villa.
The anti Arsenal media london.mirror,tbr etc.. are at it again, doubling the price to a ridiculous level of potential Arsenal Targets. Also when are Newcastle to be deducted points for over spending?
@daveg,
looks like we ought to get Giroud to come back… ;=)
daveg
“Sometimes we need the option in certain games to make a tactical change. It is not a case of sticking to that tactical change, but having the option.”
That’s all very well in theory, but it’s much harder in practice as 20 plus goal a season players are the most expensive players out there.
If you can find one, and that’s tough enough, these type of players, high cost and high demand, are not ‘squad’ players. If you do get your hands on one he will expect to be an ever present starter. Then once you have that the entire structure and tactics of the team will be organised around him.
I’m not saying that’s wrong. You pays your money you makes your choice.
What I am saying is you wont pick up a 20 goal a season player simply to use just when we “….need the option in certain games to make a tactical change”.
The team will have to be built around him.
If Haarland became available and we could afford him, would we take him and build a team around him as Pep has done? Of course we would. But players of that ilk, that are good enough to warrant changing our whole approach, are few and far between, and extremely expensive.
So manure won the FA Cup. Wanna bet it will be presented as a major trophy/victory ?
Last time I counted Arsenal had one more FA Cup win than Manchester United, but I doubt that will be mentioned (unless I have miscounted)
Nitram, I usually agree completely with you on topics discussed here. However, I would not want Harland to be at Arsenal, as I think that the disruption of our system which would result from his inclusion, would outweigh any benefits from his individual scoring record. Indeed, it seems to me that there have been occasions when he does not look a really good fit for Man City. Plus, if he is outplayed (as by Slaliba and Gabriel), their team looks much less effective.
I hate to see MU win, but I am delighted to see MC lose.
Let’s say a bounce here and there, a crossbar, a deflection, whatever, and Saka scores 20 this past season but AFC still come second. The criticism will shift from 20 goal a season man to…..what? What would the critics manufacture? Has to be something, although I’ve seen and read more positive about AFC in the media this season than the last 10. And yet there will be criticism.
Clearly, Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta have a plan and a system that is working. The last 2 seasons have been competitive, exciting and the result of this management. And props to Kroenke Sports for funding the project. Most fun I’ve had from a trophy-less season! Oh can they play football!