Arsenal are now most certainly on the up, while most top clubs are on the down

Posted on by Tony Attwood

 

 

 

By Tony Attwood

As Nitram pointed out in his comment on yesterday’s game, (which I hope he doesn’t mind my quoting here, as it seems such a relevant point…)

Over the last to and a half seasons these are the statistics:

  • Arsenal have played 95, scored 217, goal difference 128, point 212
  • Manchester City have played 95, scored 222, goal difference129, points 211
  • Liverpool have played 94, scored 194, goal difference 101, points 206

Those seem to be to be pretty important stats when dealing with the endless doom and gloom that surrounds Arsenal and the ceaseless demands for a new striker.   True, at the moment, as my own little chart below shows, we are not scoring at the rate of 2022/23, but I am not sure that is the most important point.

Arsenal are now back to within a point of where we were last season after 19 games, although still a considerable way off where the club was two seasons ago at the 19 game point.   But then we haven’t had a run of injuries like we have this season, for several years.

Goals are slightly up on last season, but seven down on two years ago.  The defence on the other hand has stayed steady – 16 conceded in 2022/23, 17 this season, 18 last season.

Adding that together the goal difference is three better than this time last season, but eight worse than the season before.  And yes we are 11 points worse off than this time two seasons ago.

 

Season P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Arsenal 2022/23 19 16 2 1 45 16 29 50
4 Arsenal 2023/24 19 12 4 3 36 18 18 40
2 Arse al 2024/25 19 11 6 2 38 17 21 39

 

But looking at cup and league we have won the last four in a row, scoring 12 and conceding four. and looking bit further back, and staying with all competitions, in the last dozen games Arsenal are unbeaten winning nine, drawing three.  The goal tally is quite interesting too, 31 scored and conceding eight

And if you have not been following carefully you might be surprised to see the “last six games” table

 

Premier League Form (Last 6)
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Nottingham Forest 6 5 0 1 10 6 +4 15
2 Liverpool 6 4 2 0 21 9 +12 14
3 Arsenal 6 4 2 0 12 3 +9 14
4 Newcastle 6 4 1 1 18 7 +11 13
5 Bournemouth 6 3 3 0 9 4 +5 12
6 Crystal Palace 6 3 2 1 9 9 0 11

 

You’ll note the absence of Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hots, and Chelsea, each of whom has performed worse than Bournemouth and Crystal Palace over the last six league games.

But there is another point here I would add.  If we look at the league table exactly one year ago today, and consider where those teams are now, we might get a little surprise…

 

2024 Team P W D L F A GD Pts 2025 Diff
1 Liverpool 20 13 6 1 43 18 25 45 1 0
2 Aston Villa 20 13 3 4 43 27 16 42 9 -7
3 Manchester City 19 12 4 3 45 21 24 40 6 -3
4 Arsenal 20 12 4 4 37 20 17 40 2 +2
5 Tottenham Hotspur 20 12 3 5 42 29 13 39 11 -6
6 West Ham United 20 10 4 6 33 30 3 34 13 -7
7 Brighton and Hove  20 8 7 5 38 33 5 31 10 -3
8 Manchester United 20 10 1 9 22 27 -5 31 14 -6
9 Newcastle United 20 9 2 9 39 29 10 29 5 +4
10 Chelsea 20 8 4 8 34 31 3 28 4 +4

 

Six of the top ten at this point last season have gone down in their league position since then.   And some of those drops are quite significant.  Take Aston Villa for example, the team that was really emphasised in the media a year ago as the team very much on the up.  Unai Emery really knew what he was doing, he was clever, he could spot talent we were told.  

And maybe all that is still true, but what would Arsenal supporters who are now once more hanging on the coattails of the scribblers by demanding that the club signs a new centre forward say if Arsenal had had the drop that Villa have had, and instead of going up two places compared with this time last year, we have gone down two places?

Or consider Tottenham Hot – distasteful though that might be.   They were being talked up like mad last season by the media but now are six places worse off than a year ago.

Or come to that what about West Ham who have the benefit of having been given a brand new stadium by the government for nothing?  You might think that with such a huge new arena and no building debts, they would be on the march.  They are now 13th, and still going down by the looks of things.

No, the only clubs that are better off in terms of league position than they were a year ago are Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea.

This does not mean that I think Arsenal will win the league this year – of course, I want the club to do that, but that’s not the key issue.  The key issue is, would changing managers and would buying new players at this point take Arsenal up the league?  And my answer to that is that it is, it is not guaranteed.

The fact is Arsenal have had a rotten season when it comes to injuries.  And despite that, we are still second and still bringing through brilliant young players.  And still winning.  12 games without defeat in all competitions according to my chart.  Which is a run I wouldn’t want to disrupt by bringing in a new megastar centre forward and then having to change the way the team plays to accommodate him.

 

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6 Replies to “Arsenal are now most certainly on the up, while most top clubs are on the down”

  1. Of course not Tony.

    I am always very happy when you pick up on some research I have done. (As you are well aware it takes a lot of time) Helps make it worth while and is extremely gratifying. Alas, not everyone is so enamoured with such statistics.

    As I was sipping away at my Drambuie and Mrs N was catching up on the latest goings on down Essex way, I had a trawl around the intererweb, as I mentioned last night. Despite a great win, a great last 6 matches, a great year, a great two and a half years, there were still moans and groans.

    The main theme was yet again the need for a striker. We are not good enough.

    I put those stats up to show just how brilliant we are (not winning the league doesn’t change that, as frustrating as it may be for some) and just how prolific we are at scoring goals. Yes, 5 less than Man City (1 per half season) but 11 more than Liverpool who of course do have the No 9 we should have bought. Maybe if Liverpool had spread the goals around these last couple of years they would of won the league?

    But my god, you’d of thought I was advocating sending children back up chimneys. These people really don’t like facts do they.

    Apparently you can make stats say anything.? Can you? Try making last seasons stats say we won the league? Oh no, in that case the stats are correct. They show we were not good enough.

    And of course the usual insults you must get every day.

    Apparently a 20 goal a season player would of got us those extra 5 goals and won us the league. It really is that simple. They don’t consider for one second that having such a player would change our entire way of playing and perhaps cost us 10 goals from elsewhere?

    The fact we have accumulated the most points of anyone over 95 games and are therefore by definition been the best team in the country over that extended period means nothing.

    They really do live in fantasy football land.

    Picking upon a couple of your points:

    ” Take Aston Villa for example, the team that was really emphasised in the media a year ago as the team very much on the up. Unai Emery really knew what he was doing, he was clever, he could spot talent we were told.”

    And of course they have the best keeper in the World in the shape of Martinez, that we somehow allowed to slip through our fingers. That’s despite the fact that over that period he has shipped 138 goals compared to Raya’s 89. NEARLY 50 MORE GOALS. That’s a massive 50% more. Yeah, of course he’s better than Raya, how could I of missed that?

    Lastly this great point:

    “The fact is Arsenal have had a rotten season when it comes to injuries. And despite that, we are still second and still bringing through brilliant young players. And still winning. 12 games without defeat in all competitions according to my chart. Which is a run I wouldn’t want to disrupt by bringing in a new megastar centre forward and then having to change the way the team plays to accommodate him.”

    Spot on. Given all these amazing statistics and positives I simply couldn’t believe what I was reading and the reaction I got. Arsenal fans are an odd bunch, and that’s putting it mildly.

    Alas, when you say they are hanging on to the medias coat tails, I would suggest they are well and truly in their pockets.

  2. Happy New Year to everyone who supports our club by reading and commenting on this site! This is the best AFC supporters site on the net. Thank you Tony Attwood for your dedication to the FACTS in football commentary as well as the time, effort and, frankly, the money it costs. Due to a glitch, I have had to change my moniker. So, being the creative type, I am no longer Goonersince72, I am now, wait for it,
    Gooner72, lol. So, I’ll still be adding my usual blather with a slightly different name.

    PS – I’m guilty of pestering Tony on the holiday for his help. Of course, he graciously agreed to sort the problem after a brief topple at his local for the New Year’s match. Thank you Tony!

  3. Gooner72

    Loving the new name. That bit easier to type when we’re having a chat.

    In the same vein I was thinking of shortening my moniker to ‘Nit’.

    Happy New Year my friend.

    COYG

  4. I do hope that we go on and improve on our last two seasons finishes . To do that we need some upsets from the other teams ! Who is to say how the winds of change may
    blow ?
    Well , the refs have a say ! Why would the favour us ?
    Up the Gunners !

  5. Nitram,
    Thanks for that. Happy New Year to you and your family. All the best. And keep the posts coming, they’re always a great read.

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