By Tony Attwood
True or False? “For Arsenal fans, it has felt like the season in which everything has gone against them.”
That statement from the Athletic is not one I would fully agree with, but it is interesting that in the following article the second in the list of “everything” is “a tough run of away games to start the season,” which is certainly something we highlighted. (Although rather curiously the Athletic doesn’t mention the fact that we’ve been pointing that out all season).
The opening away games to Aston Villa, Tottenham Hots and Manchester City were indeed challenging but the first two were won and the third was a draw.
But I think the article is more in tune with the facts when it notes the continuation of what we might call “eccentric” refereeing (they cite the “choke-slam on Kai Havertz going unpunished.”) Merino being injured in his first training session, Odegaard being injury playing for Norway, Rice being sent off for kicking the ball back to where it should have been for a free kick, Trossard for another kicking the ball offence (this one under one second after the whistle), the injuries to Calafiori, White, Saka … the list goes on.
And of course, the attempts to disrupt Arsenal have gone on and on, although on the red card issue, the club is at last fighting back (even though the referees never get sent for a period of retraining for their ludicrous “mistakes” in Arsenal games, which to me does seem to be an huge issue with PGMO.)
However, the argument is then put that whereas Arsenal did get the breaks last season, this season they are not. So I thought it might be interesting to compare the last three seasons at this point… This data is from Transfermarkt, our normal source for these figures (11v11) seemingly giving erroneous results at the moment (so take care if you use their data!)
| Pos | Season | Played | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2024/25 | 23 | 23 | 47 |
| 3 | 2023/24 | 23 | 25 | 49 |
| 1 | 2022/.23 | 23 | 30 | 54 |
| 6 | 2021/22 | 23 | 6 | 39 |
So yes Arsenal have slipped back from the high of 2022/23 and the club is even two points and two goals (in terms of goal difference) below where it was this time last season, but I would suggest that given the run of injuries and insane cards, this season that is a fairly good position to be in. For many clubs, such a run of injuries and cards could have hampered their performances even more.
In fact, instead of the negativities, I think we should be celebrating the fact that even with this level of injury, Arsenal are still where they are in the table.
Now the immediate response to this is often “well, Arsenal should have a bigger squad to cope with injuries,” except that the top players coming into a new club always want to be assured that they will be played ahead of the existing players, and of course the manager can’t say that. If Saka, for example, is fit, he will play. If Ben White is fit, he plays and so on.
And yet, despite such injuries to such key players (and there have of course been many other injuries this season), Arsenal are still second.
The media response to being second however has been the same year after year – buy a goal scorer. But last season Arsenal got 89 goals, the season before that 88 goals, while back in the dark ages of 2021/22 it was 61 goals. This season if we carry on as now it will be 73, so yes that is down. But the 89 and 88 goal seasons were achieved without having a 20 goals a season centre forward – they were achieved by having goals scored from all across the forward line, and come to that the midfield too.
My view is that no system can be guaranteed to overcome a glut of injuries, apart perhaps from the ManC approach where players are paid such high salaries that they are willing to get very few games for a couple of years.
And Arsenal have in the past used a tactic that is available to them again now: the solid belief that everyone is against them. When that everyone includes the crowd, as it did in 2019/20 and 2020/21 that can have a negative effect, but when the crowd is with the team things improve. Besides, tis season with the injuries has been tough, but even so we are still in second place.
In the last 13 league matches Arsenal have won eight, drawn five and lost none. Of course that could have been improved with fewer draws, but I don’t think that is so bad that it demands wholesale changes. (And do remember that every time the club brings in a high-profile transfer and puts him into the first team, that is a slap in the face for the younger players hoping to make their way through to the top).
This season has been a rough ride, but I don’t by any means think it is all over – and I certainly don’t think we need wholesale changes to the squad. On the other hand keeping the unity together certainly helps.
Of course, not ‘everything’ has gone against us. For start the stadium hasn’t been destroyed by a tornado. But, it is certainly true that a lot a things have gone against us.
From the ‘eccentric’ refereeing decisions, the many injuries, especially to our two ‘best’ players, to the difficult set of opening fixtures.
A combination that any team would struggle to overcome.
That being said, others have had to contend with injuries as well, namely Tottenham and Man City with their key man Rodri being ruled out for the season.
But look how it’s affected them. Man City are performing a long way below their best and Spurs, whilst putting in the occasional brilliant performance, are generally performing way bellow their best.
So, it is refreshing that someone outside Untold is prepared to acknowledge just what we have been up against.
Doing what so much of the mainstream media do, such as claim we are just conspiracy theorist, or stating ‘well, they were all reds’, or ‘it’s their own fault’, are disingenuous, misleading and frankly inaccurate.
Over the last 5 years we get more red cards against us than all our main rivals. I believe less red cards to our opponents than anyone else, though I cant find that so if someone can confirm or correct me that would be good.
Over the last 5 years we have less penalties for and more against than all our main rivals. As I showed the other day, the disparity in the for against differential is astonishing.
Pointing that out does not a conspiracy theory make. Instead of the media trying to address the WHY, all we get is, they were all reds. They were all penalties. Which helps nobody. Yes, most of us agree, under the guise of ‘subjectivity’ they could ALL be seen as correct decisions by somebody, but without context that is simply a cop out. Yes kicking the ball away 2 metres can, by the letter of the law, be deemed a yellow card, but if nobody else gets one for doing the same thing, then we have a problem. If a trip is a straight red one day, why are cynical high dangerous tackles not even a yellow card the next? Why is the slightest hand on a shoulder a penalty one day and a blatant push in the back not the next day?
And more importantly, and this is why so many Arsenal fans want answers, do such a disproportionately high number of these major, subjective calls, go against us? This is not a conspiracy theory, this is a fair and legitimate question that needs asking, and answering.
Unforetuneately ‘why’, is a question that nobody ever wants to answer.
Which begs the question. WHY?
Nitram,
The refereeing in the EPL is so inconsistent that I honestly don’t know what action is considered a foul. Headlocks, throwdowns and even a finger up the bum are allowed….against AFC. I’m waiting for an Arsenal player to be carded for looking at the opponent since they get whistled for the slightest contact.
“WHY” you ask. It’s been this way a long time. Arsenal are the top team in the capitol city, located in the South. Football came to Birmingham via Scotland. The biggest winners in the modern era have been Man U and Liverpool – Northwest teams. Their support is huge. The refs in the EPL grew up in the Midlands or Northwest, supporting those teams; not a single one from London on South. Is there a bias against the big, bad Capitol based teams? I thinks there is, escpecially Arsenal. Some is intentional some not. It’s been ingrained for a very long time. It won’t change any time soon.
Gooner72
Cant argue with a word of that.
@ Nitram
Try using WhoScored.com they have a wealth of information going back some 25 seasons.
To answer your question on red cards over the last five years though, I found the following information. (Interestingly it also supports Gooner72’s theory on the regional bias.)
RED CARDS for five full seasons plus the current season.
8 Man U
9 Liverpool
10 Man City
11 Chelsea
13 Spurs
20 Arsenal
I also took the time to have a look at which teams had committed the most fouls over the same time period and that threw up some interesting anomalies too. Man City committed far fewer than everybody else and averaged 323 per season although given the amount of possession they have, I don’t find that too surprising. Arsenal actually committed the second fewest number of fouls at an average of 390 per season. So 20% more fouls but 100% more red cards. What was even more telling was that the team that committed the most fouls were Man U (420 per season) received the fewest number of red cards!
So Man U committed almost 10% more fouls than Arsenal but Arsenal received two and a half times as many red cards. Liverpool also committed more fouls than Arsenal yet Arsenal received more than double the number of reds…..and people wonder why Arsenal fans feel hard done by!
So, Arsenal committed fewer fouls than four of our five rivals over the last five and a bit seasons yet, on average, we received double the number of red cards.
This season Man City are again committing a great deal fewer fouls (7.3 per game) whilst the other five teams are all committing between 11 and 12 per game on average. The six teams have received seven red cards between them….or put another way, the other five teams have received just three reds between them whilst Arsenal have received more than the other five put together…..or put yet another way, Arsenal have committed 265 fouls for 4 red cards whilst the other five have so far committed 1,201 fouls for 3 reds.
Taking the previous five full seasons, Arsenal received a red card for every 119 fouls whilst our rivals committed 206 fouls for each red. That is a massive difference. Yet this season has been something else altogether. On average this season, we’ve had a red for every 66 fouls yet our rivals have committed over 400 fouls for every red. That’s over six times as many. As many of us have said before, that is not a conspiracy theory, these are indisputable facts yet, as many of us have also said before, it’s funny how the media never ask WHY?
Mikey
Those stats as well as stats others have produced are absolutely atrocious.
Anyone with a modicum of neutrality would be asking serious questions as to how those stats could possibly be justified. But the problem we have is that even the likes of The Football Terrace, (who are actually fronted by a Man Utd fan) who general accept there is not only a media bias against Arsenal, but that questions do need to be asked about how the Laws Of The Game are applied differently to us than anyone else, keep emphasising it’s not just about us. That there is no agenda. There is no conspiracy. Etc. Etc.
Others, in order to dismiss our concerns out of hand name one club, Wolves, who indeed have had some shockers. As have other teams. But nobody denies that, least of all most Arsenal fans. But nobody else has anything like those stats against them over a sustained amount of time.
So, if it’s not an agenda. If it’s not a conspiracy, what is it?
Nobody even attempts to explain it. Well they do with accusations such as:
Entitled.
Tin hat brigade
Get over yourselves.
Not one. Not a single one attempts to address those diabolically distorted FACTS
“…..and people wonder why Arsenal fans feel hard done by!”
Just look at those numbers and wonder no more.
@ Nitram
I spent a few hours delving a little deeper into this subject, including the regional bias that Gooner72 raised. I’ve unearthed some more intriguing facts to say the least.
I intend sending Tony an article on it rather than putting it as a comment but just to give you a flavour! Did you know that Arsenal ‘commit’ 1.0% more fouls than the average committed by the North West Three (Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd). A tad bizarrely, on average, we actually get 114% more red cards than them. Well I never 🙂
Watch this space!!
Mikey
I look forward to reading it.
The problem is Mikey. Even with all this evidence people will still claim thing such as:
You can make statistics say anything. Which you clearly cannot.
You are paranoid. Which we clearly are not.
But you know what. They wont have a word of explanation for the mountain of statistics we produce. They wont have a single fact to dispute those statistics.
What they will do is pop up on here some time in the future when we are disputing yet another bad call that has gone against us, pointing out yet again how Odegaard ‘got away with one’ at Anfield and how Wolves have it worse than us. The same old lame excuses simply to justify Arsenal being cheated yet again.