By Tony Attwood
As we said in the preview to last night’s match, “the biggest problem for Arsenal with this referee is that he prefers away wins to home wins. 45.5% of his matches have been home wins but 54.5% of his games have been away wins, and not one has been a draw. Our worry must be that recognising these figures PGMOL might well have warned him about his future behaviour just as they warn players, and told him to sort his averages out and start seeing games end as draws.”
And so we got another draw. But although it might seem like it, this is not the season with the most draws – that was in 1969/70 when Arsenal played 42, won 12, lost 12 and drew 18.
But perhaps we should note that in terms of the 38-game season, the title for the manager with the most draws is already held by Mikel Arteta. That was in 2019/20 when Arsenal came eighth in the league, winning 14 and drawing 14, losing ten.
We have of course come a long way since then, for this season we have won 18 and lost only three, but the penchant for draws is wearing a bit thin on some ever-patient supporters, I fear.
But then, Arsenal’s goal-scoring was worse in that record-drawing season, as Arsenal scored 56 and conceded 48. At the moment in the League, we have scored 63 and conceded 29. Which means Arsenal have scored more than every other team in the league except Liverpool and Manchester City, and conceded fewer than every other team in the league bar none.
Which actually put that way sound quite good, especially when you consider the number of injuries we have had. But then agian, when one remembers 14 draws, it isn’t so wonderful. But… here’s another thought. Even in a season with so many draws Arsenal have scored more goals than every other team except two (Liverpool and ManC). And Arsenal have conceded fewer than every other team bar none. Indeed the five teams that are closest to Arsenal in terms of goals against have all played one game fewer, so have a chance to let in one or two more.
But if the notion of “clutching at straws” comes to mind, yes I would agree. It feels as if everything is on hold for the two games against PSG – and when that happens it can be that the nerves get the better of the team by the time we finally get to that match.
Except that the April games for PSG don’t look too brilliant either. In the last game they drew away with Nantes 1-1. Prior to that they beat Le Havre 2-1. On 15 April PSG lost to Aston Villa 3-2. having beaten Villa at home 3-1 on 9 April.
On 5 April it was a 1-0 win against Angers and then on All Fools Day they beat Dunkerque 2-4 away. So four wins, one draw and one defeat in the last six games – but some of those wins are fairly narrow.
Now I can’t find a “Last six games table” for the French league and it would take me forever to work it out from scratch, but still, we can compare those games with Arsenal’s last six which are three draws, three wins and no defeats. The two clubs in other words are very closely matched as we approach the semi-final.
The Premier League table for the last six does continue to look a bit odd with Wolverhampton at the top as we have noted before…. Arsenal are in sixth.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolverhampton | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 16 |
| 2 | Newcastle | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 15 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 15 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 15 |
| 5 | Man City | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 14 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 12 |
So, yes, a typical wobbly bit of the campaign, as we approach the last few matches. The top of the table is not quite as we might like because of those draws, but of course Champions League qualification seems very likely indeed. In a strange fantasy world Arsenal could lose all the four remaining league games this season and other clubs below them win, but really this seems unlikley, given the fact that Manchester City and Nottingham Forest have each already lost three times as many games as Arsenal this season, while Newcastle have lost even more.
What’s more Arsenal’s goal difference is over twice that of Nottingham Forest and considerably above that of the other clubs in the top six.
So yes this is a pre-cup wobble as we have seen so often before. Undoubtedly the best available team will be put out for the Champions League games and rotation be used for other matches. But whatever happens I rather hope for a fine win against Southampton in the final game on 25 May!
