By Tony Attwood
So what did we see that hasn’t already been said?
We knew about the referee and we knew about the gigantic shift towards the south in terms of English football…. for although Liverpool are top (and I must admit top by five points already), four of the next five teams are London clubs, and the fifth team is on the south coast. The days of the north dominating English football seem to be over, which in the future might actually save Arsenal something in transport fees.
We might also note that although Arsenal are five points behind Liverpool, they still have the best goal difference in the league (+8) and the second highest number of goals scored (just one behind Liverpool), and the best defence in the league (equal with Palace).
So yes of course I would prefer to see Arsenal top of the league, but all is not yet lost…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | AFC Bournemouth | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
Of the reasons why Arsenal are not top, the fixture list must surely be up there, with two of the first five matches being against other traditionally “top six” clubs. There is still some way to go, and at least this week’s mid-week fixture against Port Vale in the League Cup on Wednesday should give those players who have not yet been featured regularly in the first team a chance of a game. (It is apparently live on TV).
The only question is, will the manager give those fringe players a chance, or will it be under five fringer players? Wednesday 1st at 8pm will reveal some more. And it is on TV as well.
Although we might note that Liverpool’s run of league matches this season against anyone other than a top six club goes on for quite a few matches yet. And even if a computer did arrange their fixture list, one might think that a human somewhere might have said, “hang on, this is giving them one hell of an advantage at the start of the season.” But no. Nothing from the League on the subject, and nothing in the media either. Funny that.
Bournemouth, Newcastle, Arsenal, Burnley, Everton so far . Southampton Palace, and an easy European game up next. It makes one wonder.
But let us not turn aside from what was achieved in the ManC game. Mikel Arteta has, according toth the media who count these things, become the first manager to go five successive league games unbeaten against a Guardiolian side. Arsenal also had over two-thirds of the possession throughout the game (67.2% if you want the exact number), which was apparently the highest ever in the Premier League for a team playing a setup run by Guardiola. OK we didn’t get any extra points for that, but even so, it is another positive statistic of interest.
And I wonder what those who have said that Gabriel Martinelli ought to be shipped off somewhere now have to say. Two starts, three games as sub, two goals. Only Viktor Gyökeres has more goals (three to be exact, second only to Haaland).
But how does this compare to the past? Are we making progress?
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arsenal 2025 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 4 | Arsenal 2024 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Arsenal 2023 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| 1 | Arsenal 2022 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
| 13 | Arsenal 2021 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 6 |
Well yes, quite a way above 2021, and the best defence and second best attack over the last five years, but it is the first time in the last four years Arsenal have lost one and drawn one game. But it is the worst start since 2021, although also the first time for quite while in which we have played Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool in the opening five. Maybe the first time ever. I wonder how the fixtures computer managed to come up with that?
