- Peter Banke is the referee who loves home wins
- What is really wrong with Premier League refereeing? We decided to find out
By Tony Attwood
Most games won, fewest games lost, second most goals scored, best defence, equal best goals difference, and most points. If you’d been offered that for the 15-game marker, you probably would have said that sounds like a good season.
Throw in eight places and 11 points above Tottenham, and you’d be even more likely to have said yes. We lost yesterday, but that is how the table top now reads…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 9 | 19 | 33 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 31 |
But how does that compare with a year ago? Here’s the comparison table
| Year | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Arsenal 2025 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 9 | 19 | 33 |
| 3 | Arsenal 2024 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 29 | 15 | 14 | 29 |
| 1 | Arsenal 2023 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 36 |
In fact in 2023/24 disaster was about to strike at this moment one year ago, although no one seemed to see it coming. We lost to Aston Villa (yes, them) at home on 9 December, drew with PSV in the Champions League on 12 December, drew with Liverpool on 23 December, and then lost three consecutive matches to West Ham, Fulham and finally Liverpool again, this time in the Cup.
So the message is clear – think positive and don’t let the disappointment of yesterday turn into a run of poor results, as has happened in the past. For as we have so often argued here before, it is not the odd defeat that is the problem, but when that defeat turns into a run of poor results.
Last season that happened between 19 October and 10 November, where in seven league and cup games, Arsenal won just two, lost three and drew two.
In 2023/24 the problems came a bit later – in December and January, where in the space of seven league and cup games, Arsenal lost four, drew two and won one. In 2022/23 we had several such dips, including 27 January to 15 February (three defeats, one draw), and 9 April to 20 May (three draws, three defeats and just two wins).
Back in 2021/22 we had several such bad runs, including of course, three defeats at the start of the season, three defeats in four in November / December, three defeats and two draws in succession in January, and then four defeats in five league games in March and April. The fact that we still ended up fifth shows how good the club was outside of those dips.
So the drops in form have got fewer, and they now account for fewer losses, but Arsenal have not eradicated them totally, and the drive now must be to make sure that the current run of three wins, two draws and a defeat in the last six games is now ended and we are back on another long, positive run.
Our next six games are Club Brugge away on Wednesday, 10th, Wolverhampton at home on 13 December, Everton at home on 20 December, Crystal Palace at home on 23 December in the League Cup, Brighton and Hove at home on 27 December, and Aston Villa at home on 30 December.
Now according to my maths, four of those games are at home and two are away – the two away being against Club Brugges (won six, drawn one and lost one at home this season) and Everton, whose home results have included this season, a draw with West Ham, a 0-3 defeat to Tottenham, and a 1-4 defeat to Newcastle.
So my point is that an improvement in our away form should be possible because it part it will be aided by a few away games that are nowhere near as difficult as playing Aston Villa, who so far have only had one defeat at home. In this, we are aided by the fixtures list, which gave Arsenal a really tough start, but now we are seeing the other side of it. There are five games before we meet Villa again, and I think Arsenal could win all five.
They might well be able to beat Basel away on Thursday, and quite possibly West Ham away the following Sunday, but then in the run-up to the return match with Villa it is Manchester United and Chelsea who they face. Wins there will force even the most dubious of reporters to admit that they are putting in a serious challenge to win the league.
As ever we shall see, but I remain hopeful.
