- Another staggering win, as Arsenal players take another kicking
- Arsenal have so many injuries it’s impossible to say what the team will be
And on the Arsenal History website:
By Tony Attwood
The return of Gabriel Jesus to the fray is being given a very positive write-up at the moment, even though Arsenal are the second-highest scorers in the league right now. And there is a reason why we should focus on goals scored…
Last season Liverpool won the league, scoring 2.26 goals a game. The season before, Manchester City won the league with 2.52 goals a game. Indeed, we have to go right back to 2016 when Leicester won the league to find a team winning the title with a goal-scoring ratio of under two goals a game. History shows that Arsenal need to be scoring a few more.
However, a 4-0 win against Wolverhampton this weekend would put Arsenal on exactly 2.0 goals a game, which is a good marker to move forward from. But it would still leave the club five goals behind Manchester City (assuming they score zero in their next match – which is probably unlikely).
Gabriel Jesus, however, is confident he can recapture his best form after recovering from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that has kept him out of the team for almost a year. He was a sub in the 3-0 win over Brugge on Wednesday night and has proclaimed that he is one hundred per cent fit. And we should remember he is still only 28 years old, which is a prime age for a striker.
In his interview, he proclaimed, “I’m a different guy when I have a smile on my face. I’m 100% sure, and then obviously now I’m more experienced, now I have had 11 months of doubting, of stepping back and watching everything around me, that has helped me a lot. I know if I have the chance, I am going to go there and do my best to help the team, like everyone else here.”
So, all the positive things you would hope a striker would say, Arsenal have continued to do well in his absence. But losing last season’s top scorer in Kai Havertz has also been a blow, and each time we hear of him coming back, there seems to be another problem.
So we wait to see when Havertz returns, and what Jesus can do, and no matter what the injuries we have to face, the position a club achieves in the league after a set number of games does give some indication of how well they are doing. But of course, there are always other factors involved. Factors such as which clubs each team have played so far, how other teams are doing, and indeed if any opposition team has been on a good run or is about to go on a good run.
Nevertheless, it can be worthwhile comparing where we are now as opposed to this time in seasons gone by. And “this time” here means, after 15 league games..
| Pos | Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal2025 | 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 |
| 1 | Arsenal 2022 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 12 | 24 | 40 |
| 7 | Arsenal 2021 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 22 | -4 | 23 |
Looking at the table above it is clear that 2022/3 was Arsenal’s year of shooting ahead, and indeed that season we ended up with 84 points. Which, of course, again reminds us that it is not just how well Arsenal do, but how well our rivals can do.
At the present moment, Arsenal have 33 points from 15 games, which would result in a final total of 83 or 84 points if we carry on at that level as we got in 2022/23. Indeed, we might recall that in 2008 Arsenal got 83 and came third, which shows that the league doesn’t always pan out in the same way, but does make the target of 90+ something worth remembering.
So 2003/4 where we reached 90 points, has to be the target. Indeed, 83 points have not been enough to win the league in most seasons, and so Arsenal have to improve their performance from now on, if winning the title is the target.
But much depends on how strongthe opposition is. Having three or four clubs chasing the top spot can eat up a number of points in their victories, and stop one club rcing ahead.
So let us say we are aiming for 87 points We have 23 games left which offers a total of 69 points to add to the 33 we have already. That makes 102 points – win every game, and we easily win the title.
But winning every game is, of course, an enormous demand, so let’s try it another way. Last season, Liverpool got 84 points. Arsenal currently have 33 points from 15 games, meaning the club needs 51 points from the remaining 23 games. Those games have 69 points available, and thus Arsenal can only afford to lose 18 points from here on. For example, four defeats and six draws.
However we see it, the winning has to continue against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Since winning the Championship in 2018 they have come 7th, 7th, 13th, 10th, 13th, 14th, and 16th… a rather sorry run of declining results of late. Although rather curiously in the last couple of years, the number of goals scored by the club has increased as their league position has declined, with the club scoring 50+ in each of the last two seasons.
More anon….
