- After winning the league this season what would be the next Arsenal’s next target?
- How many points does Arsenal need to win the league?
By Tony Attwood
Waking up this Monday morning and finding that the next fixture is not until THURSDAY seems weird. For week after week (with just one or two exceptions) we have been playing at the weekend, followed by Tuesday or Wednesday. Now it is Thursday. I am not sure if this is what the Mirror meant with its headline recently that Arsenal face gruelling fixture run. They were as ever, somewhat behind the times with their revelation but I think we know what they are trying to say.
And so we can turn attention to one or two other matters and the newspapers tell us that among the other matters, there is the fact that Tottenham in relegation battle, says Rooney
Although I am not really sure that is right either although they are 27 points and 32 goals behind Arsenal.
Mind you, in the last six games table Arsenal have sunk down to fourth with three wins, two draws and a defeat, while Tottenham have no wins and three draws in the last six, and is rather shocking.
In fact if we go back to 1 November, we find that since then, in the Premier League, Tottenham have played 16 league games and they have won one – a 2-0 home win against Brentford.
In fact, if we go back to 31 October 2025, Tottenham were actually third in the league after nine games. They were above such luminaries as Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool! And then on 1 November they lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea and have since fallen off the edge of the planet (as it were).
I would say that we wish them well and hope for a speedy recovery, but that would not be true. But I must admit that we were particularly grateful on the 1st of this month for their managing a 2-2 home draw with Manchester C.
And yet despite all this, Tottenham did quite well in the Champions League. They lost 5-3 to PSG, but otherwise in the eight games played there (wherein Arsenal won the league, as you might recall) Tottenham didn’t get another defeat.
Of cours,e there is an excuse – and actually excuse is rather unfair, since this time the excuse is actually a good reason. Tottenham get injuries. And not just some injuries, but lots of injuries. Premier League Injuries shows them with a dozen men out while Arsenal have four. And indeed, half a dozen clubs have fewer men out than Arsenal.
Indeed, it is tempting to agree that the number of players out at any one time is a matter of chance, although Tottenham’s run at or near the top of the injury table suggests that there is more than just bad luck involved. So why does Tottenham have a dozen men out while Fulham and Leeds eac have one, West Ham have two and Wolverhampton have two?
I think it must be true that clubs that are doing very badly in the league don’t get many players injured because the opposition tends to intercept their passes rather than put in any tackles. After all, clubs near the foot of the table clearly don’t get into the opposition penalty area often enough to be tackled. Although that doesn’t explain why Crystal Palace are on nine men down.
It looks like the most likely explanation as to which clubs get the most and which the fewest injuries is down in some degree to chance, rushing back plaeyrs too quickly, training and preparedness must be factors too. West Ham have used 32 players this season, compared to the other extreme Everton who have used just 22. Fulham’s squad has an average age of 27.7 years while Chelsea’s is 23.4 years.
But here’s a strange thing. Arsenal have used 24 players in the first team this season, which is just one above Wolverhampton and West Ham. But clubs can still use players who are not in their squads. Wolverhampton have actually used 28 players in their first team this season, but apparently only have a first team squad of 23
Arsenal also have just 23 players in the squad: the third smallest squad, and have used all 23 in first team games this season. But in terms of the average age of 25.6 years they are very much mid-table.
Some clubs use lots of non-squad players, some don’t give all of their squad players a chance, some have very young squads, and some have considerably older squads. But in all three measures, Arsenal are mid-table, and maybe that really does give a clue as to how the basis of a squad should work. Be mid-range in all these measures.
