Arsenal’s consecutive away wins sequence reaches 11

Posted on by Tony Attwood
By Tony Attwood
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We celebrated beating Marseille away with the awareness that we had got 10 away wins in a row for the first time in the history of the club.  So now its 11.  Less fuss is being made of this one, perhaps because it was on penalties, but it is still something rather special.
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But the league cup is different – at least under Mr Wenger, and just a few days back the Arsenal History site looked again at one of the most famous of Wenger’s League Cup forays in which he put out a team of youngsters and beat Sheffield United 6-0.   The two members of that team who were on show on that night in 2008 and who were once again in the league cup were Bendtner and Fabianski.  Also on display in 2008 were Djourou, Song, Gibbs, Ramsey, and Wilshere.
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Which is why we need to look with care at anyone who comes in and plays in this competition.   True, some never come through for Arsenal.  Hoyte and Merida played in 2008 but never quite got there for Arsenal, but still, these league cup games are always an interesting guide to the future.
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Here’s last night’s team in full
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Fabianski
Jenkinson    Mertesacker   Vermaelen   Monreal
Hayden Arteta
Miyaichi Eisfeld Gnabry
Bendtner
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I’ve mentioned Eisfeld once or twice in passing in the hope that after what I took to be a brilliant pre-season two years ago he was not fading away.  He had scored goals and looked calmness itself then, and so it was again.  Hayden too is looking most promising this pre-season, and we learned about Gnabry at the weekend. 
And all this without Zelalem who is injured or a mention of the subs like  Kristoffer Olsson and Chuba Akpom, both of who got penalties.
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This was not only a success in the league cup, but a note to the effect that the youth project is still alive and fighting and producing amazing players who can go forward and play for Arsenal in the years to come.
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And it also takes that away record up one more game.
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60 Replies to “Arsenal’s consecutive away wins sequence reaches 11”

  2. Honorary mention, our away supporters. Hope our home supporters take note and make the stadium an intimidating one for the visitors…..

  4. A fantastic win for the youngsters. Very proud to say the least.

    And i echo ARSENAL 13’s post, the fans were unbelievable last night. They sung from start to finish. We even heard “One Arsene Wenger” too which was fantastic and we even got a “Super Nicky Bendtner” too! How long has it been since the fans have sung that?

    If we could emulate that atmosphere in some way at home, the Emirates would become somewhat of a cauldron.

  5. I had towatch the game on a slow link so didn’t really see the finer points of the game. However not lost was the support of the Arsenal fans.

    the commentator said that there were 18,000 in the ground and 5,000 of them were Arsenal supports. 5,000 for an away match for what would basically be a reserve team was tremendous in itself and the fans need to be congratulated on the Arsenal website.

    Then there was the noise of the support they were giving the team, that wasn’t lost on my slow link, it was great.
    I couldn’t catch all the songs but it was obvious they were supporting Arsenal and proud to be Gooners.

    My West Brom friend is not too happy. To add to her gloom I reminded her that we will back very soon with the wonderful wizard that is Oz!

  6. In as much as I’m pleased we won the match lastnight, I can’t help but imagine what the headlines would have been if we’d lost! Seriously, what was Wenger thinking? I sincerely think he should have travelled with more experienced players. Someone pls tell him not to use the kids against Chelshit if he wants to proceed further… CoYG

  7. West Brom took the unusual step of giving Arsenal the whole of one end, and Arsenal sold all the tickets incredibly quickly. In the past when I have been at the ground we’ve had one quarter of the stand behind one of the goals – not the whole end.

    So WBA took the chance to sell more tickets, and Arsenal fans went for it big time. It is just another pointer as to how totally out of touch with the real world the AAA and their allies the AST are.

    11 away wins in a row. Not bad eh?

  8. Kudos to AW for getting a win with our youngsters, and letting them take the penalties. Any other manager would have put the senior players to take the spot kicks, TV5 and Per. But AW instilled a huge dose of self belief in the young boys. Compare that with Chelski who ship out Lukaku after his penalty miss. Proud to be a Gooner!

  9. The away fans have been excellent for quite some time, last night they were very audible. Like colario I watched the match on a “streamus interruptus”, but even that poor stream could not mask the effort the fans were making.

    I am very pleased that this young team managed to secure a good win. Well done guys.

  10. I think Chuba Akpom looked remarkably good yesterday. He supported the defence pretty well and I love how he ran with the ball when he won it. He kind of looked like the Ox. I am beginning to take Gnabry for granted because he is just so good for his age. I’m glad the team won as he would have been affected by his penalty miss if things ended differently.

    It was a good performance from our youngsters with superb guidance from our experienced back 5/6. Our fitness showed in the extra time when we just kept going.

    It’s great to create a new record of 11 straight away wins. To those who may qualify it as a penalty win I say, had we lost, it would have been called a loss. A win is a win irrespective of how we come about it.

  11. Was at the game, Albion pushed for the win more than Arsenal. This was expected as we have bigger fish to fry.

  12. The kids looked dead on their feet by the end, I was worried that west brom would take it, when we lost the ball easily with each wave of attack.

    Good thing gnabry missed and we won, amazing chance to rub in the fact that it’s a team game…

    Was surprised he was taking the penalty, given he was too exhausted to track back in the end, and was getting a thigh massage from one of the assistants before extra time…

  13. @Colario. Have to agree completely about the support. The figure I got last night was 6000 Gooners, so about a third of the crowd, and it sounded like it all night.

    It was noticeable that their support halved from the usual crowd, which seems normal for most places in the league cup.

    The funny thing is that we’ll fill the ground for Chelsea, and would do the same or come close whoever we played — we got 46,000 in the Shrewsbury game in 2011 back at a really tough time.

    We average about 57,000 for these cup games, and as they are not on the season tickets, thats actually people paying to go. I know the £10/£20 price structure helps, but it just means we have our marketing right.

    The point is that the narrative on the 2011 game was to point out how empty the Emirates was. As a context, City played Birmingham (the holders) the next night, only got 25,000 total, and no one blinked an eye.

    Maybe I’m looking too hard as usual, but our support (like everything else) seems to be held to a different standard…

  14. @rufusstan, we are not talking about numbers. We are talking about dBs. We manage to fill up the ems every single game and yet we hardly hear our supporters.

  15. Rufusstan,

    You are not looking too hard. Everything negative about Arsenal is always blown out of proportion but I don’t blame the media when a faction of our fans are only happy to talk about the club’s undoings.

  17. Arsenal 13
    Yes, exactly. The away support is fantastic. I’ve said many times we mainly win away and lose / draw at home because of the support. Last night, on my stream, I hardly heard the home crowd over the travelling Arsenal fans.

  18. An apology:

    (I’ve copied & pasted this from UA’s previous thread)

    I’ve now re-watched the whole match. When I 1st watched I’d swear WBA were pushing us around (fouling), especially in the first 30 mins. On watching again I didn’t see nearly as much fouling as I thought I had. Sure, there was the odd occasion when I thought a call went the wrong way, but overall, according to what I saw whilst watching again, it seems my real-time assessment of the ref was wrong, hence my apology.

    During the build-up prior to kick-off the commentator said that this ref is on the list and will be seen in the Prem this season.

    If I’m wrong about the reffing of the game, or the ref’s promotion, please let me know.

    Well done Arsenal.

  19. Rocky,
    I personally think it is more important to give the youth experience in a bigger competitions. If that results in us losing, then so be it.

    I also believe that in order to be a winner, you first have to learn to be a good loser. This involves learning how to pick yourself up after a loss and remain positive being able to go into your next challenge with belief, positivity and motivation.

    Too many people expect the finished article to exist without the need for the learning process.

  20. Very glad that our younglings fought the good fight .That was quite a pass from Bendtner. And the guys took their penalties quite confidently .
    Hope this win boosts their confidence and the do well against Chelski in the next round .
    Well done to our away supporters – they always amaze me with
    their enthusiasm and undivided loyalty .Great job , guys !

    I leave you with some fine quotes from the greats at …
    ww.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/youth.html

    Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.
    Aristotle

    Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.
    Franz Kafka

    Age considers; youth ventures.
    Rabindranath Tagore

    One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.
    Virginia Woolf

  21. @Stuart. I agree with you it is good to give youth experience in bigger competitions, however I hope we field a stronger team against Chelski than we did Wednesday. I am not too keen on the ‘man against boys’ as happened in the final when we played Chelski.

    I also hope the fans get behind the team at the ems as they did on Wednesday.

  22. @Rantetta – I too feel that the refreeing was not too bad! Maybe a C or a D but not an F for sure…atleast he was not trigger happy otherwise Hayden could have been sent off and that could have been curtains for us!

  24. @Colario,
    I know what you mean but to be honest, I quite like the idea of the youngsters coming up against a tough Chelsea team. I think it would be wise to put in 2 or 3 experienced players (Podolski, Vermaelen and Ramsey with another experienced player on the bench maybe)as this would help the youngsters learn but the youngsters also need to learn how to dig THEMSELVES out of a hole.

  26. I think the squad against Chelsea might be a little stronger than you would think.

    The back 5 would be equivalent to last night.

    Arteta or Flamini deep lying. The Last Samurai up front again.

    That leaves 4 spots normally to be filled by the kids, but the 4th round is just post interlull, either 29th/30th October. Around then: Theo, Santi, Poldi and Rosicky are all projected to return to the squad.

    Considering the run we have around then (Liverpool, United, both Dortmund games), you’d normally expect a really weak squad to preserve the main guys, but with potentially 4 players needing match fitness, Arsene might go with a very strong side (or a really scary bench).

  28. Hi Stuart. I do see your point and to a point I agree with you.
    Playing a team that is near the bottom of the PL or in a lower league is one thing. Putting in youngsters (or to use a word I saw in a recent post but have never seen elsewhere ‘younglins’) against the likes of Chelski or Manure’s first team is a different ball game.

    Playing a weaker team you feel you have a chance so will go for it but playing Chelski and alike is daunting and while you want to put up a good show and give your best, its in your mind ‘ your playing the mighty and you’ve no chance’. Its natural to think like this and I don’t think its fair on the youngsters to throw them in the same way as you would against a lesser team.

    I am not saying don’t play any, a couple may be and perhaps a couple on the bench but give your team good reason to believe they can win by fielding an 11 that has a good chance of winning.

  30. I also think the squad against Chelsea will be a bit stronger; we have about 7 or 8 first team players who have been injured, some of whom might be back then and possibly wont be playing in the first team yet, & that may be a good opportunity to give them a run out.

    Completely off-topic, but I found this an interesting read. If I didn’t have a huge dislike of mou I’d probably buy the book, just for laughs;
    http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/sep/26/jose-mourinho-cried-manchester-united

  32. Just looked through the shots from the match on Arsenal.com.

    Great to see the celebrations. And the last shot is Thomas Vermaelen. Good that he’s back!

  34. Tony & Walter
    You have got to see what happened in the Real Madrid vs Eiche match (no I never heard of them either) to believe it.
    The level of reffing has set the Spanish media ablaze with anger and accusations.
    Cesar Muniz is the ref. the same one who sent off Vela for taking a free kick.
    This is a ref that even Reily wouldn’t use.

  35. Rantetta
    I thought the ref was ok.
    He let heavy physical challenges go for each team. He was not one sided which is all I can ask for, especially at an away match.
    Another ref might have sent off two arsenal players and one Baggie.

  36. This is the most lenient match review among the bunch I read( I did not get to see the match)
    If I go by the average, Gnabry looked tired.
    Eisfeld did nothing much except scoring the goal.
    Miyachi was super disappointing.
    Only Hayden and Bellerin did well.
    and of course Olson and Chuba were really cool to take and convert the penalties!!!

  37. Tony,

    Less fuss is being made because it is a draw with Arsenal winning on penalties. The Result is officially given as 1-1, Arsenal win on penalties 4-3

    If it was statistically a win it would be given as Arsenal 5 West Brom 4.

    So the away run has ended.

  38. Andrew Ryan,

    So the team played a draw against Bradford last season. Please kindly tell those who harp on about Arsenal LOSING to Bradford.

    We are playing Chelsea in the next round of the league cup because we were victorious on Wednesday. A win is a win. The team won and for the 11th consecutive time on the road.

  39. Bootoomee

    Arsenal are through to the next round but the result is not STATISTICALLY a win.

    As for Bradford the result was statistically a draw, but Arsenal Lost on penalties. However Arsenal did lose to Blackburn during normal time in another cup game last year.

  43. No the game was a draw. Have a look how it is recorded. I am not talking about the fact that Arsenal won the FA Cup (but have won FA since) I am talking about the way the game is noted in the records.

  45. Andrew Ryan,

    Bringing up the Blackburn loss which has absolutely nothing to do with this debate shows you up as a negative nelly, also known as AAA around here.

    Tony already stated that the game was won via penalties but you have to lecture us ‘clueless’ folks here about how games are won and lost. The only problem is that you are only interested in the ones that we lost. Says a lot about you really.

    We’ve won 11 consecutive away games. Deal with it!

  46. To be fair to Andrew Ryan, I agree with him that all games which go to penalties do count as draws from a football statistics viewpoint.

  47. So Andrew, by your reasoning, it should be argued that Brazil have only won 4 world cup titles instead of 5, since the 1994 cup was decided by penalties? Or should that be 4 and a half, with Italy getting the other half since it was a draw, from your perspective?

  48. Bootoomee

    You brought up the Bradford loss, I was just going with your train of “thought”. Arsenal’s run of consecuritve wins is over in the record books.

    AL
    No Brazil have won 5 World Cups. It has nothing to do with my perspective but how statistics are dealt with by the Football Authorities.

    A penalty shootout is considered to be outside of the actual result statistically speaking. For example the ‘goals’ are not counted towards a player’s tally, but merely a way of deciding who goes through. Bendtner’s stats will show he has not scored this year, even though he managed to score the first penalty in the shoot out.

  49. Andrew Ryan,

    First of all, your original comment was patronising of Tony and readers of his article. He already stated that we won via penalties. I think every reader of this piece gets the point. But as Arsenal supporters, yes it is victory for us and it is the 11th consecutive victory away from home. Your argument is being made like you are talking to people who can’t read or interpret basic rules.

    Statistically, we did not lose to Bayern Munich last season as it was 3-3 on aggregate but according to the rules, we lost. The same logic applies to penalty shoot outs. Yes the game ended in a draw but I don’t ever recall fans of the penalty shoot out winners calling the result a draw afterwards. This is a first for me.

    Bringing a straight HOME loss that has nothing to do with penalty shouts into a debate about away wins and penalty shoot outs shows you up, like I posted earlier, as an AAA who is only interested in highlighting the club’s failings and undermining our achievements.

    Use whatever statistics suit your slant but this Arsenal team has now been victorious in 11 back to back away games.

  50. bootoomee

    Its incredible how your language and manner are so similar to your mentor who you so obviously slavishly look up to. As you are so close to him, can you get on the batphone and please ask him this.

    How did he manage to get the birthday of one of the Arsenal greats so wrong on his “history” site today?

    While you are on the batphone you can tell him that Ted Platt left in 1953 and not 1957

    PS sorry to be pedantic but Arsenal have not won 11 straight games statistically. Look up how FIFA record these game. The Result is officially given as 1-1, Arsenal win on penalties 4-3.

    PPS please don’t patronise Arsenal fans who don’t share your Wengercentric view of Arsenal.

  51. You can’t be just a little bit pregnant

    It means that the situation that is being described is a binary. It is something that is either IS or ISN’T. Such as is the case when one is pregnant. One either “is” pregnant or “is not”, there is no in between or partial pregnancy. It means it is a situation in which there is no ambiguity or no gray area. You can’t be “just a little bit” of certain things.

    “You can’t be just a little bit pregnant when you are talking bankruptcy. You can’t be just a little bit bankrupt. You are either bankrupt or not bankrupt. ”
    Wall street movie dialogue.

  52. A guy is flying in a hot air balloon and he’s lost. So he lowers himself over a field and shouts to a guy on the ground:

    “Can you tell me where I am, and which way I’m headed?” “Sure! You’re at 43 degrees, 12 minutes, 21.2 seconds north; 123 degrees, 8 minutes, 12.8 seconds west. You’re at 212 meters above sea level. Right now, you’re hovering, but on your way in here you were at a speed of 1.83 meters per second at 1.929 radians”

    “Thanks! By the way, are you a statistician?” “I am! But how did you know?”

    “Everything you’ve told me is completely accurate; you gave me more detail than I needed, and you told me in such a way that it’s no use to me at all!”

    “Dang! By the way, are you a principal investigator?”

    “Geeze! How’d you know that????”

    “You don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you’re going. You got where you are by blowing hot air, you start asking questions after you get into trouble, and you’re in exactly the same spot you were a few minutes ago, but now, somehow, it’s my fault!

  53. A LOGICAL CONCLUSION ?

    Two statisticians were traveling in an airplane from LA to New York. About an hour into the flight, the pilot announced that they had lost an engine, but don’t worry, there are three left. However, instead of 5 hours it would take 7 hours to get to New York.

    A little later, he announced that a second engine failed, and they still had two left, but it would take 10 hours to get to New York.

    Somewhat later, the pilot again came on the intercom and announced that a third engine had died. Never fear, he announced, because the plane could fly on a single engine. However, it would now take 18 hours to get to New York.

    At this point, one statistician turned to the other and said, “Gee, I hope we don’t lose that last engine, or we’ll be up here forever!”

  54. Latest from the Medical Division of UA – STOP THE PRESSES !

    Statistics play an important role in genetics. For instance, statistics prove that numbers of offspring is an inherited trait. If your parent didn’t have any kids, odds are you won’t either.

  56. Andrew Ryan,

    You’ve finally shown yourself for the pathetic being you are. If you disdain Tony so much, what are you doing wasting your your life on his blog?

    Sorry Captain Obvious but we can all read and we all understand the rules. I’m sorry about how Arsenal’s good run has been making your life miserable. You were hoping for a loss, we won so you decide to call it a draw. We won via penalties. We WON. It’s our 11th consecutive away victory. I know you don’t like that but that is how it is.

  57. A statistician is a person who draws a mathematically precise line from an unwarranted assumption to a foregone conclusion.

  58. Bootoomee

    As I said please don’t patronise Arsenal supporters because they don’t believe exactly as you do. I am delightd that we are through, and your assertions that any Arsenal supporter would want THEIR club to lose is a sad statement to make.

    PS what did Sir Athony say on the batphone about his history errors? Has he tweeted them yet in all their incorrect glory?

    Brickfields

    If it makes you happy!

  59. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey: [praying to God]” God, we have not spoken this long or as often as we should. I’ve often been about other business. If I wanted forgiveness I should ask for it, but for all that I have done and for all that I am yet to do, there can be no forgiveness. And yet I think I’m not an evil man. Evil men pray louder, seek penance, and stick themselves closer to Heaven than I am. I shall not see its gates Lord. Nor hear your sweet words of salvation. I have seen eternity, I swear. But it was in dream and in the morning all was gone. I know myself for what I am. And I throw my poor soul upon your forgiveness, in the full knowledge that I deserve none at your loving hands.”

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