Arsenal v Burnley: the background stats, Burnley in season 1, and goalscorers in double figures.

By Bulldog Drummond

Burnley let us not forget, were there at the start.  At the very start of organised league football in England and fairly near to the start of FA Cup football.

Six years before Royal Arsenal made it to the first round proper of the Cup for the first time Burnley were there being beaten by Darwen Old Wanderers 11-0.  The following year they were drawn against the mighty Astley Bridge and Burnley were dutifully disqualified (I am not quite sure why, but probably for being from a very boring village).

In 1888 it was back to a match against Darwen Old Wanderers which Burnley won on a walk over, before losing to the might Accrington Stanley.   The following year they joined the very first season of the football league and celebrated by losing seven of their first nine games including a 1-7 home defeat to Blackburn.  Arsenal were then just two years old.

They are one of the very few teams (and maybe the only team, I am not quite sure) to have played in every one of the Football Leagues (leaving aside the technicality of Division 3 North and South – they performed in the original one tier Football League, Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4, the Championship and the Premier League.   Thus while Arsenal prepares to celebrate a continuous 100 years of the top division, Burnley can celebrate their diversity and travels.

Burnley came second in the Championship in 2013/14, were relegated from the Premier League in 19th place in 2015, and then came back again by winning the Championship in 2016.

And this time they have improved.

Last time they came up to the top league they went the first 11 games without a win.   This time around they managed four wins in the first 11 which lifted them to 9th in the league – their highest position since 1974, where after 11 games they were 2nd in the 1st division in a run that included victories over Tottenham, Chelsea and Man City.  They also beat Arsenal 2-1 that season and finished 5th in the league, five places above Arsenal.

This season Burnley have picked up in recent games (data from Statto.com)

However we have to notice that these three victories came at home.   Here is the record of their away form…

What is interesting as we scan down that table is that although the defeats have continued (save of course from the valiant draw with Manchester United) the deficit has reduced, from letting in three or four in the first four away defeats, to one or two in the last four away defeats.

This suggests the need to take our chances, and a recognition of the organisation of their defence.  We can see this in the yellow card level comparing Arsenal and Burnley.

The top five offenders for Burnley have gained 22 yellow cards, while as we see below the top five for Arsenal have gained 16.

Overall Burnley have collected 38 yellow cards (which to be fair is only four more than Arsenal) and way behind Watford with 49.  They have had no reds so far this season.

On the more positive front their top scorer is Andre Gray with five, the same number as Mesut Özil.  The full top scorers list is currently…

Comparing clubs in that list (following the question of whether we might have more than “only” two players in double figures this season) we find that in the list of players who have scored 6+ in the league this season, currently the top clubs have

• Arsenal: 3 players (total 29 goals between them)
• Liverpool: 3 players (total 22 goals between them)
• Chelsea: 2 players (total 23 goals between them)
• Tottenham Hotspur: 2 players (total 23 goals between them)

All other teams listed have just one player who might hope at this stage to knock up double figures by the end of the season.

Next up, the referee preview, followed by that tactical arrangement, injuries, the sequence figures, and of course the line up.