11 away games undefeated. What has got into Arsenal and can we have some more?

By Bulldog Drummond

Yes, extraordinary though it is and impossible though it must seem Arsenal have gone through the whole of December, January and February (which by my reckoning makes three months) without being defeated away from home.  And they can add to that one away game in March as well.

Date Game Res Score Competition
01 Dec 2019 Norwich City v Arsenal D 2-2 Premier League
09 Dec 2019 West Ham United v Arsenal W 1-3 Premier League
12 Dec 2019 Standard Liège v Arsenal D 2-2 Europa League
21 Dec 2019 Everton v Arsenal D 0-0 Premier League
26 Dec 2019 AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal D 1-1 Premier League
11 Jan 2020 Crystal Palace v Arsenal D 1-1 Premier League
21 Jan 2020 Chelsea v Arsenal D 2-2 Premier League
27 Jan 2020 AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal W 1-2 FA Cup
02 Feb 2020 Burnley v Arsenal D 0-0 Premier League
20 Feb 2020 Olympiakos v Arsenal W 0-1 Europa League
02 Mar 2020 Portsmouth v Arsenal W 0-2 FA Cup

Could that bode well for the game against Manchester City?

We have had 11 games and won four, drawing seven and losing none.  We’ve scored in every game except two (Burnley and Everton) and in fact scored 15 goals in those 11.

In the previous eight games away from home we won just one, drew three and lost four.

24 Aug 2019 Liverpool v Arsenal L 3-1 Premier League
15 Sep 2019 Watford v Arsenal D 2-2 Premier League
19 Sep 2019 Eintracht Frankfurt v Arsenal W 0-3 Europa League
30 Sep 2019 Manchester United v Arsenal D 1-1 Premier League
21 Oct 2019 Sheffield United v Arsenal L 1-0 Premier League
30 Oct 2019 Liverpool v Arsenal L 5-5 (5-4) League Cup
06 Nov 2019 Vitória Guimarães v Arsenal D 1-1 Europa League
09 Nov 2019 Leicester City v Arsenal L 2-0 Premier League

So what is the cause of this massive turn around, and then the big question, can it continue?

Well, the obvious change was the fact that between the defeat to Leicester and the away draw with Norwich Freddie Ljungberg was appointed acting manager and he started the current unbeaten away run, which Mr Arteta took over when he was appointed manager in Freddie’s place.

And is this a real improvement?

Not exactly, because in the League this season we have still only won two away games.  Against Newcastle in August and West Ham in December.  At that rate we’ll be due another away win in April.

We currently have 14 points from 13 away games.  Last season under Mr Emery after this number of games away from home we had 18 points.

But we are better off than 2018 when we only had 13 points from 13 away games.  In 2017 we had 21 points from 13 away games.  So better than the worse, but still not that good.

So 13 or 14 points from 13 away games does not bode well for Arsenal, especially as the next game is away to Manchester City.

They have played 13 games at home – the same number of games as we have played away.  And they have got 29 points at home (against our 14 points away).

They have scored 33 and conceded 12 at home, we have scored 14 and conceded 16 away from home.

Looking at these numbers a win for us is going to be a stunning achievement since they have only lost two and drawn two.  And we’ve only won two away.

Indeed a win for Arsenal away to Manchester City would be the upset of the season.  But then, it’s a funny old game.

 

One Reply to “11 away games undefeated. What has got into Arsenal and can we have some more?”

  1. Seems City’s highly talented but this season, injury prone types like KDB and Sane are in training to face us, having missed the last game, unless they are getting them ready for the CL.
    Things have certainly improved in recent months, without spectacular improvement. Just seems more cohesiveness with the players, perhaps Arteta can relate and get through to them more effectively

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *