by Bulldog Drummond
Everton and Arsenal changed managers on the most recent occasion within days of each other. Thus far Carlo Ancelloti has overseen these results across all competitions…
Ancelloti’s first 16 games this season:
- Won 10
- Drawn 2
- Lost 4
- Win rate 62.5%
As for Arteta’s first 22 games this season (the Trophy games are excluded)
- Won 13
- Drawn 2
- Lost 7
- Win rate 59%
Obviously, Everton have played fewer games because they are not playing in Europe. But we can see that these are both very fine win rates. However, as a look at the top four shows, not good enough when only League matches are included.
Taking this measure of just league games Arsenal have a win rate of just 31%. So on that basis Ancelloti has been twice as successful this season as Arteta.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 61% |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 54% |
| 3 | Southampton | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 54% |
| 4 | Leicester City | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 62% |
The Everton season started very well but then declined. After seven straight wins in League and League Cup, the next seven had only one win, although of late matters have improved.
Here are Everton’s last nine games.
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Oct 2020 | Everton v Liverpool | D | 2-2 | Premier League |
| 25 Oct 2020 | Southampton v Everton | L | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 01 Nov 2020 | Newcastle United v Everton | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 07 Nov 2020 | Everton v Manchester United | L | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 22 Nov 2020 | Fulham v Everton | W | 2-3 | Premier League |
| 28 Nov 2020 | Everton v Leeds United | L | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 05 Dec 2020 | Burnley v Everton | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 12 Dec 2020 | Everton v Chelsea | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 16 Dec 2020 | Leicester City v Everton | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
The win against Chelsea is certainly something to be noted, although the Leicester win, less so, as their season is a most curious one which we will come back to next time we cover the season’s statistics.
Overall there have been 52 away wins in the Premier League this season, 28 draws and 47 home wins. So the away teams still have the advantage despite what the media says.
If we compare the home and away results of the two clubs we get this…
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Everton home | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 10 |
| 15 | Arsenal away | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 7 |
Everton thus have the advantage of one win to a defeat of Arsenal’s but when we come to look at the goals then the stats get worrying… True we have only conceded six away, but they have knocked in 13 at home.
Our last eight games
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 22 Nov 2020 | Leeds United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 26 Nov 2020 | Molde v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Europa League |
| 29 Nov 2020 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | L | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 3 Dec 2020 | Arsenal v Rapid Wien | W | 4-1 | Europa League |
| 6 Dec 2020 | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 10 Dec 2020 | Dundalk v Arsenal | W | 2-4 | Europa League |
| 13 Dec 2020 | Arsenal v Burnley | L | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 16 Dec 2020 | Arsenal v Southampton | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
Of course the wins have all been against lesser teams in the Europa, but still they were wins, even though the media won’t mention them. And they showed we have youngsters available – even if the manager seems reluctant to use the players beyond the Europa.
As for the media, the period that everyone is chattering about as being the last really bad run, in 1974, went like this…
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 27 Aug 1974 | Ipswich Town v Arsenal | L | 3-0 | Division One |
| 31 Aug 1974 | Everton v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Division One |
| 7 Sep 1974 | Arsenal v Burnley | L | 0-1 | Division One |
| 10 Sep 1974 | Arsenal v Leicester City | D | 1-1 | League Cup |
| 14 Sep 1974 | Chelsea v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Division One |
| 18 Sep 1974 | Leicester City v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | League Cup |
| 21 Sep 1974 | Arsenal v Luton Town | D | 2-2 | Division One |
| 28 Sep 1974 | Birmingham City v Arsenal | L | 3-1 | Division One |
| 5 Oct 1974 | Leeds United v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | Division One |
| 12 Oct 1974 | Arsenal v Queens Park Rangers | D | 2-2 | Division One |
| 16 Oct 1974 | Manchester City v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Division One |
| 19 Oct 1974 | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | Division One |
That was eight defeats and four draws in 12 games. But what happened thereafter? That of course is what the Arsenal knockers won’t tell you. So here it is…
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 26 Oct 1974 | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 3-0 | Division One |
| 2 Nov 1974 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | D | 0-0 | Division One |
| 9 Nov 1974 | Liverpool v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Division One |
| 16 Nov 1974 | Arsenal v Derby County | W | 3-1 | Division One |
Must have come as a bit of a surprise to the pundits. And it is a turnaround like that which we need now.
More anon…
- Attack, attack, attack. How one newspaper launched 10 attacks on Arsenal in just 2 days
- Reality is elsewhere. Why certain stories are never covered by football journalists
- Arsenal had a model that worked, but then threw it all away
