By Iver Kalculator
I have been told that Arsenal are doing far worse this season than we did last season. I think this is quite untrue. In fact I believe we are doing better than we were a season ago. As I show in the tables below.
| Date | Game | This season result | This season score | Last season result | Last season score | Change |
| 12 Sep | Fulham v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Note 1 | Note 1 | Note 1 |
| 19 Sep | Arsenal v West Ham United | W | 2-1 | W | 1-0 | 0 |
| 28 Sep | Liverpool v Arsenal | L | 3-1 | L | 3-1 | 0 |
| 04 Oct | Arsenal v Sheffield United | W | 2-1 | D | 1-1 | +2 pts |
| 17 Oct | Manchester City v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | L | 3-0 | 0 |
| 25 Oct | Arsenal v Leicester City | L | 0-1 | D | 1-1 | -1 pt |
| 01 Nov | Manchester United v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | D | 1-1 | +2 pts |
| 08 Nov | Arsenal v Aston Villa | L | 0-3 | W | 3-2 | -3 pts |
| 22 Nov | Leeds United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Note 2 | Note 2 | Note 2 |
| 29 Nov | Arsenal v Wolverhampton W | L | 1-2 | D | 1-1 | -1 pt |
| 6 Dec | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | L | 2-1 | 0 |
| 13 Dec | Arsenal v Burnley | L | 0-1 | W | 2-1 | -3 pts |
| 16 Dec | Arsenal v Southampton | D | 1-1 | D | 2-2 | 0 |
| 19 Dec | Everton v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | D | 0-0 | -1 pt |
| 26 Dec | Arsenal v Chelsea | W | 3-1 | L | 1-2 | +3 pts |
| Total | -2 pts |
Note 1 (Fulham) and Note 2 (Leeds United)
Now we have in this table Leeds and Fulham against whom we have picked up four points this year.
You will of course recall that they were promoted in 2019/20. Leeds won the league, and Fulham the play offs. So the equivalent for 2018/19 would be Norwich (league winners) and Aston Villa (play off winners).
Thus we transpose the Leeds result with the Norwich result. Leeds away this year was 0-0 (1 point) while Norwich away last season was a 2-2 draw, again one point. No change. Nice and easy. It is a situation which in technical statistical terms is called “nothing to worry about”.
Aston Villa came up via the play offs, so we compare them with Fulham. We beat Fulham away this season, but we lost to Villa away 1-0 last season. So we are three points better off this season than we were with them last season. In statistics this is called a “roll your sleeves up situation” meaning work must be done. Calculators at the ready!
Thus if we take that victory over Fulham, compared with a defeat against Villa last time around, and factor it into the data, instead of being two points worse off, we are now one point better off than we were in the same games last season and thus should be safe for the Europa league once again.
That’s comforting to know.
So how can it be that the table after 15 games now…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 19 | 17 | 31 |
| 2 | Everton | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 19 | 7 | 29 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 28 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 23 | 7 | 27 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 26 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 25 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 25 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 25 |
| 9 | Southampton | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 25 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 21 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 30 | -5 | 20 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 19 | -5 | 20 |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 24 | -7 | 18 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 18 |
| 15 | Arsenal | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 17 |
reads worse that after 15 games last season?
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 14 | 23 | 43 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 35 | 9 | 26 | 35 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 17 | 26 | 32 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 30 | 21 | 9 | 29 |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 21 | 17 | 4 | 23 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 21 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 21 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 23 | 2 | 20 |
| 9 | Sheffield United | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 19 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 19 |
Basically we are two points and a goal difference of two, worse off, because we have played tougher matches in the first 15 this season than last season. We can also see that our goal scoring is worse (the lack of Auba and Martinelli have accounted for that) while our defence has actually improved, conceding four fewer goals. I don’t think any of the so-called commentators and so-called expert analysts with their so-called super computers have noticed this!
What is particularly interesting is that we are now ten points off the fourth “not a trophy” position which is exactly the same as last season at this point.
Last season we ended up eighth and we are likely to be in a similar position this season – unless we start scoring a few more goals. Which with both Auba and Martinelli on song, we certainly ought to be able to do.
I’m glad that’s sorted.
Just shows what a difference yesterday’s result makes.
Would be interesting to factor in some analysis of “key player availability” this season versus last season. Of the top of my head, I seem to remember Tierney was out for a lot of the early season. This year we have had Martinelli out and Party mostly out. (And Ozil missing but that’s a different story).
Anyway, be interested to see a follow up analysis which factors in availability,
Haven’t been here for a while, but just checking in to add to the recognition of Martinelli’s greatness. We’ve all seen Saka this year and he’s been amazing and a real source of hope for the future. But let’s not forget, Martinelli was rightly the talk of Arsenal FC not too long ago but he got injured. Now he’s back, and he’s actually more experienced than Saka in some ways, so we have these two incredible young players in our team now. Saka has been such a source of positivity during these rough times, and having another young guy there with the same flair (although I almost hesitate to call his skills flair, as they’re so natural and applied practically unlike the stereotypical flair player) will hopefully add another dimension of danger to the team. Since his debut, Martinelli has been nothing but danger to the opposition. Delighted to have him back.
The stat that matters is one that Nuno of Wolves has begun to understand. He criticised the PGMOL official last match and has been subjected to one so blind and bigotted in this match, that Nuno will have to praise all men that carry whistles and the God Riley for future flat pitches.
The touch of a spud
is a yellow card
the work to win
is only within
the whistle that blows
for what nobody knows
but keep playing
and stop saying
get up Kane
you are a pain
it is what it is playing cheats!!
Near the end of the Wolves/Spurs game with the scores level and darling Harry Kane goes down in the penalty area like he’s been shot in a futile attempt to con the referee into awarding a spot kick. The commentators including Alan Smith make various excuses for him. Why can’t they simply call him out for what he is…. a bloody cheat. Can you imagine the media allowing an Arsenal player to get away with what good old Harry is allowed to get away with.
mick
But Wolves did also get away with one.
Minute 75. A decision goes against Traore. He has a little argument with the ref, nothing much, but then in a pique of frustration he punches the ball away into the ground.
Don’t get me wrong, nothing much and do I want players booked for that? Not really. But we had a player booked for exactly that within the last Month.
Not a word from the commentators. Nothing to see here guv’!
Again even more than the officiating double standards applied to Arsenal compared to most, if not all of the others, is the pundits, and medias as a whole, desire to highlight every misdemeanour we commit. Or highlight everything they think we got away with simply to ensure the World and his dog continue in the belief that Arsenal are somehow always guilty of something, and if they are not then they should be.
But when it comes to others the incident is completely ignored or the most ridiculous of excuses made.
Nitram
I only saw the last few minutes of the Spurs match so missed the Traore incident you refer to.
It doesn’t surprise me, in the same way all the ‘Bellerin type’ foul throws I am now seeing go unpunished as long as they are not committed by an Arsenal player.
With the Kane incident I am sure Alan Smith said something along the lines of “he had no other option but to go down”.
Sorry Smith but he did have another option?
He could have stayed on his feet!
Traore was fouled and was correctly upset but one cannot show dissent to the PGMOL and he was fortunate not to be gifted with a card. The wisdom of the great Sky commentators spilled like ………….. and we go on watching this farce unfold.
Menace
He was and was understandably upset. A little moan up. No problem. But it was the visible sign of decent when he punched the ball away.
From:
LAW 12: FOULS AND MISCONDUCT
IFAB Laws of the Game 2020-21
CAUTIONABLE OFFENCES
A player is cautioned if guilty of:
Dissent by word or action
So Traore showed dissent both verbally and by action and nothing.
Again it’s not so much that the referee took no action, but more not a word was said by the commentators. If it had been Xhaka the very least we could of expected was a comment, but often we get half a dozen replays, just to make sure everyone’s aware that ‘YET AGAIN ARSENAL GOT AWAY WITH ONE’. The same thing would of happened if it had been an Arsenal player and not Kane. In fact it happened only the other day when Tierny ‘won’ a penalty. Straight away we had Pires thrown in the ring. Again, just to make sure everyone knows this is what Arsenal are like, in fact they invented it.
The stark difference in how we are refereed and depicted is so obvious I find it mind blowing that the same old names continually come on here deying it.
Nitram – in the Southampton game when Ceballos was kicked to his left boot, the commentators said it was not enough of contact and quoted ‘umpires call’ as an excuse.
VAR didn’t look at it sufficiently as it was a claer penalty if examined but then not if the PGMOL have their select officials verifying anything.