By Bulldog Drummond
It has been a long, long time since the media were so united in their vision that Arsenal were in really deep trouble. No one is actually promising relegation, but some are getting quite close to that.
But let’s look back at Brentford’s final run of top division games.
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Feb 1947 | Brentford v Aston Villa | L | 0-2 | League Division One |
| 3 Feb 1947 | Leicester City v Brentford | L | 4-1 | FA Cup |
| 22 Feb 1947 | Preston North End v Brentford | L | 5-2 | League Division One |
| 1 Mar 1947 | Derby County v Brentford | L | 2-1 | League Division One |
| 15 Mar 1947 | Brentford v Chelsea | L | 0-2 | League Division One |
| 22 Mar 1947 | Charlton Athletic v Brentford | L | 3-0 | League Division One |
| 29 Mar 1947 | Brentford v Grimsby Town | L | 0-1 | League Division One |
| 4 Apr 1947 | Brentford v Portsmouth | L | 1-3 | League Division One |
| 5 Apr 1947 | Leeds United v Brentford | W | 1-2 | League Division One |
| 7 Apr 1947 | Portsmouth v Brentford | L | 3-0 | League Division One |
| 12 Apr 1947 | Brentford v Manchester United | D | 0-0 | League Division One |
| 19 Apr 1947 | Stoke City v Brentford | L | 3-1 | League Division One |
| 26 Apr 1947 | Brentford v Middlesbrough | D | 0-0 | League Division One |
| 3 May 1947 | Brentford v Blackburn Rovers | L | 0-3 | League Division One |
| 10 May 1947 | Bolton Wanderers v Brentford | L | 1-0 | League Division One |
| 17 May 1947 | Brentford v Liverpool | D | 1-1 | League Division One |
| 24 May 1947 | Sunderland v Brentford | L | 2-1 | League Division One |
| 26 May 1947 | Brentford v Arsenal | L | 0-1 | League Division One |
The Express pulls a similar trick by telling us that “Arsenal may have avoided major transfer gaffe with Aaron Ramsdale deal set to collapse” This is a deal that the media have all been promoting all the way through the summer, with no evidence to back their claims up. It’s been in Sky Sport, HITC, Caught offside, Daily Canon, Teamtalk, HITC for a second time, The72, Daily Mail, Hard Tackle, FL World, the Athletic (who called the player a “top target” for Arsenal), and The Star (who claim three separate bids have been made.
And now it isn’t on, they have to blame Arsenal because, well, they are not going to blame themselves.
Elsewhere the Independent says Mikel Arteta confident Arsenal’s transfer business is not done yet while the forever ludicrous Football.London has been running the headline “We have sold out of Arsenal pre-season specials” over a blank screen. They have taken that down now, although that was odd even for them.
Even the BBC who ought to know better are getting excited with statements like “Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before – here’s everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment.”
But despite the raging there are some interesting bits and pieces around. Such as the fact that if Arsenal win the game tonight, they will repeat Mr Wenger’s old trick of five five consecutive away league wins .
Here is that record from days gone by and just for the fun of it we’ve left in the FA Cup victory that turned up in the midst of it all.
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Feb 2015 | Crystal Palace v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 4 Mar 2015 | Queens Park Rangers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 9 Mar 2015 | Manchester United v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | FA Cup |
| 21 Mar 2015 | Newcastle United v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 11 Apr 2015 | Burnley v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 4 May 2015 | Hull City v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
1-2 would therefore seem to be the most likely score. But that list also reminds us that we don’t do many away defeats (although the media are hardly likely to note this). Here’s our end of last season. Pretty dismal, I’m sure you will agree.
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Feb 2021 | Leicester City v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 6 Mar 2021 | Burnley v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 21 Mar 2021 | West Ham United v Arsenal | D | 3-3 | Premier League |
| 11 Apr 2021 | Sheffield United v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 2 May 2021 | Newcastle United v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 12 May 2021 | Chelsea v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 19 May 2021 | Crystal Palace v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
Should we lose they will of course crow, but seven consecutive away league games without defeat is not bad. Which is why they don’t publish that table.
Up next: the team predictions and a Lacazette special.
Looking forward: 2021/22
- How can Arsenal up their goalscoring this coming season?
- What’s gone wrong in the transfer market? In essence, everything.
- How EU foreign subsidy rules could harm football
- How the media got it wrong last season and will do again in 2021/2
- The illusion that it is all about the quality of the players is an illusion
