Arsenal won both their opening games and sit second in the table but to the naysayers out there it was against poor opposition, was fully expected and is no great achievement.
Well, I accept that Newcastle United and Burnley should have been beaten but when you look back at the last decade and look at the opening two games for Arsenal you will soon realise that regardless of the quality of the opposition winning both opening games is an improvement, a significant one.
Let’s have a look back at the last ten years
2019 – 6 points
Newcastle United 0–1 Arsenal
Arsenal 2–1 Burnley
2018 – 0 points
Arsenal 0–2 Manchester City
Chelsea 3–2 Arsenal
2017 – 3 points
Arsenal 4–3 Leicester City
Stoke City 1–0 Arsenal
2016 – 1 point
Arsenal 3–4 Liverpool
Leicester City 0–0 Arsenal
2015 – 3 points
Arsenal 0–2 West Ham United
Crystal Palace 1–2 Arsenal
2014 – 4 points
Arsenal 2–1 Crystal Palace
Everton 2–2 Arsenal
2013 – 3 points
Arsenal 1–3 Aston Villa
Fulham 1–3 Arsenal
2012 – 2 points
Arsenal 0–0 Sunderland
Stoke City 0–0 Arsenal
2011 – 1 point
Newcastle United 0–0 Arsenal
Arsenal 0–2 Liverpool
2010 – 4 points
Liverpool 1–1 Arsenal
Arsenal 6–0 Blackpool
So, there you have it, this season as the first in ten years that Arsenal picked up six points from their opening two games and you can see from the list above that there have been some terrible results against teams that we should have beaten.
There are so many variables to take into consideration, what sort of pre-season was had, how have the new signings integrated, how have players departing affected the team, what was the injury list and so on.
Of course, on paper Arsenal should always pick up three points against cannon fodder but that is not how football works and momentum and confidence are just as important as a £50 Million player early on in the campaign.
Arsenal has done very well no matter what the critics have said, we all know that Liverpool and Tottenham will be stern tests but that in no way diminishes the huge improvement on the last ten years when it comes to opening games.