Some Gooners just can’t win. If you express concern that it might not be sustainable for Arsenal to keep relying on the odd set-piece goal to claim victories, you’re accused of raining on everyone’s parade. Yet if you complain after we drop points, you’re branded wise after the event.
As I write this, Arsenal have incredibly conceded only three times in all competitions this season, and just twice in open play. It is quickly becoming a statistic that can affect teams before they even step onto the pitch. Opponents are aware that it will take something special to break us down, while mentally our players know there is less pressure to score freely when the defence is this solid.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said that “defences win titles.” While I’ll give examples of when that has been true, when you really investigate the statement, it’s not strictly accurate, is it?
The statistics behind title-winning defences
In 33 Premier League seasons, only 12 champions have been the side that conceded the fewest goals. Eighteen won the title despite not keeping the most clean sheets, while three champions shared the same number of shutouts as another team.
The Gunners know that reality well. David Raya has two Golden Gloves since moving to North London, but none of those seasons ended in silverware.
George Graham built one of Britain’s most famous back fives, whose careers Arsène Wenger helped extend through modern training and dietary methods. Yet even that defence, dominant in the early Premier League years, produced impressive statistics that did not always translate into titles.
Lessons from history
The 1998-99 Arsenal side still hold the record for conceding the fewest goals in a season without being crowned champions. We shipped just 17 goals – a staggering 20 fewer than Manchester United – yet United went on to win the Treble while we finished second.
That season summed up how small the margins can be in top-level sport. Our goalkeeper and back four did their jobs brilliantly, but we drew too many games, failing to score in eight of them. If we had found the net in just one of those goalless draws, we would have retained the Double.
So while a poor defence can certainly cost you a title, it’s not always true that a great one guarantees success.
For the record, betting markets currently offer odds of 33/1 on Arsenal conceding fewer than 14.5 goals this season. Worth a tenner, anyone?
Dan Smith
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I believe the not mentailty of not conceding at any cost is not just down to the defence but the whole team.
The defending when losing the ball starts with the striker/s and filters all the way back
Closing down, pressing and even when they do get pass us making sure you track back.
Keepifocused for 90 plus minutes and not switching off.
Not sure if we will better the record but don’t think it is for want of trying right now.
Last night we did ride our luck at times or poor finishing. We did lose that tag of the opposition having no
shot on target but we got the job done which is what counts and another clean sheet which only builds on the stats and confidence.
CP in the next round which imo is the hardest draw even at home but no reason why we can’t make the semis
Onwards and upwards
We might be able to win EPL by relying on defense only if the other title contenders are inconsistent
If Man City keep winning, we wouldn’t be able to rely on our defense alone
@Gai, I think the major foundation has been laid for success already. Arsenal have a big chance of winning Epl and going far in UCL. ManCity defense contributed to their winning Epl in previous seasons. Now they can’t stop conceding.
If Arsenal had been able to prevent some teams from scoring last season may be we could have competed better last season or even win.
Havertz & Jesus will be back and with Gyokeres goals will come.
In October, we scored 12 goals and conceded non. 6 in 3 Epl games and 6 in UCL. That’s why we are on top in Epl..
Arsenal now nicknamed Cleen SheetsFC 😁
Yes, our huge squad is a very good asset to win EPL
I’m not sure about Gyokeres, but a fully-fit Jesus and Havertz would likely improve our goal productivity
Why do you say “huge squad”? Arsenal’s squad is no larger than most other PL teams. What they’ve done this season is fill the allocated slots which they hadn’t always done in previous seasons.
What Arsenal have done is to upgrade in squad depth.
The Manchester legend have a point, a long league season such as the premier league is marathon, not a sprint, while a team with an explosive attsck might win individual games in spectacular fashion, a robust defense provides the consistency to grind out results over a long and grueling campaign.
So Arsenal have got all their ducks in a row, we have built a reliable platform upon which success is built.
Many paased champions, have sport a great goal keeper and a formidable center back pairing, providing a sense of stability throughout the outfit.
If I was a betting man, I would think twice before wagering a bet against this Arsenal juggernaut.
Gunsmoke,
Having noticed your like of the word Genius. I now see a new one, Juggernaut. 😂
After hammering Real Madrid 5 – 1 a few weeks before, Diego Simieone stated Arsenal are the best team his side has faced this season.
Derek if a fish comes up from the bottom of the sea and tells you in plain English ‘ sharks are down there ‘ would you not believe?
Arsenal is just difficult to stop at the moment.
Yes we are lacking creativity, as we did last year as well. Lets hope when Madu, Öde and Havertz return, their arrival will unlock something unpredictable for the oppositions.
DaJuhi
I share your sentiment,when Ode,Madu and Havertz return in full
Then we’ll know the direction the team is leading
Arteta is very good at organising the team and making it functional in shape and organision. The thing he struggles with is attacking play and shape. Defending is often down to a solid foundation and work ethic. That isn’t the case with attacking. There is a different dynamic to scoring goals and while we are world class at dead ball goals and Defending. We are definitely not at breaking down and breaking on teams to score. If it doesn’t improve it may cost us winning the big jugs. Its not a given but to increase our chances it has to get better. We are too careful and not that dynamic at attacking. Attacking requires different elements to be successful, other than organisation and work ethic.
A brilliant defence takes a lot of pressure of the attacking players knowing that one goal will probably seal the win.
I think a top class defence is the most important aspect of a title winning team but of course top class players throughout the squad is also vital which we have and that is why pundits and opposition fans are directing so much hate towards us…
One thing that is ignored in all these discussions is that the team is EVOLVING. There is every chance that the attacking play will improve with time because the new players are adjusting to the team and we are due to welcome back key attacking players like Odegaard and Havertz.
This is largely the same team that scored 91 goals in the 2023/24 season- an Arsenal record. We were on 100 point pace in the second half of that season,after the famous Dubai trip. We were scoring goals for fun and not conceding goals either. The difference between this season and that season is that we are getting results in the first half of the season.
I expect our attacking play to improve with time.
Another thing that is ignored in these discussions is OPPONENTS. Realistically,our main opponents are Liverpool & City. Both of these teams have more issues than us. The former are a shambles and the latter is so far being carried by an in form Haaland. If you ask me, I’d say relying on one player is more unsustainable than relying on set pieces.
By the way, I think talking about titles after game week 9 is premature. I’d rather we take it one game at a time- I’m sure that’s what the manager and the players are doing.
One reason why our defence is brilliant is that these guys have played together for a while and have developed chemistry. The guys on the other end have not had sufficient time to develop that understanding. Let us be patient with them. Meanwhile all that matters is getting results.
Good comments on both of your posts. 👍
One of the scary thing about this Arsenal team is that they don’t concede many chances let alone goals.
Only nine games in is too early to be talking about titles. We are still the underdog. Let’s take one game at a time until we are deep into the season