Arsenal are not far off the same points total at this stage last season despite tougher fixtures.
After nine rounds of Premier League action this season, Arsenal have found themselves on 18 points thanks to 5 wins, 3 draws and a loss with an average of two points per game.
People outside the club, pundits and opposition fans alike have already started to write us off for the Premier League crown due to our points tally so far, even some sections of our own fanbase don’t think we have any chance of finally making it third time lucky this season.
Considering how we’ve seemingly bottled a lead at the top in past then you wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking we won’t win the crown, given we’re currently five points off Manchester City at the top of the table.
Nevertheless, we should know that our aforementioned points total of 18 points is just three points off the same stage last season when we were on 21 points after gameweek nine.
I know some of us maybe wondering how on Earth is this good thing, well it isn’t until you compare the fixtures at this stage of last season and this one. We faced all of Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham inside the first nine games of last season.
However considering we had all but one at home, it was a more easier fixture schedule to navigate than this season’s, where we’ve had to face all of Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City away from home with only Liverpool being a home fixture. Those four clubs accounted for all of last season’s top five barring Arsenal which made it an even tougher schedule to navigate.
All due respect to Manchester United and Chelsea, however they were teams that didn’t pose the same threat as Tottenham and Villa this season. Furthermore, we didn’t have to navigate last season’s first nine games with the amount of absentees we’ve had this season. We’ve had a lot of injuries to very important players, so important that their presence could’ve single handedly won us some of the games in which we dropped points this season.
After all this factors we’re still only three points adrift at the same stage last season, and given that we went on to arguably have the best campaign in the Emirates era despite an easier fixture schedule and without the same level of absentees, then we can absolutely be optimistic of the season ahead.
We’ll soon have our key players back, Manchester City are facing their own problems with injuries, Liverpool looked like a team we can beat, and there’ll be so many twist and turns over the course of the season.
It’s not a given that anyone is a shoo-in for the gong at the end of the season, and Arsenal are only going to get better as we progress…
What are your thoughts on this gooners?
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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We are still in the title race and we are still 2nd favourites behind Citeh
@SA Gunner
😂👍🏾
Of course, Arsenal has a chance of winning the title – there are 29 games left to play and they’re third in the table.
The change, I think, has been since they picked up only one point from a possible six in the last two games coupled with the injuries/suspensions they’ve accumulated.
Prior to that there was, in my opinion, definitely an air of “turning up in May to be crowned champions” both in some JA articles and in posts. There’s still some wishful thinking around. For example, Arsenal’s injured/suspended players are returning as the article says – but that doesn’t mean injuries/suspensions for Arsenal are over now and City’s injury problems or Liverpool’s relatively poor form will necessarily continue.
I think we’ve had a bit of a reality check in the last few weeks. Lots of things can, and probably, will, happen before May 2025 (as the article also says) – some good, others not. This title campaign will be a long, hard, slog – not an almost pre-determined coronation.
Bertie,
Not after the weekend there not.
I think we have done rather well in
Accumulating the points considering certain circumstances
1 man light against Brighton which was never a sending off
1 man light against city when LT had a heads gone moment and got sent off
1 man light against Bournemouth where again LT gave a suicide ball and Saliba got sent off and deservedly so
We played with 11 men let alone 10 and deserved nothing from the game
Lost our momentum 2nd half against pool and a draw was a far result
Missing a major cog of MO who makes us tick and sets the standards.
When all fit we will be in the mix come the tail end of the season when it matters and then see who the mettle between all 3 clubs to hold there nerve and go all the
way
Onwards and upwards
Good post 👋👋👋
People just Want to speak ill of us. If we win tomorrow and both City and Liverpool drop points, we will be nearer
Then, you forgot to add these:
3 Red cards already
3 tough Champions League matches already
We’ve got three red cards in eight EPL games. I don’t think any past EPL winner had the same problem
And Man City are just too perfect. I believe they could only lose if Haaland gets injured
No EPL champions in the last decade have won the title with more than three red cards in total across the whole season, so Arsenal is already at that statistical “limit”.
Let’s look at this team going forward
The draws and losses due to red cards will make this team focus on every game with an intent to win.
The injuries have allowed other players to get important game time which will only make this team deeper and stronger in the second half and more confidently allowing rotation, unlike 2 years ago when an injury to one of the core 11 caused a drop in competitiveness Along with this is the development of new first team quality players like Nwaneri and MLS.
Let’s play well in all competitions going forward, keep pace in the league, ready to take points off City and Pool, and be ready for any wobbles by our competitors
I think come March or April, we will in be in good position in some competitions.
Freddy,
Another one of the excuse brigade I see!.
for me it’s less about pessimistic as to Arsenal being good enough to in the PL, it is more about;
1) Arsenal’s 3 red cards have cost us points, no doubt at all, whether that is 9 points or 4 points we can debate, but the margin last year was 2 points
2) Man City, they are just so good, they don’t even seem to have missed Rodri, we are chasing for the rest of the season praying they drop enough points for us to finish on top
so rather than pessimism, it is disappointment, and may be a little frustration, of the missed opportunity that the 3 red cards have cost us, 3 red cards that were Arsenal’s fault, while all could have been a different decision on a different day (i.e. no leg breaking tackles) they were in our control, we can’t blame anyone but ourselves
missed opportunity to be potentially 5 points in front rather than 5 points behind
if that makes sense?
Arsenal1886
A very accurate and tempered response I think, well put.
Our discipline problems with Red Cards cost us; Rice’s, Trossard acting out (definitely not a pass as he tried to sell), and Trossard’s panicked pass to an unprepared Saliba, who chose to grab the player.
Needless mistakes as you say, that would not have been made on other days. and down to player discipline.
I chalk them up to missed opportunities in my opinion, and hopefully Arteta has addressed and cured these discipline issues.
We have done well considering the injuries, but the style of play and lack of creative backups is a concern.
Hopefully we will see some rotations and not play guys into the red when we are fully fit.
Jesus, Sterling, Trossard can rotate in attack, Partey, Rice, and Merino can rotate in defensive midfield, and Nwaneri has shown he can contribute so Odegaard isn’t playing 90 minutes every game.
White, Timber, and Calafiori can rotate at fullback, and hopefully Tomi will get fit and rotate with Saliba and Gabriel.
A successful season is a top 4 finish and a league cup
We are too far behind city and probably behind a resurgent liverpool to be fair.
A successful season would be “Top 4 and a Cup?” Please tell me you are just trolling!!!.
If that happens this season then Arteta has to go or given an ultimatum. What a joke that would be (Top 4 and a Cup). .
That would be such regression in my eyes that I would be advocating for the club to pay him off and move on. That Top 4 mentality gives me panic attacks just thinking about it. The amount of time given to Arteta and investment into the team to give him a realistic chance to win at least one of the big trophies (EPL or CL) means winning the EPL or CL. Not this Top 4 and Cup loser mentality again.
I am already getting very frustrated with Arteta and his team this season so far for the way we keep dropping points and conceding goals. I am on the edge as I expected another serious Title charge and proper CL run from Arteta this season. But we still have a long season to go. So I will stay calm for now..
Talking about Top 4 and a Cup win as a successful season gives me brain worms. We have to be seriously competing for the Title and CL this season once again. No “If’s or Buts” in my opinion. The minimum is another serious title or CL charge this season. Can’t accept Top 4 talk in this era..
George, but a regular top four finish and FA cup wins were not good enough a few seasons ago, so why do you see it as a success this season, especially after nigh on a billion pounds being spent on new players?
I’ve always said that a top four finish was a requisite to keep the manager around, but I don’t see your scenario as being a successful season… just my personal opinion of course.
On to the topic and, of course, we are in the title race, despite how Mr Oliver tried to influence it!!
We have had a very difficult start to the season with regards to the clubs we’ve played, which makes our solitary loss to Bournemouth even more frustrating.
Injuries are part and parcel of the game and it seems as if it’s city115 turn to suffer.
Red cards haven’t helped of course and we need to recognise that fact as players and supporters.
With another batch of away games coming up, our tremendous away form bodes well and once MA can field a squad of uninjured players, we will match anyone… including city115 and Liverpool.
Ken1945
I know there were rumblings about top4 showing the so called lack of ambition, but wasn’t it as much about failing to stay in the top4 that sealed Arsene Wenger’s fate? It was that that did it for me.
Can’t disagree with your final sentence and it will be interesting to see if City can maintain their momentum with their injury issues.
Yes, I think that’s true. With hindsight, it was also a general and slow reduction of success (expectation) under Wenger. At the start it was – give or take – winning the title, a domestic cup and qualifying for the CL. Then it was a top four finish (as good as a trophy as Wenger was supposed to have said) and a domestic cup from time to time. That changed to a top four finish and then Arsenal eventually ended up with no top four finish and, with the odd exception, no other trophies either.
Arteta has really gone about it, through circumstance and/or planning, the other way around. Building up to the title (hopefully) but that means without the “underpinning” that Wenger achieved early on. That’s why I don’t think a domestic cup in lieu of the title will do now.
It’s definitely too early to write off our title chances this season Kenneth, we have a decent, compact squad and the bad luck with injuries, referring decisions etc will even out, but to say, ” totally wrong”, is simply over optimism. Reality says we have four or five world class players followed by a group of decent squad player and a few players who are close to being on their last legs. Our chance to win the title will only improve if we can get Odegaard, Califiori and Timber fully fit, as well as making full use of our teenage star boy.
SueP, I remember quite clearly how our previous manager was treated season after season, while finishing in the top four and despite winning fa cups, even while the Emirates was being built.
Now I don’t want to go back and open up old wounds again, but I’m not going to accept that MA can be judged differently, especially after the backing he’s received over the last five phases.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want him to succeed and I think he will, but to say that winning the league cup, along with a top four finish is a successful season makes no sense whatsoever.
I’m certain Mikel and Stan Kronkie wouldn’t see it that way, along with, in my opinion again, the vast majority of supporters.
Kenneth Benjamin,
I sadly don’t agree with you, although Arsenal are only three points worse off than they were at this stage last season, I look at two things.
Firstly I’m not convinced the squad is good enough.
Secondly I believe that the same thing will happen as has happened in the previous two seasons, and that is they’ll drop points somewhere at a crucial time, and it will cost them. Teams that want to win the league just can’t afford such slip-ups.
I think that Arteta needs to keep taking the League Cup and the FA Cup’s seriously. As this is the only chance they’ll have of any silverware this season.
Then if they really are serious as a club wanting to challenge and give themselves a chance in the League, they need to provide a serious upgrade on the back-up players that they get.
Because the Jesus’s, Sterling’s and Kiwior’s of this world just don’t cut it.
Ken makes some valid ppints but Derek’s last 2 sentences plus the bias against us as opposed to ” city115″ weigh against us.
We are nearly there…
I don’t think we are gonna win this season. We have fallen behind and made some mistakes which ideally we should have learnt and dealt with in Phase 3? Like City’s first goal against us and Pool’s first and second goals. I am tempted to put Brighton’s first goal as well but that’s more on us being a man light. Maybe Bournemouth first goal. We have been leaking goals this season too often, and attack seems heavily reliant on Sala and GM is starting to feel like a dead weight again. While MA has tried to keep us motivated I think this is the season we should be establishing our attacking identity more and try not to bring out defensive drawn out hold up play considering we have some press- resistant dribblers like Merino and Partey.
All this is from our game and not counting the injuries, suspensions and ref errors against us, this looks not good for a title run.
On the other hand we can still have a good time in the cups and try in the CL. And try to keep top 2/4 in the PL and count it out as a successful season.
Now coming to the article, when we say we had an epic campaign last time and then add the part of the easier starting fixtures playing a large part of it, don’t we think there would be a case where with somewhat tougher fixtures like this season, we are not able to match up or surpass performance and as a result, inevitably underperform somewhat?
Our start has been Arteta’s most impressive run to date as Arsenal manager when considering the injuries, that all three sending offs came very early on in games all in tough fixtures, and that we’ve only lost one game in all comps and yet to concede in Europe.
We should have beaten City away as well lets not forget. Also, there has definitely been a bias against from refs with this dealing the restart nonsense and other decisions.
Luiz delayed the restart and didn’t get booked against us, and VVD kicked out off the ball at one of our players for a straight red, yet didn’t even get booked! Sick and tired of the refs this season.
As long that we keep the pace with the 2 in front of us I will maintain my hopes for the Title, so that
is the importance of the results of the next 2 games in this period of difficulties; 2 winnings and we go for it.A draw in Milan will put the Cherry on top of the cake.
Beating City or Liverpool would have been a big statement. So far we have failed in both and so I don’t think we really look like champions. What I expect is for us to win either FA cup or EFL cup. If we cannot win anything yet again this season then Arteta must be fired. He has had enough time and personally I am not happy we have lost or are losing major stars under his watch like Emi Martinez Balogun, Tierney, Smith Rowe. Almost lost Saliba as well because of Arteta. He really should go if we don’t win anything.