Remarkable Arsenal statistics following Chelsea win in the Premier League somehow worthy of top four and show there is something for Mikel Arteta to build on next season. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Sack the manager, sack the players, sack the board and sack the owners. Four calls made over the past few weeks that have never been louder. So why are Arsenal, by the Premier League’s standards, in such good 2021 form?
Good form? Remarkably and almost unfathomably, yes.
The determined 1-0 win away at Chelsea in the Premier League – Thomas Tuchel’s second defeat since taking charge – offers the perfect moment for reflection since the last time the two sides met on Boxing Day.
A 3-1 victory brought an eight-game winless run to an end, simultaneously acting as the beginning of the end for Frank Lampard. It kick-started a seven game stretch without defeat for Arsenal, who at the time managed to claw their way out of a relegation battle and into the dizzying heights of ninth.
Remarkable Arsenal statistics somehow worthy of top four and show there is something for Mikel Arteta to build on next season
Two damaging defeats littered with individual errors followed in the midlands which were then the start of a nine-game run with just three victories. All the improvements evaporated as soon as they took form. The underlying metrics were there, but Arsenal were losing their cutting edge and leaking needless goals.
Now, with three wins on the bounce Arsenal have recorded 41 points since Boxing Day, the third most in the league during that time. Excuse me, what? Furthermore, the 38 goals scored is the joint-fourth most, and the 20 conceded is the joint-fourth best. Over the last 25 league matches Arsenal and Chelsea have accrued the same number of points.
The league doesn’t start in Christmas. Obviously. Arsenal are exactly where they deserve to be. No VAR grumblings or refereeing injustices, that happens to everyone and complaining about it is pointless and meritless.
In a bizarre way, this statistic is reminiscent of the start of last campaign, where Arsenal moved up to third with a win over Bournemouth after eight games despite the standard of football under Unai Emery being unsustainable. The league position masked over the reality.
With this instance, the form Arsenal have been on should see them sit in third, were it not for the self-inflicted points deduction they handed themselves in the eight matches prior to Boxing Day. The form doesn’t reflect in the table, the opposite way to last season.
How much of a reflection that is on the league as a whole and Arsenal is key, though. In the five matches that followed beating Tottenham, Arteta’s men were poor. The football on show and the imbalance within the side on visual alone, is not worthy of being third in the Premier League table.
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<p>— Emile Smith Rowe (@emilesmithrowe) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://twitter.com/emilesmithrowe/status/1392596492167401473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>Remarkable Arsenal statistics somehow worthy of top four and show there is something for Mikel Arteta to build on next season</h2>
<p>Two damaging defeats littered with individual errors followed in the midlands which were then the start of a nine-game run with just three victories. All the improvements evaporated as soon as they took form. The underlying metrics were there, but Arsenal were losing their cutting edge and leaking needless goals.</p>
<p>Now, with three wins on the bounce Arsenal have recorded 41 points since Boxing Day, the <em>third most </em>in the league during that time. Excuse me, what? Furthermore, the 38 goals scored is the joint-fourth most, and the 20 conceded is the joint-fourth best. Over the last 25 league matches Arsenal and Chelsea have accrued the same number of points.</p>
<p>The league doesn’t start in Christmas. Obviously. Arsenal are exactly where they deserve to be. No VAR grumblings or refereeing injustices, that happens to everyone and complaining about it is pointless and meritless.</p>
<p>In a bizarre way, this statistic is reminiscent of the start of last campaign, where Arsenal moved up to third with a win over Bournemouth after eight games despite the standard of football under Unai Emery being unsustainable. The league position masked over the reality.</p>
<p>With this instance, the form Arsenal have been on should see them sit in third, were it not for the self-inflicted points deduction they handed themselves in the eight matches prior to Boxing Day. The form doesn’t reflect in the table, the opposite way to last season.</p>
<p>How much of a reflection that is on the league as a whole and Arsenal is key, though. In the five matches that followed beating Tottenham, Arteta’s men were poor. The football on show and the imbalance within the side on visual alone, is not worthy of being third in the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://www.90min.com/leagues/premier-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League</a> table.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> How to build on this </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-115290" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1232849533-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Emile Smith Rowe" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal’s English midfielder Emile Smith Rowe celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s opening goal during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>How Arsenal Can Build on Premier League Form</h2>
<p>There have been undoubted improvements since late December, but throughout the process the same issues have remained: inconsistency, lack of concentration, chance conversion and tempo through the thirds. A morale-boosting win over the Champions League finalists doesn’t suddenly <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/10/arsenal-fans-no-trust-mikel-arteta/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">absolve the manager</a> and players of their wrongdoings throughout the rest of the season despite lifting the mood. They’ve all contributed to the frustration.</p>
<p>Arteta will know better than the fans where the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/11/arsenal-recruitment-summer-transfer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improvements are needed</a>. They’ve been prevalent all season. As the club move into the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/12/arsenal-5-senior-players-want-exit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">summer transfer window</a> to end all summer transfer windows, such encouraging stats will go far. Even in player negotiations, targets will be shown the trajectory and told where they can raise that level.</p>
<p>Emile Smith Rowe, of course, has aided this plight, as it’s no surprise to see this run of form coincide with his regular inclusion in the starting lineup. Hale End has been pivotal in this run.</p>
<p>Arsenal still have a <em>long </em>way to go, and all the frailties that existed prior to Wednesday remain at large – at the top, middle and bottom.</p>
<p>What is vital now is to make this path sustainable. Ensure that the fine margins Arteta harks on about every week become a less frequent occurrence. Arsenal became a side relying on the smaller details to secure points, which was even prevalent with Olivier Giroud striking the crossbar twice.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="4 talking points from Chelsea win" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-4-talking-points-chelsea/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-4-talking-points-chelsea/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> 4 talking points from Chelsea win </a> </div>
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<p>Making the right movements in the transfer market will broaden those margins, and allow Arsenal to start controlling their own destiny. What the previous 21 matches have shown is that <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/13/arsenal-form-remarkable-top-four/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/05/12/arsenal-crucial-tierney-rebuild/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the bones of an improved</a> – too soon for successful – side are there. Most of the flesh rotten and needs replacing, but there is a modicum of solace to be taken.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
