Arsenal: 8 poor starts to the season and the results that followed after Mikel Arteta oversees dreadful opening to 2021/22 Premier League. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
There’s a saying that people don’t ask for help until they hit rock bottom. Well, hopefully, Arsenal is at that point. If the club is not there yet, it’s going to get very ugly in north London.
Early signs are worrisome. Two games, two losses. Zero goals scored, four goals conceded. It’s the team’s worst start to a season in 118 years. Mikel Arteta is under serious pressure. A resounding victory over West Brom sure did help, though.
Of course, the press and the pundits love to pile on and with the Internet and social media, it’s even easier to rip a team to shreds for a bad start. Yes, things do look bad, but this is only after two matches. Just two out of 38 total.
During the Premier League era, the Gunners have started two other seasons with two losses to open a new campaign. As we all know it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. As a fan, I am indeed frustrated and disappointed at how hard Arsenal has fallen. To all of a sudden become the ‘banter’ club among rival fans, hurts. However, it’s a bit premature to judge a team based on just two matches.
Arsenal: 8 poor starts to the season and the results that followed after Mikel Arteta oversees dreadful opening to 2021/22 Premier League
I decided to look back at Arsenal’s worst Premier League starts. Rather than judging the team after only two matches, I’ve used the team’s point accumulation through September to determine bad starts in past seasons. These slow starts will include where the team stood at the end of September and where they would eventually finish.
Arsenal is currently in a sad state, but things can turn around. For example, back in 1988/89, the Gunners accumulated just one point through September under George Graham.
The club lost its first three matches, drew its fourth, and lost its fifth. It wasn’t until October 1 that the team won its first game. It’s hard to believe, but Arsenal went on to win the First Division that season.
Here’s a look at Arsenal’s worst starts to a season in the Premier League era:
1. George Graham and the inaugural season of the Premier League
The 1992/93 campaign was the first season of the newly named English Premier League.
Things got off to a bad start as Arsenal lost on opening day to Norwich City 2-4 at Highbury. The club then lost again away to Blackburn 1-0 three days later.
George Graham led the Gunners to the club’s first victory on matchday three with a 2-0 win at Anfield.
Despite losing its first two games, Arsenal ended September ninth in the table with 14 points. The club went on to finish with a less than impressive tenth place finish.
In the end, the season wasn’t a total disaster as Graham’s side won the League Cup and the FA Cup. Both trophies came at the expense of Sheffield Wednesday.
Check out the lineup!</a></p>
<p>Despite the opening day victory, things got pretty bad from here. The next set of results included:</p>
<ul>
<li>8/23 – 1-0 loss to Leeds at Elland Road</li>
<li>8/28 – 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield</li>
<li>8/31 – 0-0 draw at home to Blackburn</li>
<li>9/10 – 0-0 draw away to Norwich</li>
<li>9/18 – 3-2 home loss to Newcastle</li>
</ul>
<p>Arsenal finally won again on September 25 20 at West Ham’s Boleyn Ground and at the end of September Graham’s side sat in 14th place with just eight points.</p>
<p>Stewart Houston took over as caretaker manager in February 1995 as Graham was fired for his involvement in what is known as a <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/5363340.stm">bung scandal</a>. Graham was found guilty of receiving money as part of a transfer deal.</p>
<p>The results continued to be mixed under Houston and Arsenal ended a disappointing campaign in 12th place.</p>
<p>One bright spot that season saw the Gunners make it to the European Cup Winner’s Cup final in Paris. Unfortunately, Real Zaragoza scored a late winner and won the cup 2-1.</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/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2017-2018 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-118581" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"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%2F2018%2F08%2F958148218-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"></p>
<h2>5. Arsene Wenger ends his run as Arsenal manager</h2>
<p>The 2017/18 season would be the last with Wenger at the helm.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>The Gunners won their home opener 4-3 over Leicester in a mad-cap encounter, with Alexandre Lacazette netting on his Premier League debut. They then went on to lose the next two matches, 1-0 at Stoke and 4-0 at Liverpool.</p>
<p>At the end of September Wenger’s team had ten points and were seventh in the table. A mixed campaign saw the club finish in sixth place.</p>
<p>The fans experienced further disappointment as Arsenal was defeated 2-1 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-finals.</p>
<p>The saddest thing about this season was the way Wenger was treated. Despite the legendary manager’s successes with the Gunners, he was hounded by a section of supporters. Enter the term #WengerOut on Twitter and you’ll see how badly many of these Tweets have aged.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9551353/Freddie-Ljungberg-claims-Arsenal-fans-regretting-behaved-Arsene-Wenger.html">Freddie Ljungberg</a> said it best last May when he was asked about Wenger and the club’s decline:</p>
<blockquote><p>“The fans were complaining about him at the end of his term. Now maybe they are regretting how they behaved towards him. He’s so big at this club.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Things have not improved in the three years since Wenger’s departure. The fans are still waiting for a return to competing for a league title.</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/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2005-2006 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—></p><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-118582" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"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%2F2018%2F08%2F1129747975-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"></p>
<h2>6. Arsenal prove they are resilient and consistent</h2>
<p>2005/06 was the Gunners’ last season at Highbury after 93 years of calling the stadium ‘home’. It still is.</p>
<p>Arsenal’s home kit paid tribute to the opening of Highbury in 1913 with the team wearing their redcurrant shirt.</p>
<p>The season began with a loss as Arsenal was defeated in the Community Shield 2-1 to Chelsea.</p>
<p>This was followed by a rather unimpressive start to the campaign. A 2-0 win at home to Newcastle was followed by a 1-0 loss at Stamford Bridge. That pattern repeated as the Gunners defeated Fulham 4-1 before losing 2-1 at Middlesbrough. After a 2-0 home win versus Everton, Wenger’s side drew 0-0 at West Ham.</p>
<p>The team finished September with ten points from seven matches and sat eighth in the table.</p>
<p>The highlight of the season was Arsenal’s march to the Champions League final in Paris for a meeting with Barcelona.</p>
<p>The Gunners finished top of their group and went on to defeat Real Madrid, Juventus, and Villarreal in the knockout rounds.</p>
<p>As if facing Barcelona wasn’t daunting enough, the task became even more difficult when Jens Lehmann unceremoniously received a red card in the 18th minute for a challenge on Samuel Eto’o. Forced to play the rest of the match with ten men, Arsenal held their own with Sol Campbell giving his side the lead in the 37th minute. Victory was within reach until the Catalans scored two goals in the last 15 minutes to secure the win.</p>
<p>Not that it made anyone feel better, but game referee <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/may/18/newsstory.sport2">Terje Hauge admitted</a> afterward that he acted too quickly in sending off the keeper. (Yes, we know).</p>
<p>As was often the case under Wenger, Arsenal ended up finishing the season in fourth place. Victory over Wigan on the final day included Henry’s famous kissing of the Highbury turf.</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/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2014-2015 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-118583" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"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%2F2018%2F08%2F475287992-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"></p>
<h2>7. Wenger delivers back-to-back FA Cups</h2>
<p>Arsenal secured its first trophy of the 2014/15 season with an impressive 3-0 defeat of Manchester City in the Community Shield.</p>
<p>The Gunners then won their opening match 2-1 over Crystal Palace at home which was followed by a less than impressive run of results:</p>
<ul>
<li>8/23 Everton 2-2 Arsenal</li>
<li>8/31 Leicester 1-1 Arsenal</li>
<li>9/13 Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City</li>
<li>9/20 Aston Villa 0-3 Arsenal</li>
<li>9/27 Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham</li>
</ul>
<p>Despite all the draws, Arsenal finished September in fourth position with ten points.</p>
<p>October began with a 2-0 loss at Chelsea followed by a 2-2 draw at home to Hull. The Gunners had just 11 points from seven matches and sat in seventh position.</p>
<p>In the end, Arsenal finished third overall and won the team’s 12th FA Cup with a 4-0 defeat of Aston Villa.</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/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 1998-1999 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-118584" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"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%2F2018%2F08%2F1216535-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"></p>
<h2>8. Arsenal begin defense of its title with a win followed by four straight draws</h2>
<p>The reigning Premier League champions started the new campaign in fine form with a 3-0 victory over Manchester United in the Charity Shield.</p>
<p>The Gunners also won their first match of the 1998-99 season with a 2-1 defeat of Nottingham Forest at Highbury, wiht this victory was followed by four straight, rather pedestrian, draws:</p>
<ul>
<li>8/22 Liverpool 0-0 Arsenal</li>
<li>8/29 Arsenal 0-0 Charlton</li>
<li>9/9 Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal</li>
<li>9/12 Leicester 1-1 Arsenal</li>
</ul>
<p>Arsenal finally won its second game on September 20th, with a 3-0 scoreline against Manchester United.</p>
<p>September finished on a low note, however, as Wenger’s side lost at Sheffield Wednesday 1-0.</p>
<p>The Gunners began October in tenth place with just ten points. Of course, the champions picked up the pace from here. In the end, Arsenal came up short in defense of its title: Manchester United secured the league trophy with 79 points to the Gunners’ 78.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="WBA vs Arsenal: 5 things we'd like to see" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/24/arsenal-5-things-see-vs-west-brom/" 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/2021/08/27/arsenal-bad-season-start-history/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/24/arsenal-5-things-see-vs-west-brom/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> WBA vs Arsenal: 5 things we'd like to see </a> </div>
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<p>United went on to win the FA Cup and the Champions League as well.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
