Should Arsenal have won more points from their last six league games?
Arsenal have taken 14 points from their last six games- should they have won more?
By Tom Masters
Arsenal have gone on a six-match unbeaten run since their tough start to the season, with Mikel Arteta’s men winning four and drawing two, after losing their opening three matches.
The highlight in that run is undoubtedly the 3-1 win over rivals Tottenham in the North London derby, with Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka all on the scoresheet for the Gunners.
Consecutive 1-0 victories over Norwich and Burnley kick-started their unbeaten run, whilst a 0-0 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion and a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace followed.
The 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on Friday night saw the Gunners go back to winning ways, on 14 points from their opening nine games, level with Leicester City, Everton and Manchester United.
Despite having 0 points after the opening three game weeks, Arsenal find themselves just three points behind West Ham in the Champions League places, and only a point behind Spurs for a Europa League spot.
But should the Gunners have won more points in that six-game unbeaten period?
The victories over Norwich, Burnley, Spurs and Aston Villa were certainly encouraging, especially both the 3-1 wins over Tottenham and Villa respectively, but those two draws against Brighton and Palace showed the inconsistency that Arsenal fans are worried about.
It must be said that after the start to the season which saw them at the foot of the Premier League after three games, this position Arsenal find themselves in now is one they would have taken.
The worrying side of this unbeaten run has been the nature of the teams Arsenal have played against.
Only Brighton and Tottenham are in the top half of the table, with Villa the next highest place team in 13th place.
The other three sides Arteta’s men have faced – Crystal Palace, Burnley and Norwich City are all in the bottom five in the Premier League table.
This certainly does raise the issue that before this run Arsenal will have been aiming for the maximum 18 points, so is taking 14 points a failure?
Pre-match against both Brighton and Crystal Palace, there can be no doubt that Arsenal will have expected to win both of those matches, but if you look at the actual matches themselves, perhaps a draw was a good result.
Against Brighton at the Amex Stadium, the Seagulls registered 21 shots on the Arsenal goal, albeit only two of them went on target, whilst the Gunners made 18 clearances, registering only 8 shots themselves.
For Arsenal to have managed a 0-0 draw after that barrage of shots must certainly be thought of as a point gained.
As for the Palace game, whilst Arsenal were in control against the Eagles, having 17 shots, they rescued a point through a 95th minute equaliser from Alexandre Lacazette.
After Palace scored goals through Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard to give them the lead following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s early strike, it appeared Arteta was heading for another defeat at The Emirates Stadium, but Lacazette’s late goal saved his blushes, and with it a point.
Whilst Arsenal could argue that they should have won more points due to the nature of the teams they were playing against, there can be no arguments made that the Gunners are good value for their 14 points, with the draws against Palace and Brighton both proving to be good results for the London side.
The challenge now will be to establish some consistency, with Leicester City away, Watford home and Liverpool away in the next three Premier League matches.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
