Optimism was rife on the red side of the north London divide heading into 2022/23, but a title challenge was beyond even the most positive of Gooners’ expectations.
However, the sudden declines of Chelsea and Liverpool saw a vacancy open up in the role of Manchester City’s closest challenger, and Mikel Arteta’s youthful Arsenal have taken the job on admirably thus far.
They may not win their first Premier League title in 20 years when it’s all said and done, but their campaign has nonetheless been scintillating up to this point. Champions League football beckons for the first time since 2017, and many believe the Arteta project is only getting started at the Emirates.
|
Date |
Opponent |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
25/02/23 |
Leicester |
1-0 |
|
01/03/23 |
Everton |
4-0 |
|
04/03/23 |
Bournemouth |
3-2 |
|
12/03/23 |
Fulham |
3-0 |
|
19/03/23 |
Crystal Palace |
4-1 |
|
01/04/23 |
Leeds |
4-1 |
|
09/04/23 |
Liverpool |
2-2 |
|
16/04/23 |
West Ham |
2-2 |
|
21/04/23 |
Southampton |
3-3 |
|
26/04/23 |
Man City |
1-4 |
Defeat to City at the Emirates in February was supposed to derail Arsenal’s excellent season, but the defiant Gunners responded in some style by rattling off seven straight Premier League victories which included dramatic, last-gasp triumphs over Aston Villa and Bournemouth.
Comfortable wins over Crystal Palace (pre-Roy Hodgson) and Leeds arrived either side of the international break before they made the seemingly pivotal trip to Anfield on 9 April. Win at Liverpool for the first time in a decade, and many believed the title would be heading to north London.
Their start was typically sensational, but they collapsed in the second half and were eventually forced to cling on for a point. A similar tale played out at the London Stadium the following week before Southampton raced into a 3-1 lead in their recent Friday night encounter.
Late goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka rescued a point, but there was to be no respite against City – Pep Guardiola’s side running out 4-1 winners to put themselves firmly in title control.
|
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
10 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
12 |
21 |
Much has been made of Arsenal’s ‘collapse’ in recent weeks, but they had actually remained unbeaten in the league City defeated them at the Emirates in February. In fact, Guardiola’s side and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are the only teams to have accumulated more points in the division than the Gunners over their last ten games.
Arsenal have notched 24 points since City’s visit, with the nine points they’ve dropped all coming from their last four Premier League outings.
