Arsenal fans had gone nine months without watching their team in person. After what happened on Sunday, they could probably go another nine months without being subjected to the sort of lifeless tedium currently being served up by Mikel Arteta and his players. At least they were given a true reflection of where Arsenal are at this moment in time.
The most damning thing about Sunday’s home defeat to Burnley was the lack of post-match shock. This was Arsenal’s fourth straight home loss in the league having suffered at the hands of Leicester City, Aston Villa, Wolves and the Clarets. Arteta’s side haven’t won a Premier League fixture at the Emirates Stadium since the start of October.
Defeat to Burnley was entirely to form. Arsenal have suffered their worst start to a league season since 1974 and there is no sign of an uptick coming. In fact, tricky fixtures on the horizon against Southampton, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United mean things could get even worse for the Gunners before the new year.
A strong end to last season led many to predict Arsenal would challenge for a top four place in 2020/21. Instead, they are just five points off the Premier League’s relegation zone. On the basis of their last six games, only West Brom and Sheffield United have a worse record than the Gunners.
Most goals scored in the Premier League this season:
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 11
Son Heung-Min – 10
Jamie Vardy – 10
Mo Salah – 10
– 10 pic.twitter.com/Dlncs7Bihf— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) December 14, 2020
Arsenal’s status as one of the biggest and most illustrious clubs in the land is the only thing stopping them from being widely tipped as relegation candidates. It’s not as if Arteta’s side are down there through bad luck or a difficult run of fixtures. Arsenal’s current league position is truly illustrative of how they are playing as a team.
Only West Brom (nine), Burnley (six) and Sheffield United (five) have scored fewer goals than the Gunners this season. Their average of 10.3 shots per game ranks as the fourth lowest in the Premier League while their average of 7.3 key passes per game also ranks sixth lowest. By almost metric, Arsenal are struggling.
Despite all this, Arteta retains the backing of the Arsenal board. “Mikel is doing a great job, he’s doing really well here,” technical director Edu insisted on Monday. “If we’re not talking about patience with Mikel. It would be very unfair to him because what a year we have faced: three months without football matches, a lot of things changing in the club.
“He started, stopped, and when he started to get an understanding of all the squad he stopped again. It would be really unfair to Mikel to say something about that because the year was so challenging for everyone, but even more for Mikel, who had just arrived at the club.”
At what point, however, will Arsenal’s patience with Arteta wear thin? How close to the bottom three are the Gunners willing to get before they accept a change is necessary? Even more worrying than the sight of the North London club so low in the table are the statistics that say they cannot take their Premier League place for granted.
Of course, Arteta would almost certainly be sacked before Arsenal allowed themselves to be dragged down to the Championship. The talent in the Emirates Stadium dressing room far outweighs that of any of the teams around the Gunners in the Premier League table. That gives them a natural advantage that will surely tell at one point or another.
In a unique season of unusual circumstances, there is a widespread belief that an outsider could win the Premier League title. So why should it be considered impossible for a heavyweight like Arsenal to be relegated? What is stopping them from finishing in the bottom three? The Gunners’ size and reputation doesn’t count for anything in the table.
