At the time of writing, Arsenal have enjoyed five away wins in the Premier League and have suffered only one defeat on the road, compared to a rather indifferent home record which has seen them lose to West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and, horror of horrors, Tottenham Hotspur.
Quite why the Gunners appear to travel smoother than Jeremy Clarkson in a velvet hovercraft is something of a mystery, but even a Spurs fan would have to concede that they look highly impressive away from home. If Arsene Wenger could inspire the team to repeat that form at the Emirates, Arsenal could have a very real chance of picking up some silverware this season.
Their only away league defeat so far was at Chelsea, an insipid display that has gradually become an annual tradition in the past few years. In the same way that Harry Potter’s voice becomes gradually deeper, Arsenal’s performances at Stamford Bridge have become worse and worse.
However, the rest of their away league matches have been excellent, and have included wins against tough opponents such as Aston Villa, Everton and Manchester City. The match at Eastlands finished 3-0 to the Gunners, and was against ten men for most of the game, admittedly, but the performance itself was still a mightily impressive one.
One of the reasons, perhaps the most significant one, for Arsenal’s excellent away results, is likely to be tactical. Not the away team’s tactics, however, but those of the home side.
Teams that come to the Emirates often strike less often than the average Scottish referee, and are happy to soak up pressure in the hope of keeping Arsenal’s playmakers at bay. If there is no early home goal, the frustration grows and their perfect passing game often falls apart, resulting in a more fractured home performance.
That said however, West Brom took the game to Arsenal and it paid off, as did Tottenham in the second half, so teams have an option at the Emirates: use attack as the best form of defence, or sit back and try to weather the storm.
On the road, Arsenal have managed several highly impressive displays. At Villa Park, Wenger’s men won 4-2, but if they’d made the most of the freedom they enjoyed all over the pitch, they could easily have won by more. What appeared to be a tough proposition on paper was more like a stroll in the park with an ice cream in one hand and a parasol in the other.When Arsenal are the away team, home sides tend to play further up the pitch in the hope of mounting attacks on the Gunners’ supposedly shaky defence. This is a sound tactic, of course, but one that will often leave them open to counter-attacks. And when Arsenal do that, they do so with more pace than Gillian McKeith running away from the insect house at the zoo.
Chelsea’s dip in form is one of the reasons why no team has built up a clear lead in the Premier League so far, as is Manchester United’s habit of turning victories into draws, so the ultimate prize is up for grabs for a number of clubs. The next two months or so may well prove to be crucial, and if any of the top six could go unbeaten for a dozen league games, they may find themselves in a wonderful position.
Arsene Wenger will be wondering what needs to be done to improve home form, and to continue the success of their away games. Having already visited Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Sunderland, he will be well aware that many of the potential stumbling blocks identified at the start of the season have already been negotiated.
