Opta Joe Sends Warning Signal to Arsenal After Nervy Bournemouth Win
Opta Joe has sent a warning signal to Arsenal after their nervy 3-2 victory against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening.
The stats site revealed that the Gunners are the 16th Premier League team to win 15 or more of their first 20 games in a season, but ominously, four of those sides failed to win the title.
Among them were Arsenal themselves in 2022/23, Liverpool and Spurs in 2018/19, and Manchester United in 2003/04.
The only time Arsenal turned such a start into glory was way back in 1932/33, long before the Premier League era.
Declan Rice’s first-ever Premier League brace carried Arsenal through the chaos, extending their lead at the top to six points. Yet the performance was riddled with warning signs.
Gabriel Magalhães gifted Bournemouth the opener with a dreadful pass, redeemed himself with an equaliser, but left fans uneasy about defensive frailty.
Arsenal managed only four shots in the 61 minutes after conceding, but Rice’s clinical finishing, first a low drive from Martin Ødegaard’s layoff, then a close-range strike from Bukayo Saka’s cutback, proved decisive. Junior Kroupi’s thunderous effort late on exposed Arsenal’s vulnerability again, and only desperate defending preserved the points.
