ClapThe brand new Premier League season is upon us, as we all know, and it seems like things are already hotting up. All twenty clubs are making a name for themselves for better or worse, and to be honest, we wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s great to see teams making big time statements, especially if the statement is “help, we really need to up our game”.
As reported by BBC and Sky Sports, Arsenal face the challenge of going one on one with Burnley in what should be the definition of an entertaining encounter. Both teams were able to win their opening matches of the new season, but let’s face it, only one has serious ambitions of making a push for the top four – and that’s Unai Emery’s men. However, the Spanish boss seems to have his feet firmly planted on the ground which can only be a good thing.
Make the games count
As you can see from the following OPTA stats, though, it appears as if there’s more than meets the eye with this encounter.
- Arsenal have won their last 10 matches against Burnley in all competitions, a run stretching back to March 2010.
- Burnley have won just one of their last 19 away games against Arsenal in all competitions, winning 1-0 at Highbury in the top-flight in September 1974 (W1 D3 L15).
- In the Premier League, Arsenal have won their last nine games against Burnley – they have only had longer runs against Man City (11 between 1994 and 2004) and Newcastle United (10 between 2012 and 2017).
- At the Emirates, Arsenal have won all seven games against Burnley, scoring 21 goals and conceding just four; the only team the Gunners have faced more often at home since 2006-07 and won each game against is Stoke City (10 wins in 10 games).
- Arsenal are looking to kick-off a Premier League campaign with two consecutive victories for the first time since 2009-10, when they beat Everton and Portsmouth.
- Burnley have never won both of their opening two matches to a Premier League season before, last doing so in the top-flight in 1973-74 and in any division in the 2006-07 Championship.
- Burnley boss Sean Dyche has lost all eight of his Premier League matches against Arsenal – the only manager with a worse 100% losing ratio against an opponent is Gary Megson against Liverpool, who lost all nine of his games against the Reds.
- Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored a brace in all three of his Premier League games against Burnley – only two players have ever scored two or more in four consecutive games against an opponent; Michael Owen vs Newcastle United between 1998 and 2001 and Harry Kane vs Everton between 2017 and 2018.
They say stats don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, and in a lot of ways, that’s why we love the Premier League. There’s always going to be something coming around the next corner, and you can never fully prepare yourself for what that’s going to be.
Will Burnley cause the upset? There’s certainly a chance, but like we said, the statement is there to be said.
