Arsenal lost 2-1 away to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday, which was their 11th league defeat of the season and their ninth on their travels.
Only Stoke City (10), Brighton & Hove Albion (10), West Bromwich Albion (11), Huddersfield Town (11) and Watford (11) have lost more away games in the top-flight this campaign, and Wenger has a lot to answer for.
Gunners have won just 19% of their away games in the league
Arsenal haven’t picked up a point away from home in the Premier League since the turn of the year and it’s cost them heavily in their quest for a top-four finish.
Having started the season so poorly with defeats at Stoke City, Liverpool and Watford, victory over Everton finally stopped the winless run. But they’ve failed to build on it and haven’t won consecutive away games in the league since May 13, 2017.
Supporters had to wait until mid-October before the Londoners beat a side on their travels in the league and would go on to see only two more victories in up until now.
Wenger’s men have won just three of 16 away outings – Everton 2-5 Arsenal (22/10/17), Burnley 0-1 Arsenal (26/11/17), Crystal Palace 2-3 Arsenal (28/12/17) – and are coming off the back of five consecutive defeats.
Arsenal’s away form in 2018 (Premier League)
- (14/1/18) Bournemouth 2-1 Arsenal
- (30/1/18) Swansea City 3-1 Arsenal
- (10/2/18) Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Arsenal
- (4/3/18) Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Arsenal
- (15/4/18) Newcastle United 2-1 Arsenal
“It is a little bit of the story of the season away from home; we went 1-0 up, we don’t put the game to bed and we made mistakes defensively,” Wenger said of the Newcastle defeat, in quotes reported by Fox Sports Asia.
“It’s baffling how we lost this game today because from those chances we lose 2-1. On the other hand, the result is there.
“How do we address it? By not making the same errors we have up to now, it’s quite baffling because traditionally we have been very strong away from home.
“I believe as well that this week we had to give a lot on Thursday night and the players who played on Thursday night you could see the game was a bit in their legs.”
The Gunners have picked up 13 points from a possible 48 on their travels, scoring only 17 goals. Outside of the top-six, Burnley (27 points), Leicester City (20), Newcastle United (16), Bournemouth (15), Watford (14) and Crystal Palace (14) boast a better away return than Wenger’s men.
It explains why they’re 33 points adrift of champions Manchester City and 13 points off Tottenham in fourth place. Sean Dyche’s seventh-placed Burnley side could yet leapfrog them in the table if they can overturn a two-point deficit in the five games remaining which could put Wenger’s future in doubt.
To be sixth in the table this late into the season is a big disappointment given the talent Arsenal have at their disposal. They have three away games remaining in the league to try and salvage some dignity, but they’ve lost to the likes of Bournemouth, Swansea and Brighton this year so they could easily let themselves down again.
Arsenal’s remaining away games (Premier League)
- (29/4/18) Manchester United v Arsenal
- (9/5/18) Leicester City v Arsenal
- (13/5/18) Huddersfield Town v Arsenal
