Why some statistics are more relevant than others – Arsenal and Newcastle United | OneFootball

Arsenal play Newcastle United on Sunday.

You will read all kinds of statistics that will be thrown around ahead of this game.

Beware.

Some statistics are more relevant than others.

Lies, damn lies and statistics.

Indeed, some Arsenal and Newcastle United statistics that you hear the most these next couple of days will be completely pointless, in more ways than one.

Statistics such as:

Between 2001/02 and 2021/22, in 22 meetings at the Emirates, Arsenal won 20 of them with one draw and one Newcastle win.

Eleven wins in a row for Arsenal against Newcastle United from 2011/12 up to 2021/22.

Home and away, Arsenal won 18 of 19 matches against Newcastle United between March 2012 and November 2021.

Only three wins for Newcastle in 42 games, home and away, against Arsenal from March 2002 to November 2021.

Why aren’t they relevant?

Well, I think that like the vast majority of Newcastle United statistics quoted before any United match how can you take them seriously when they include a decade and a half of Mike Ashley?

A decade and a half of Ashley ensuring the only aim was to try and struggle from season to season clinging on to a Premier League place on the minimum possible spend. Relegation struggle after relegation struggle.

Whilst at the same time, Arsenal doing everything they could to be the best they could be under Arsene Wenger. Arsenal fans though eventually getting fed up due to ‘only’ finishing top four every year and winning three FA Cups in Wenger’s final five seasons.

What are the relevant stats then?

How about the last three visits to the Emirates seeing Newcastle win one, draw one and lose only one?

Newcastle United winning all of their last three games (this season) against Arsenal, home and away.

Newcastle winning four of their last five games against Arsenal, home and away.

Last eight games between the two clubs seeing Eddie Howe’s team winning five, drawing one, losing only two.

In other news (statistics)…

Back when Newcastle United were previously trying, under the likes of Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson, how about these stats.

May 1994 to January 1996, Newcastle beat Arsenal four times in a row.

Between February 1999 and December 2001, Arsenal only won one of six matches against Newcastle. United winning two of them and the second of those was a 3-1 win at Highbury that helped ensure Newcastle were top of the Premier League at Christmas 2001.

Immediately before Ashley took over, Newcastle were unbeaten in three against Arsenal. As soon as he took over it then became just one win in the next 20 meetings with the Gunners.

Conclusions

Just like under Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby when Newcastle United were trying to be the best club they could be, on and off the pitch, this is the case with Eddie Howe and the NUFC set up now in the present day.

My hopes and expectations for Newcastle United now against Arsenal and whoever else, are based on what Eddie Howe’s NUFC have achieved and not what the likes of Pardew, JFK, Carver and McClaren ‘achieved’ under Mike Ashley.

We might not win every match BUT I know that now we have a club, manager and team that will be doing everything they can to win any match and fulfil our ambitions, with realistic hopes of doing so!