Arsenal have made a stunning start to 2024 in the Premier League as they aim to win the title for the first time in 20 years.
The Gunners are in blistering form, scoring 21 goals in their five league games during January and February.
Mikel Arteta’s side have recorded 5-0 wins over Crystal Palace and Burnley as well as beating Nottingham Forest 2-1.
The two most impressive results in the run have been a 3-1 home win against title rivals Liverpool and a 6-0 away thrashing of West Ham.
But what do the statistics tell us about Arsenal’s record-breaking start to the calendar year? BBC Sport looks at the data.
No proven striker, no problem
On 5 January, Arteta said there was “a possibility” the Gunners may not sign any new players in the mid-season transfer window and so it proved, as the Spaniard showed faith in his current squad.
Later in the same month, Arteta said: “We have to share goals, and we are responsible for everything.”
The Gunners were linked with Brentford striker Ivan Toney and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen but when asked if he wanted a striker in January, Arteta added: “No, because I love the players that we have.”
Regular striker Gabriel Jesus has been injured for parts of the season, missing three games with a hamstring injury.
He did feature in the first two games of Arsenal’s current unbeaten run, scoring once and providing two assists, but has missed the last three with a knee injury.
Arsenal’s other attackers have stepped up in Jesus’ absence with Arteta’s side in red-hot form. One surprise regular scorer has been defender Gabriel, who is a constant threat from set-pieces and has netted three goals in recent weeks.
The key stats that highlight Arsenal’s impressive run
Arsenal’s current scoring run is their best in the Premier League era over a five-game period. In fact, the last time they managed more goals during five successive games in a league season was in 1935.
It still leaves them some way short of Chelsea’s impressive haul of 29 in five games spanning the end of the 2009-10 season and the opening games of 2010-11. They ended a double-winning campaign with 7-0, 2-0 and 8-0 wins, and launched the next season with two 6-0 victories.
| April-August 2010 | Chelsea | 29 goals |
| September-October 2017 | Manchester City | 24 |
| October-November 1997 | Manchester United | 24 |
| April-May 2022 | Manchester City | 22 |
| May-September 2011 | Manchester United | 22 |
| March-April 2000 | Manchester United | 22 |
| January-February 2024 | Arsenal | 21 |
| December 2021 | Manchester City | 21 |
| July 2020 | Manchester City | 21 |
For the first time in their history, Arsenal have begun a calendar year with five successive league wins. The current streak is now their longest winning run in the league this season, improving their goal difference by 19 during this period.
The Gunners have scored five or more goals in back-to-back away league matches for the first time in the club’s history.
Bukayo Saka’s input has significantly improved during Arsenal’s winning run. He has scored in four consecutive league appearances for the first time in his career, netting more goals across those four games (six) than in his previous 19 matches in the competition (five).
Arsenal have also scored the most goals across the big five European leagues so far this calendar year, as shown in the table below.
| Arsenal | 21 | 5 |
| Liverpool | 20 | 6 |
| Barcelona | 18 | 7 |
| Inter Milan | 17 | 6 |
| Atalanta | 16 | 6 |
| Newcastle | 16 | 6 |
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s 25 set-piece goals this season (including penalties) is their most on record in a single league campaign since Opta began recording such data in 2004-05.
The north London side have scored eight penalties in the Premier League this term, only netting more in 2006-07 (10).
Of course the most important statistic is that Arsenal remain two points behind leaders Liverpool with 13 rounds of games remaining. If they carry on their superb start to the year, Arteta’s men might have something of huge significance to celebrate come May.
