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Arsenal’s defence threatens historic Liverpool and Chelsea records after perfect start

Arsenal have conceded three goals in eight Premier League games, and are chasing defensive records.

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Arsenal have led the Premier League’s meanest defence in each of the last two seasons, yet that superiority has not been enough to secure the title. The club is still searching for a first Premier League crown since the 2003–04 Invincibles campaign, a drought now extending beyond two decades and noted as the longest since their post-1919 promotion era.

After eight games of the 2025–26 season Arsenal sit top of the table. They have won six fixtures and dropped five points from the 24 available so far. What stands out is the goals-against column. Manchester City (17) and Chelsea (16) have marginally outscored Arsenal (15), while Liverpool, Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur have netted just once less often. More telling is how rarely Arsenal have been scored against.

The Gunners’ backline has been breached only three times in the league to date, an average of 0.375 goals conceded per game. That figure is lower than two landmark English defensive records. Highlighted by The Times, Liverpool’s fewest-goals-conceded season (16 in 42 games, 1978–79) works out at 0.381 per game, while Chelsea’s Premier League-era record of 15 goals conceded in 38 games in 2004–05 averages 0.395.

Arsenal still face 30 Premier League fixtures this season, so both defensive standards remain under threat over the long run. Mikel Arteta has tended to select a preferred defensive quartet of Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori, but that combination has not been available in every match. The depth of the defensive unit is evident: replacements such as Myles Lewis-Skelly and Cristhian Mosquera have been able to slot in without a visible drop in defensive performance.

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The early figures position Arsenal as a team capable of challenging historic benchmarks, but maintaining this level across a full season will determine whether those records can be genuinely threatened.

Analytics & Stats

Opta Forecast: Arsenal Hold Edge as Title Race, Europe and Survival Remain Tight

Opta model favours Arsenal after 3-0 win; title race, Champions League and relegation remain tight.

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Arsenal sit in control of the Premier League title race after a 3–0 win over Fulham, but the margins are slim. The Opta supercomputer projects Arsenal to finish on 82.28 expected points from their current 76, giving them a 79.70% chance of being champions. Manchester City, on 70 points, are forecast at 79.30 expected points with a 20.30% title probability.

That six-point advantage is meaningful, yet fragile. On paper, Arsenal are in an imposing position, but City face two fixtures that matter: away at Everton on Monday and then Brentford on Saturday. If City are perfect in those games they can erase the gap, and by the time Arsenal next play in the Premier League the two clubs would be level on games played.

The Opta model also lays out the race for Champions League football. Manchester United, on 61 points and an expected 67.03, are shown with a 100.00% chance of qualifying and can confirm their place with victory over Liverpool on Sunday. Aston Villa and Liverpool are close: Villa sit on 58 points with 64.15 expected and a 99.01% chance, while Liverpool also have 58 points with 64.00 expected and a 98.63% chance. Brighton are projected to finish with 55.17 expected points from 50 now and sit on a 0.69% chance of Champions League qualification. Bournemouth (49, 54.45, 0.51%), Brentford (51, 54.30, 0.51%) and Chelsea (48, 53.79, 0.60%) are all shown outside the automatic certainty but still within reach of European action.

At the bottom, the simulation makes relegation clear for two clubs. Burnley (20 points, 22.74 expected) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (18 points, 21.02 expected) have 100.00% relegation chances and will be replaced in the Championship by Coventry City and Ipswich Town. The final slot remains undecided. Nottingham Forest (39, 44.12, 0.97%) look relatively safe, while West Ham (36, 39.25, 48.78%) and Tottenham (34, 38.70, 50.22%) are in the precarious positions. Tottenham are currently backed for the drop, although victory over Aston Villa in Sunday’s late game would see Roberto De Zerbi’s side climb out of the relegation zone with four games left to play.

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How Bruno Fernandes can rewrite two Premier League assist records against Liverpool

Fernandes can break two Premier League assist records: season assists (19) and set-piece assists…

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Michael Carrick’s tactical change has given Bruno Fernandes room to operate in the right-side pocket behind the front line, and the results are clear. Carrick restored United’s skipper to the No. 10 role after a period in Ruben Amorim’s two-man midfield, and Fernandes says the move has altered his positioning. “I float a lot in that zone there now with Michael,” Fernandes reflected in an interview with Opta. “He doesn’t want me to just be stuck in the middle, so often asks me to find that pocket [of space].”

That positional freedom has put Fernandes on the cusp of two Premier League landmarks with four matches left in the season. He has 19 assists in 2025–26, level with Mesut Özil on the season charts and one behind the all-time single-season mark of 20 set by Thierry Henry and matched by Kevin De Bruyne in 2019–20. No player in the 34-year history of the Premier League has provided more than 20 assists in a single campaign, and Sunday’s derby with Liverpool presents a high-profile chance to close that gap.

Fernandes showed the shift in focus at Brentford, taking no shots as he concentrated on creating. Eventually, Benjamin Šeško finished one of the five chances Fernandes created, taking the skipper to 19 assists and a single assist behind the record.

If Matheus Cunha recovers from a slight hip issue, he is the likeliest direct beneficiary. As Opta note, Cunha has received 19 open-play chances from Fernandes this season—the most chances any player has been provided by a single teammate in the current Premier League campaign.

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There is also a set-piece subplot. United’s No. 8 has set the former Real Madrid man up for six Premier League goals this season—another division high—five of which have come from set pieces. Fernandes sits on 10 set-piece assists, one shy of Steven Gerrard’s top-flight record of 11. The midfielder has worked on dead balls and admits the demands have changed: “I will tell you that five years ago, I would go to take a corner and just put the ball into the middle of the box and let’s see if someone gets it,” he revealed. “And nowadays I have to hit a spot, so sometimes it’s even harder to get an assist from a set piece than it actually is in open play.”

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Analytics & Stats

A 100-Question Premier League Knowledge Test

One hundred Premier League quiz answers and facts drawn from the top-flight’s trivia and records….

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This collection presents one hundred answers drawn from a broad Premier League quiz that covers origins, records, transfers and obscure trivia. The aim here is not to explain every question but to give a clear sense of the material contained in the original set.

Sample entries and answers from the quiz include: Answer: 1992–93. Answer: First Division. Answer: 20. Answer: Three. Answer: UEFA. Answer: Seven (Arsenal , Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea , Leicester City, Liverpool , Man City , Man Utd). Answer: Wimbledon FC (Dissolved in June 2004). Answer: Sky. Answer: Old Trafford (Manchester United). Answer: Manchester United (15). Answer: James Milner. Answer: 100. Answer: Norwich City (Six). Answer: Alan Shearer (260). Answer: Derby County (11 points, 2007–08). Answer: Arsenal. Answer: Ryan Giggs (162). Answer: Erling Haaland (Manchester City). Answer: Petr Čech (202). Answer: Kenny Dalglish.

The answers further record managerial and transfer details: Answer: Manuel Pellegrini (Chilean, with Manchester City in 2013–14). Answer: Sir Alex Ferguson. Answer: Claudio Ranieri (Leicester City, 2015–16), Antonio Conte (Chelsea, 2016–17), Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea, 2009–10), Roberto Mancini (Manchester City, 2011–12). Answer: Arsène Wenger (828). Answer: Igor Tudor. Answer: Luiz Felipe Scolari (Chelsea, 2008–09). Answer: Rob Edwards. Answer: Arne Slot.

Other entries cite stadiums, clubs, fees, and notable incidents: Answer: Southampton. Answer: Alexis Sánchez. Answer: Robinho. Answer: Alexander Isak (Newcastle United to Liverpool, $169 million). Answer: Sol Campbell. Answer: Romelu Lukaku. Answer: Peter Odemwingie. Answer: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid). Answer: Sporting CP. Answer: £50 million ($67 million). Answer: Ali Dia. Answer: Mario Balotelli. Answer: Sadio Mané (for Southampton vs. Aston Villa).

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The list also preserves nicknames and slogans exactly as given: “Fire & Ice”, “God”, “Why Always Me?”. This compilation is a concise companion to the full 100-question set and highlights the range of topics the quiz covers.

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