Arsenal have never beaten Spurs without Cesc Fabregas

Well, not since he started playing for the Gunners in 2004

chickendinner have discovered a shocking stat about Arsenal’s performance in the North London derby when Cesc Fabregas isn’t in the starting line-up, as will be the case when they travel to White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Of the eight games against Tottenham that he has started, Arsenal have won five and drawn three. That leaves them undefeated in those games and with a points per game average of 2.25.

The Spanish midfielder has only ever started on the bench or missed completely five games against Spurs, of which they have drawn four and lost one. Since Fabrega’s league debut in 2004, Arsenal have never beaten Spurs when he hasn’t started and their points average in those games is 0.8.

Posted: February 5th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 4 Comments

Home advantage is becoming less and less significant

chickendinner looks into why away wins are on the rise

As chickendinner pointed out earlier, there have been more away wins than ever before in the Premier League this season. As there isn’t much football on over the next few days, we are going to take an in-depth look at how this has come to pass.

The BBC’s best pundit Lee Dixon pointed out in his column today that five of the Premier League’s top seven have won more games on the road this season than they have at home and the stats show that there have been more away wins than ever before in recent months.

Posted: December 15th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment