Feature

The London League

Behind the Numbers

This week our statistician looks at our record in London derbies.

Arsenal complete their London derby programme in the Premier League on Tuesday night, with their status as 'London League' winners already secure.

The Gunners have won seven of their nine derby matches in the Premier League this season - beating Crystal Palace, Fulham and Tottenham home and away and taking 22 points from a possible 27 in capital fixtures.

"Arsenal have had the best record among London teams 12 times in the last 18 years"

That's one more point than Chelsea - who have played all 10 derbies this season - and 12 more than Spurs, who have two derbies left to play.

Arsenal won this particular mini-league last season too, and have now had the best record among London teams 12 times in the last 18 years.

Should Arsenal win on Tuesday evening, it will be the first time in the Premier League era that any London side has won eight derby matches in a single season, and 25 points would be a record haul for London sides against opposition from the capital.

London Derby Premier League 2013/14

Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts PPG
1 Arsenal 9 7 1 1 14 8 +6 22 2.4
2 Chelsea 10 6 3 1 21 4 +17 21 2.1
3 Tottenham 8 3 1 4 6 11 -5 10 1.3
4 West Ham 7 2 1 4 8 9 -1 7 1
5 Fulham 8 2 0 6 9 17 -8 6 0.8
6 Crystal Palace 8 2 0 6 4 13 -9 6 0.8

Top London derby sides by season

Season Top side in London derbies Pts
1992/93 Chelsea 19
1993/94 Arsenal  17
1994/95 QPR 21
1995/96 Tottenham 19
1996/97 Arsenal 15
1997/98 Arsenal 22
1998/99 Arsenal 21
1999/00 Arsenal 16
2000/01 Arsenal 15
2001/02 Arsenal 21
2002/03 Arsenal 24
2003/04 Arsenal 18
2004/05 Arsenal 24
2005/06 Chelsea 19
2006/07 Chelsea 21
2007/08 Arsenal 21
2008/09 Tottenham 13
2009/10 Chelsea 19
2010/11 Chelsea 17
2011/12 Tottenham 14
2012/13 Arsenal 19
2013/14 Arsenal 22

 

Arsenal derby wins per season

Arsenal derby wins per season

 

Overall Arsenal have won more Premier League London derbies than any other team - 106 from 203 games - ahead of Chelsea (102) and Tottenham (64).

Those 106 wins have come against eight different teams, with West Ham on the receiving end most often - 22 of the victories have been against the Hammers, from 35 meetings.

Arsenal's first Premier League derby win was against Chelsea, back on October 3, 1992. George Graham's side triumphed 2-1 at Highbury with Paul Merson and Ian Wright both on target in front of 27,780.

That was one of only three derby wins in the inaugural Premier League season, though the fewest wins against London teams in a single campaign was two, in 2008/09.

Arsenal's overall success rate in derbies is 52.2 per cent. Looking purely at the figures during Arsène Wenger's tenure, the win rate stands at 56.6 per cent - slightly down on his total league win percentage of 57.7.

The Gunners have played at least eight London derbies in each of the 22 Premier League seasons to date, and played as many as 12 in 1994/95.

Overall, London derbies account for 24.1 per cent of all games Arsenal have played in the Premier League era, highlighting the importance of having a strong record against local rivals.

Arsenal also have the best all-time record in the Premier League among London teams, with 455 wins from 843 games, for 1,586 points at an average of 1.88 per game.

 

Who the derby wins have been against

Who the derby wins have been against

 

Arsenal's full Premier League record against other London clubs

Team P W D L F A PPG
Charlton Athletic 16 12 2 2 36 12 2.38
Crystal Palace 10 7 2 1 20 5 2.3
Fulham 26 18 5 3 53 19 2.27
West Ham 35 22 7 6 59 22 2.09
Tottenham 44 18 17 9 74 52 1.61
Wimbledon 16 7 4 5 30 16 1.56
Chelsea 44 18 13 13 60 60 1.52
QPR 12 4 5 3 11 10 1.42

All-time London derby league table - Premier League

Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts PPG
1 Arsenal 203 106 54 42 343 196 147 372 1.83
2 Chelsea 204 102 59 43 342 198 144 365 1.79
3 Tottenham 203 64 63 76 258 284 -26 255 1.26
4 Wimbledon 78 23 22 33 85 113 -28 91 1.17
5 QPR 60 17 18 25 61 74 -13 69 1.15
6 West Ham  165 51 36 78 183 256 -73 189 1.15
7 Charlton 76 23 15 38 90 127 -37 84 1.11
8 Fulham 117 25 31 61 118 191 -73 106 0.91
9 Crystal Palace 51 11 13 27 42 85 -43 46 0.90

London teams in the Premier League

Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts PPG
1 Arsenal 843 455 221 167 1473 794 +679 1,586 1.88
2 Chelsea 844 446 214 184 1423 804 +619 1,552 1.84
3 Tottenham 844 333 219 292 1186 1114 +72 1,218 1.44
4 West Ham 687 224 175 288 805 977 -172 847 1.23
5 Fulham 490 150 134 206 564 686 -122 584 1.19
6 Wimbledon 316 99 94 123 384 472 -88 391 1.24
7 Charlton 304 93 82 129 342 442 -100 361 1.19
8 QPR 240 73 59 108 297 358 -61 278 1.16
9 Crystal Palace 193 48 53 92 184 282 -98 197 1.02

On the subject of London, Arsenal could win the FA Cup this season without once leaving the capital.

The first four FA Cup matches this season were all at home, with Saturday's semi-final - and of course next month's final - being staged at Wembley.

"Arsenal have scored 70 penalties and missed 27 in their 18 shoot-outs, for a conversion rate of 72 per cent"

Arsenal have won the cup once before after playing all their fixtures in London, back in 1950. That was the last time the Gunners were drawn at home in the first four rounds, and they beat Chelsea in the semi-final after a replay, when both games were staged at White Hart Lane.

The match against Hull on May 17 will be a record-equalling 18th appearance in the FA Cup final for Arsenal, and the Gunners will also be looking to tie Manchester United's record of 11 wins. In addition Arsène Wenger will hope to become only the second manager in the modern era (after Sir Alex Ferguson) to lift the trophy five times.

Arsenal needed penalties at the weekend to eliminate the holders Wigan Athletic. It was the club's 18th penalty shoot-out, and the 11th win. Wenger's side have now won seven of their last eight shoot-outs.

The shoot-out record is especially good in the FA Cup. Arsenal won the 2005 final on penalties (the first final to be decided that way) and have converted each of their last 13 spot-kicks in shoot-outs in the competition. Indeed Arsenal haven't missed a penalty in the FA Cup - including shoot-outs and during a match - since February 2007, when they missed two in the 3-1 win at Bolton.

Arsenal have scored 70 penalties and missed 27 in their 18 shoot-outs, for a conversion rate of 72 per cent. Over the past eight shoot-outs though, the success rate is 83 per cent.

The last 22 successful penalties in shoot-outs have been scored by 22 different players, and, with half an eye on the World Cup, the last 11 taken by Englishmen were all netted (going back to January 2000).

Lukasz Fabianski is the third Arsenal keeper (after David Seaman and Manuel Almunia) to be successful in more than one shoot-out.

 

Arsenal's penalty shootout record

Arsenal's penalty shootout record

 

Arsenal's penalty shootout record

Competition Date Opposition Score Result
European Cup Winners' Cup final May 14, 1980 Valencia 4-5 Lost
Coca Cola Cup second round second leg Oct 7, 1992 Millwall 3-1 Won
FA Charity Shield Aug 7, 1993 Man United 4-5 Lost 
European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final second leg Apr 20, 1995 Sampdoria 3-2 Won
FA Cup third round replay Jan 14, 1998 Port Vale 4-3 Won
FA Cup quarter-final replay  Mar 17, 1998 West Ham 4-3 Won
Worthington Cup fourth round Nov 30, 1999 Middlesbrough 1-3 Lost
FA Cup fourth round replay  Jan 19, 2000 Leicester City 5-6 Lost
UEFA Cup final May 17, 2000 Galatasaray 1-4 Lost
FA Community Shield Aug 10, 2003 Man United 3-4 Lost
Carling Cup third round Oct 28, 2003 Rotherham 9-8 Won
FA Cup fifth round replay Mar 1, 2005 Sheffield United 4-2 Won
FA Cup final May 21, 2005 Man United 5-4 Won
Carling Cup quarter-final  Dec 21, 2005 Doncaster Rovers 3-1 Won
Champions League last 16 second leg Mar 11, 2009 Roma 7-6 Won
Capital One Cup quarter-final Dec 11, 2012 Bradford City 2-3 Lost
Capital One Cup third round Sept 25, 2013 West Brom 4-3 Won
FA Cup semi-final Apr 12, 2014 Wigan  4-2 Won

Stats correct as at April 14, 2014

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