42 weird and obscure facts from the 2023/24 season

With all 52 matches of the 2023/24 done and dusted, we’ve been looking at all the numbers surrounding our campaign.

We’ve laid out the records we’ve smashed, broken down the 113 goals we scored and discovered nine key statistics highlighting our improvement this term.

With help from Opta we’ve stumbled across some incredibly niche facts, so if you’re a fan of random and obscure Arsenal trivia, feast on these wonderful nuggets from the campaign:

Results

We are unbeaten in each of our last 45 Premier League matches under Mikel Arteta in which we have been ahead at half-time, a run which has seen us win all of our last 21 matches when in front at the break.

We went on to win all 18 of our Premier League games this season when we were ahead at half-time, the only side to do so in 2023/24.

All 10 of our outfield starters attempted at least one shot against Bournemouth in May, the first time this has happened in a Premier League game for us since January 2022 against Burnley.

We have remained undefeated in all 35 games that Gabriel Martinelli has scored for us in all competitions (W30 D5).

There have been 71 instances of a team facing a Pep Guardiola side 3+ times in a single season, and only two have remained unbeaten - Liverpool in 2021/22 and ourselves last term.

We became just the fourth side to shut out a Pep Guardiola side in two league matches in the same season, after Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014/15, Manchester United in 2020/21 and Palace in 2021/22.

After a seven-game winless run, we remained unbeaten in all five of our trips to the north-west this season.

Opponents

We went an entire league campaign unbeaten against each of Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea for the first time since 2003/04.

After a run of 15 games without a victory, we beat Manchester City in the Premier League for the first time since December 2015.

We became the first team to prevent City from scoring in a home Premier League game since Crystal Palace in October 2021, ending a run of 47 matches.

We won consecutive top-flight away games against Spurs for the first time since September 1988.

Tottenham are the first team in Premier League history to score an own goal in three consecutive games against ourselves.

Our 5-0 win over Chelsea was our biggest-ever victory against the Blues in our history.

We have scored at least once in each of our last 33 games against Wolves in all competitions, the longest scoring run against an opponent in our club’s history.

We ended a 10-game winless run away against Luton in all competitions, earning our first Kenilworth Road victory since 1984.

We have won 102 league games against Everton, the most one side has beaten another in English league history.

We have never lost at home against Fulham in league competition from 31 meetings; this is the most one team has faced another at home without losing in English league history.

We completed the league double over Manchester United for the first time since 2006/07.

Goals

Declan Rice’s goal against Chelsea was measured at 36.6 yards out, our longest-range strike in our Premier League history.

Declan’s goal on 95 minutes and 43 seconds was the latest winning goal ever scored in a Premier League fixture between Arsenal and Manchester United.

The 11 goals we netted against Sheffield United is also the joint-most we’ve scored against an opponent in a single Premier League campaign, pulling level with the 11 scored against Everton in 2004/05 and Derby County three seasons later.

In our 6-0 win against Lens, we had six different goalscorers in a single game for the first time since October 2009 against Blackburn Rovers.

Leandro Trossard became the first player ever to score his first three Premier League goals for us all as a substitute.

Bukayo Saka scored six Premier League goals in February 2024, the most by an Arsenal player in a single calendar month since Robin van Persie in October 2011 (7).

We scored 18 goals across our league matches that month, our most in a single calendar month since October 1963.

There were six occasions we had two substitutes combine for a goal in 2023/24 - the most of any side in a single season in Premier League history.

Players

Bukayo Saka (22y 242d) became the youngest player to reach 20 goals in a season for us in all competitions since Martin Hayes in 1986/87 (21y 30d).

Bukayo also became the first Englishman to score in five consecutive league appearances for us since Wright in 1994, and the first to net home and away for us against Tottenham in a league campaign since the same player that season.

Bukayo scored his 13th London derby goal in the Premier League; only Harry Kane (15) has ever scored more in the competition aged 22 or younger.

He was also directly involved in eight goals in the Champions League (4 goals, 4 assists); only Thierry Henry (10 in 2002/03 & 11 in 2003/04) has had a hand in more in a single campaign for us.

Kai Havertz became the first player to score a Premier League brace against Chelsea having previously played for the Blues in the competition.

Kai scored and assisted in four different Premier League games this season; the most by an Arsenal player in a single campaign since Alexis Sanchez in 2016/17.

Declan Rice became the third different Gunner to score two 90th-minute winning goals in a single Premier League campaign, after Ian Wright (1993/94 and 1995/96) and Nicklas Bendtner (2009/10).

Only Sol Campbell and Lauren (both 68) won more of their first 100 appearances for us in the Premier League than Ben White (66).

Against Brentford in March, Ben became the first Arsenal defender to assist twice in a single league match since Hector Bellerin against Sheffield United in October 2020.

Eddie Nketiah became the first Arsenal player to score a Premier League hat-trick since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Leeds United in February 2021, and the first Englishman since Theo Walcott against West Brom in May 2015.

Against Luton in April, Reiss Nelson made his first Premier League start since July 2020 against Liverpool, 3 years and 263 days earlier. Only Mathieu Flamini (5y, 162d) and Sol Campbell (3y, 296d) have ever had longer gaps between starts for us in the competition.

Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka created 42 chances for one another in the Premier League this season, the most of any duo.

In our 6-0 win at West Ham, Odegaard became the first player on record to complete 100+ passes (107), create at least five chances (7), and assist multiple goals (2) in the same Premier League match.

Thomas Partey didn’t lose in any of his 13 Premier League appearances, only Rodri (32) and Kevin de Bruyne (16) played more in the competition without defeat this season.

Gabriel Martinelli (22y & 125d) made his 100th Premier League appearance against Chelsea in October, becoming the third youngest non-European to reach that milestone in the competition after Harry Kewell in April 2000 (21y 200d) and Peter Ndlovu in May 1995 (22y 70d).

Aaron Ramsdale became the first Arsenal goalkeeper to keep two away clean sheets against a specific opponent (Brentford) in a single season since Pat Jennings against Brighton in 1979/80.