Arsenal: The problem with spiralling away form

All season, Arsenal’s away form has spiralled out of control, the latest a 1-0 loss to Everton on Sunday. With every passing defeat, the problem gets harder to fix.

Prior to the weekend, Arsenal had seven matches remaining in the Premier League. Five of them were away from home. As they strived to reclaim a top-four finish and potentially even hauling their way into third, it would be their away form that would dictate just how far they would get. And that is not an encouraging sign.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Season in review; Summer window looms

After the weekend’s 1-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park, those discouragements have turned into outright, crippling anxieties. Now just six games remaining, four of which are on the road, the Gunners likely have to win three away games if they are to finish in the top four.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

That is an achievement that I have little confidence in this team accomplishing, especially considering the four opponents: Watford, Wolves, Leicester City and Burnley. So far this season. Arsenal have played 15 away games. They have won just a third of them. Perhaps more concerningly, they actually have a negative goal differential across those 15 games, scoring 26 and conceding a truly horrific 28.

Even more troubling is the harrowing statistic that they are the only team in the league to fail to keep a clean sheet away from home. Even Fulham have pitched a shutout! And now, so much has rightly been made of the poor away form, the mental block of overcoming a historic pattern only increases with every passing week. Arsenal are combatting their own doubts as much as they are the quality of the opposition.

This is the major problem that Unai Emery must now try to solve between now and the end of the year: the compounding nature of the poor away form makes every away match all the more difficult.

Mentally, the Gunners are approaching every away game acutely aware of their past vulnerabilities. Before the Everton defeat, Sead Kolasinac revealed that he and his teammates have spoken a lot about how they can overturn their away troubles. While focusing on a shortcoming may seem wise, when it becomes an obsession, it can become an obstacle, a mental hurdle to overcome.

Moreover, opposing teams are only going to draw confidence from every passing defeat. On Monday night, Watford welcome the north London outfit. Do you not think they are now relishing such a prospect? And this is the real issue with the spiralling away form: it is now out of control.

Somehow, Emery must find a way to right his team’s road wrongs. If he wants to lead them to a top-four finish, he has no choice but to. But whether he can is another question altogether.