Mikel Arteta has built a strong foundation at Arsenal over the past number of years.
The Gunners have enjoyed a stellar start to their season and sit atop the Premier League table with a decent lead.
It is four points separating them from their closest rivals Manchester City following their win over Liverpool on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola took charge of his 1000th match as a boss in his own right and his side showed their title mettle with what was a convincing win over the Reds to keep the pressure on the leaders.
Arteta knows his team are capable of scoring goals and lots of them. In just 11 outings in the Premier League so far this term they have found the net 20 times.
In all competitions Arsenal have scored 35 goals from 17 matches and they have only shipped five in those same games.
So it’s needless to say that their defence can also be counted on.
Arsenal took on Sunderland on Saturday afternoon with the Black Cats flying high in fourth. And it was Regis Les Bris’ troops who ended their opponents’ run of wins and clean sheets.
We at FootballBlog wanted a closer look at the stats and how they stack up.
Arsenal clean sheet run ends
Arsenal’s run of clean sheets this season so far has been impressive and must be applauded.
From their last 10 matches in all competitions – before Sunderland – they kept a staggering eight after defeating Newcastle United 2-1.
Before that day they had kept Port Vale quiet in a 2-0 win but it was following the Magpies clash that they really started to find their feet to go on a brilliant run.
In their whopping eight clean sheets in a row, Arsenal beat Olympiacos (Champions League), West Ham (Premier League), Fulham, Atletico Madrid, Crystal Palace, Brighton (Carabao Cup), Burnley and Slavia Prague.
That meant a staggering 12 hours and 56 minutes of football where Arsenal did not concede a goal following Nick Woltemade’s strike back in September.
It was also a run which equaled Arsenal’s own previous record which was set all the way back in 1903.
When Sunderland opened the scoring at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, it ended things. But Arsenal turned the game on its head to lead 2-1.
Brian Brobbey nicked a second in the fourth minute of stoppage time to steal a point.
Eight in a row
A massive part of Arsenal’s foundation is how good they have been at the back this year.
Arteta will no longer accept his club finishing second place, we suspect, especially when they have had such an excellent start to the campaign.
The eight matches in a row during which they kept clean sheets will be fondly looked back on if they win the title in the end as a pivotal few months of football.
Four of those games came in the Premier League and that brought 12 points.
But the wins also saw the Gunners lap up their time and add to their goal difference which might also be vital come the end of May, 2026.
They scored six goals and shipped none which bodes well to sit in the scored column while minimising the number conceded.
In the Champions League their nine points allowed them to go top of the League Phase alongside Bayern Munich and Inter Milan but they are the only club in the tournament yet to allow a goal in.
David Raya to thank?
David Raya has shown himself to be a massive part of how Arsenal play, both with the ball at his feet and with his shot stopping abilities.
So the Spanish goalkeeper has played a significant role in the clean sheets the club have kept all term.
Aside from the eight in a row across all comps, there were a handful more before the run.
Before the eight, Arsenal kept five other clean sheets against Manchester United, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Athletic Club and Port Vale.
In total, Raya has kept 11 clean sheets from his 15 performances this season which is the best in the league at this moment in time.
From those 15 matches, the 30-year-old has managed to make on average 1.6 saves per match which has certainly kept the scoring down.
Five strikes have been conceded but all have come in the league where they have scored at the other end to ensure the wins keep coming.
Central defender Gabriel is among the world’s best, so says many pundits, and he has played his part alongside William Saliba.
Clean sheet records down the years
As far as records go, Arsenal are not too far off with this run.
In all competitions, as mentioned, Arsenal kept eight clean sheets but how does that compare to throughout the past number of years?
Well, according to the BBC, it’s Liverpool who hold the all-time record when it comes to all competitions and most number of blanks against them.
They say Rafa Benitez’s side back in 2005 went 11 matches throughout all fronts without shipping a goal.
If discussing only Premier League fixtures, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United remain the club to beat as they went a whopping 14 matches without letting one in.
