Arsenal now have a worse record than at this stage last season, but there is cause for optimism

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season as they were beaten away at Bournemouth.

Mikel Arteta’s side suffered a disastrous night following William Saliba’s early red card, with goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert handing the home team all three points.

This was Arsenal’s eighth Premier League game of the season, but their first defeat, and they are still third in the table.

Arsenal fans are hopeful that their side can win the Premier League title, after coming so close last season, but there is now a concern.

• READ MORE: How much Arsenal paid to sign every 2024/25 first-team squad player in the transfer market

Arsenal have a worse record than after eight games last season

Arsenal had a strange start to the season last year as they were unconvincing in terms of performance, but were still unbeaten after eight league games.

Their record stood as follows:

• Played: 8
• Won: 6
• Drawn: 2
• Lost: 0
• Goals for: 16
• Goals against: 6
• Points: 20

Right now, after eight games, Arsenal already have a loss under their belt, and are three points worse off than they were last year.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	7	6	0	1	13	2	11	18
2	Man CityManchester City	7	5	2	0	17	8	9	17
3	ArsenalArsenal	8	5	2	1	15	8	7	17
4	Aston VillaAston Villa	8	5	2	1	15	10	5	17
5	BrightonBrighton	8	4	3	1	14	10	4	15

Arsenal have scored less, conceded more, and amassed less points than after eight games last season, but there are reasons to be optimistic.

Arsenal have faced tougher start than last season

Arsenal may have a worse record now, but they have been more impressive than they were early on last season.

Arteta has had to deal with several injury problems, with Martin Odegaard missing a huge chunk of action.

Arsenal have also had three players sent off, and dropped points in each of these games. If they can cut the errors out, they can start converting draws into wins.

The Gunners have also had a tougher fixture schedule this year, having already played away at Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Man City, and will hope to do what they did last year by going on a long winning run.