Alexander Isak scoring against Arsenal at St James’ Park means Mikel Arteta’s have failed to keep a clean sheet in six consecutive Premier League matches.
After not conceding in three of the opening four games this season, every opponent since has breached their defence. That streak is already double the longest stretch in the league without one across all last season.
To find a longer Arsenal run without a clean sheet, you must return to the final few months of the 2022/23 campaign. That coincided with William Saliba’s absence from the team with the back injury that curtailed his season.
The difference between these two droughts is that all the league games in22/23 came simultaneously, but the Gunners have kept clean sheets between their league fixtures in cup competitions this time.
Their last league clean sheet came in the North London Derby, which Arsenal won 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Thanks to a David Raya penalty save, they kept another in their next fixture against Atalanta in the Champions League.
However, over the course of September, they conceded five goals in three games with Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Manchester City. Arsenal then tightened up in their next match, winning 2-0 against Paris Saint-Germain.
