Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Wolves on Sunday has cemented their worst ever start to a Premier League season.
The Gunners have claimed just 13 points across their first 10 games of the new campaign – their lowest tally after so many games since 1981-82 when England’s top-flight wasn’t yet known as the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s side had initially shown real promise under the Spaniard as they lost just five of his first 22 games in charge but they’ve now been defeated a further five times in the space of just eight matches.
With just one win from their last six Premier League matches, Arsenal have slumped to 14th in the Premier League – eight points shy of league leaders Tottenham and the relegation zone.
Goals have been a real concern for the Gunners this season with Arteta’s men finding the back of the net just 10 times across 10 league games.
While Arsenal did score from open play on Sunday via Gabriel, they were unable to salvage a draw against Wolves, who struck via Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence.
The Gunners recorded just two shots on target at the Emirates and have only managed fewer such attempts at home once since Arsene Wenger left the club.
Speaking after the match, Arteta conceded his side is struggling for both goals and confidence but is hopeful a looming derby against Spurs can inspire them.
“We need more goals to win football matches. We need to keep supporting the players. All players go through [tough] periods. We’re creating chances but struggling to score goals. That’s the difference between winning and losing,” Arteta told BBC Sport.
“When you lose matches the confidence goes down because they believe things can happen again. You need to win after a defeat. We’ve been doing this in my time here. This is the first time since we’ve been here [that they’ve had a losing run].”
On whether they can turn it round next weekend against Spurs, Arteta added: “It would be great. There’s not a bigger motivation than for us to go to Spurs and try to beat them.”
