History has a way of repeating itself and for Coach Arsene Wenger, the 4-1 victory his side r ecorded against Newcastle in 2014 can just play out again.
The French tactician has every reason to believe so especially with his side riding high on top of the English Premier League table with 39 points from 19 matches and will today face struggling Newcastle that is battling with relegation problems.
Arsenal is in good form and the confidence with which they faced Bournemouth to record a 2-0 win will surely put them in pole position to claim the maximum three points at stake with history suggests that the omens look promising for the title prospects of Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger’s team sit atop the table, above Leicester City on goal difference, and five of the last six “New Year champions” succeeded in ending the season in first.
“It is too early to say we can win the league but the win strengthens our belief. You come out and realise you have earned your right to win these games. We have to be ready to fight like that in every single game and you do that quite [often]. It is quite interesting on my side because there is real life in the team, real togetherness and real solidarity, so let’s take care of that.”
For Newcastle coach Steve McClaren, this is not the best of times for him but he will need to pull an upset to make a difference against Arsenal. His players will need to shrug off the 1-0 defeat they suffered on December 28, 2015 away West Brom to move out temporarily from the relegation waters
On teams that led the table in the new year, history tells us that Chelsea and Manchester United, twice, and Manchester City all made sure they ended the season in the same position that they started the year, even if City required a 94th-minute goal from Sergio Aguero to do it in 2011/12.
The only team to have failed to hold on to the No 1 position during that period was Arsenal. The Gunners were top on 1 January 2014 but finished the season fourth, behind City, the champions, who had been a point behind in second on New Year’s Day.
The success of the “New Year champions” is a fairly recent phenomenon.
In the first 17 seasons of the competition, more often than not the leaders on 1 January failed to claim the title (10 times).
Of the seven teams to be in the lead on 1 January and at the end of May, one were Wenger’s side of 2001/02.
During that period Arsenal also let slip twice a lead on 1 January (2002/03 and 2007/08).
But Wenger’s team also hold the record of having come from the lowest position on New Year’s Day to claim the title, when they rose from sixth in 1997/98 to overtake the leaders Man Utd, who lie in sixth place this season.
On seven occasions, the team who were second have finished top of the pile in May, which gives Leicester hope.
Man City fans will be hoping that their team will be the fourth to climb from third to first by season’s end.
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