Arsenal extended their winning run to 10 matches in all competitions after beating Slavia Prague 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday night, thanks to a brace from makeshift striker Mikel Merino.
The Spaniard led the line in place of the injured Viktor Gyökeres and, just as he did last season, the midfielder showed his versatility and attacking prowess to provide a focal point for his team.
While Merino and fellow goalscorer Bukayo Saka might grab the headlines, it was Arsenal’s defence that made history.
The eighth consecutive clean sheet for Mikel Arteta’s side equals their club record for shutouts, set in the 1903/04 season.
Speaking at the post-match press conference about the record-breaking defence, Arteta said: “There’s a lot of work there to achieve that. The most pleasing thing is probably not the record; it’s the mindset of the players. They are talking about how we can still do better.”
The Gunners also became the first English team to win their first four games in this competition without conceding since Leeds United in the 1969/70 European Cup.
Arsenal’s defensive form has been nothing short of remarkable.
It has now been 776 minutes of football since Arsenal last conceded a goal – Nick Woltemade’s opener for Newcastle in a match the Gunners came back to win 2-1.
During that period, their opponents have managed just nine shots on target, six of which came in the Carabao Cup win over Brighton at the end of last month.
Arsenal have shown defensive strength in Europe before. When they returned to the Champions League under Arteta in 2023/24, they didn’t concede a single goal in their home group games. However, in recent seasons, individual mistakes and red cards have often been costly to their defensive record and title challenge.
This campaign, the errors that once undermined their performances have been cut out, and the Gunners have conceded just one goal from open play in the past three months.
They have kept 13 clean sheets in 16 games played so far this campaign across the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Arsenal’s defensive numbers are beginning to resemble those of the greatest Premier League backlines.
Their current streak of eight straight wins in all competitions without conceding is a joint record for an English top-flight club, set by Preston North End (1889) and Liverpool (1920).
In the league, they are conceding just 0.3 goals per game – even tighter than Chelsea’s 2004/05 title-winning side, famous for letting in only 15 goals across the season at an average of 0.39 per game.
If Arsenal sustain this form, they are on course to concede just 11 or 12 goals across the entire season.
Arsenal are rarely known for defensive resilience of this level – even the great ‘Invincibles’ conceded 26 goals in the campaign where they went unbeaten – but Arteta has built an incredible back line.