By Tony Attwood
Between 20 October 2012 and 1 December 2012 Arsenal played eight games of which they won two – an astonishing 5-2 win over Tottenham and a 1-0 win over QPR.
They lost three (to Norwich, Manchester United and Swansea) and drew with Fulham, Aston Villa and Everton.
Ahead of the game on 8 December Arsenal lay 10th in the league, 15 points off Manchester United at the top and five points behind Tottenham H who were in the coveted fourth spot. Arsenal were one place and two points above Liverpool.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Manchester United | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 21 | 16 | 36 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 33 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 26 |
| 4 | Tottenham H | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 23 | 5 | 26 |
| 5 | West Bromwich Albion | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 26 |
| 6 | Everton | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 23 |
| 7 | Swansea City | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 23 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 22 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 22 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 21 |
| 11 | Liverpool | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 19 |
The game on 8 December was against West Bromwich Albion who were surprisingly up in 5th. Arsenal won 2-0 with both goals coming as penalties from Arteta. Each time he used exactly the same tactic lobbing the ball gently straight to the middle of the goal as the keeper dived to one side.
At this point, Arsenal then went on a four-match unbeaten run in the first three of which they scored 13 goals. There were a couple of defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea but all told the rest of the results in the league were won 15, drawn 4, lost 3.
The run was concluded by eight wins and two draws, giving us fourth place and pushing Tottenham out of the Champions League spot they so wanted. We also ended up third highest scorers in the league with 72 goals.
Which perhaps goes to show that where the club sits in early December is not necessarily where the club will end up at the end of the season.
It is also interesting that just eight years ago the top nine of the Premier League included two clubs that are no longer even in the Premier League. Times change.
For details of the videos sorted by club, and videos in the order we published them, plus our 21 golden great videos please see here.
100 Years in the First Division: the absolute complete story of Arsenal’s promotion in 1919.
Henry Norris at the Arsenal: There is a full index to the series here.
Arsenal in the 1930s: The most comprehensive series on the decade ever
Arsenal in the 1970s: Every match and every intrigue reviewed in detail.3 December 1949
