Arsenal’s Premier League record on the opening day
Manchester United, who have won the Premier League title 13 times, have more game victories in the competition than Arsenal. This dominance is evident in Arsenal’s record on the first day of each season.
Although Arsenal themselves have won the league three times, the last time they were crowned champions was during Tony Blair’s tenure as the British Prime Minister.
Under the long-serving manager Arsene Wenger, Arsenal had a tendency to start their season strongly with a victory on the opening day.
This initial win often set the tone for a successful campaign, even if it didn’t result in winning the league. Although Arsenal experienced some difficulties on the opening day towards the end of Wenger’s reign, their overall record in season openers is highly impressive in the history of the competition.
Here’s a rundown of Arsenal’s Premier League opening day record.
Arsenal’s Premier League opening day results
| Season | Result |
|---|---|
| 1992/93 | Arsenal 2-4 Norwich |
| 1993/94 | Arsenal 0-3 Coventry |
| 1994/95 | Arsenal 3-0 Man City |
| 1995/96 | Arsenal 1-1 Middlesbrough |
| 1996/97 | Arsenal 2-0 West Ham |
| 1997/98 | Leeds 1-1 Arsenal |
| 1998/99 | Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest |
| 1999/00 | Arsenal 2-1 Leicester |
| 2000/01 | Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal |
| 2001/02 | Middlesbrough 0-4 Arsenal |
| 2002/03 | Arsenal 2-0 Birmingham |
| 2003/04 | Arsenal 2-1 Everton |
| 2004/05 | Everton 1-4 Arsenal |
| 2005/06 | Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle |
| 2006/07 | Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa |
| 2007/08 | Arsenal 2-1 Fulham |
| 2008/09 | Arsenal 1-0 West Brom |
| 2009/10 | Everton 1-6 Arsenal |
| 2010/11 | Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal |
| 2011/12 | Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal |
| 2012/13 | Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland |
| 2013/14 | Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa |
| 2014/15 | Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace |
| 2015/16 | Arsenal 0-2 West Ham |
| 2016/17 | Arsenal 3-4 Liverpool |
| 2017/18 | Arsenal 4-3 Leicester |
| 2018/19 | Arsenal 0-2 Man City |
| 2019/20 | Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal |
| 2020/21 | Fulham 0-3 Arsenal |
| 2021/22 | Brentford 2-0 Arsenal |
| 2022/23 | Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal |
It took Arsenal three seasons before they could secure their first opening day victory in the Premier League. Initially, they suffered embarrassing home defeats to Norwich and Coventry to start their 1992/93 and 1993/94 campaigns, respectively.
However, despite these early setbacks, Arsenal has generally fared well on the opening weekend of the season. They have emerged victorious in 17 out of their 31 season openers. After finally securing their first opening day win against Manchester City in 1994, Arsenal went on to lose only one of their next 18 opening matches.
Arsenal has encountered several teams multiple times on the opening day of the season, including Liverpool, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Fulham, and Leicester.
However, they have faced Everton the most, with three encounters. One notable opening-day victory for Arsenal came in the 2009/10 season when they played against Everton. In that match, Cesc Fabregas scored two goals, contributing to an impressive 6-1 triumph at Goodison Park, which stands as Arsenal’s biggest opening-day win.
Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park continued their trend of finding success away from home on the opening day of the season. While they have played 20 opening day games at home, including the inaugural competitive match at the Emirates Stadium in 2006 against Aston Villa, Arsenal have also played 11 times on the road, suffering only two losses. The most recent defeat came against Brentford on the opening night of the 2021/22 season.
Interestingly, Arsenal’s last four opening day fixtures have taken place away from home. However, this followed a sequence of seven consecutive openers at the Emirates Stadium. During that run, Arsenal experienced memorable matches against Liverpool, losing 4-3, and Leicester, winning 4-3.
Arsenal’s Premier League opening day record
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored | Goals against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 54 | 33 | 57 |
Arsenal’s Premier League record on the opening day