As Arsenal have improved in recent years, the emphasis on ‘small margins’ that can define a season has grown considerably.Manager Mikel Arteta referenced them routinely throughout the title races of the last two seasons. Club captain Martin Odegaard mentioned them last month ahead of the new campaign: “It was a good season. We made history and we have to be proud. We all felt disappointed with being so close, but in football, it is small margins.”AdvertisementOne of those margins, the five league games Arsenal failed to score in, was identified by The Athletic readers as a priority topic for this summer. Arsenal finished the season having broken their record for league goals scored, their most in any top-flight season since 1952-53 (91), but those five outliers underlined the importance of margins.Here, we look back through those games to assess where Arsenal fell short, what themes emerged, and how they can improve in 2024-25.Newcastle 1-0 ArsenalIt took until November (matchday 11) f...
