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Arsenal's trend of strong finishes to Premier League campaigns revealed

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Arsenal appear to have lost more ground in the top-six battle this season - but a customary strong finish could be on the cards...

The Gunners must produce a strong finish to the season to maintain any hope of claiming fifth spot in the table and avoid their lowest league finish in 23 years - but Arsene Wenger's side have a particularly good habit of doing that.

Arsenal kicked off this campaign with a 4-3 win against Leicester, but that goal fest was followed by a 1-0 defeat at Stoke and a 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool.

Besides that poor start, Arsenal's season was following a strikingly similar pattern to their five-year average, enjoying marginally above-average results between September and November before a slightly worse December.

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But a 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth in January, coupled with a 3-1 loss at Swansea a fortnight later - momentarily mitigated with a 5-1 win over Everton - before three back-to-back defeats, completed a shocking period through to early March.

Since the Swansea game, Arsenal's results have been well below their seasonal average - and that dip in form reflects their current sixth-place standing in the Premier League.

FOR FEATURE ON 28.03.18
Image: Arsenal's season (red line) was following a typical pattern of form until the defeat at Swansea but, as the five-year average (blue line) indicates, Arsenal typically finish the season in good form

In fact, the Gunners have spent 16 of the 31 matchdays in sixth spot this term and have failed to occupy a position above fourth, which they held on occasions during their run of form between November and December.

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The most recent blow was a shock 2-1 defeat at Brighton, which sparked a recurrence of the calls from some fans for Wenger to leave his post.

Wenger finished outside the top four for the first time in his 22-year tenure last season - and that outcome appears to be on cards again.

However, Arsenal have a remarkable record for producing strong finishes in the Premier League and a similar purple patch this time around could, potentially, snatch fifth spot - if Chelsea suffer a dip in form.

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Image: Arsenal are currently eight points behind London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League table

That record includes winning eight of their final 10 Premier League fixtures in 2012/13 and five successive games at the end of 2013/14.

In 2014/15, the Gunners won nine out of 10 fixtures between February and May, and were undefeated in their final 10 games during 2015/16 to oust Tottenham with a second-place finish.

Last season, Arsenal won their final five games of the campaign to leapfrog Manchester United and climb from sixth to fifth - a situation they find themselves in again this term, behind Chelsea.

Arsene Wenger regrets some of football's values have gone 'underwater'
Image: Will Arsene Wenger mastermind another strong finish to a Premier League campaign?

The Gunners have a slightly easier run-in than Antonio Conte's side, with average opponents ranking 12.4 in the Premier League table, compared with a tougher 11.8.

Run-ins

Arsenal Chelsea
Leicester (A) (TBC) Tottenham (A)
Stoke (H) West Ham (H)
Southampton (H) Southampton (A)
Newcastle (A) Burnley (A)
West Ham (H) Southampton (H)
Man Utd (A) Swansea (A)
Burnley (H) Liverpool (H)
Huddersfield (A) Newcastle (A)

Arsenal would gain Champions League qualification by winning the Europa League - but Wenger will also be looking to mastermind a customary strong finish domestically to snatch fifth spot and avoid another slip down the top-six pecking order.

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