Welcome back to real football, everyone!
As promised, over the break I looked at some of the numerical differences in the way that Arsenal play in the Premier League versus the way that they have played in the Champions League and a few things both individually and collectively stood out.
Two disclaimers before we get into the meat of this: first, when it comes to overall numbers (shots, goals, shots on goal, etc.) I include the two matches against Udinese. When it comes to individual numbers I couldn’t include them because some places count those matches and some don’t. If you look at Arsenal’s overall performance in the Champions League, though, there isn’t much deviation whether you choose to include Udinese or not.
Second, if you go out and find some of these numbers for yourself (whoscored.com, etc.) you might notice that some of the players I say “lead the team” don’t actually lead the team in that category. In nearly every case this is down to the number of games that a player has played for Arsenal and whether I decide they should be included in the “leads the team” category. For example, Nasri led the team by being dispossessed 9 times in the one game he played for us and while that fact is funny, because it shows just how disinterested he was in playing that one game, it doesn’t really tell us anything about the current squad.
Arsenal Play Better Defense in Europe
The thing that surprised me the most about the way that Arsenal have been playing in Europe versus the way they have played in England is their defensive record. Over six games in the Champions League, Arsenal have only allowed three goals and have kept three clean sheets: that’s 0.5 goals allowed per game and no single game with more than one goal allowed. Over 11 games in the Premier League, well, they are allowing 1.91 per game and I don’t have to tell you about the games where Arsenal have had some eye-popping (gouging?) score lines go against them.
Still, in Europe, Arsenal have only allowed two goals in their group play which is tied for third overall behind Real Madrid (0), Marseille (1), and then Arsenal, Barfelona, Benfica, and Chelsea. If you look at the company they are keeping, tThis is pretty impressive defensive performance from the Arsenal.
What is worrying about Arsenal’s European campaign is that they are creating fewer chances overall and allowing the opposition more chances than normal. Though, again, the fact that goals are not going in shows that Arsenal are either allowing fewer quality chances or that the opposition is just unlucky at the moment.
Individually, Arsenal have some players who are really standing out defensively though not in ways that you might imagine. For example, Koscielny is listed as 6’1″ tall and yet he is Arsenal’s most dominant aerial player in the rough and tumble Premier League, winning 23 of 30 aerial duels and averaging 6.1 clearances per game.
Mertesacker’s Premier League aerial duel numbers on the other hand are dumbfounding. For a guy as big as he is to only win 50% of those challenges is very strange. It’s also strange that he’s only attempted 16 challenges and Koscielny has 30 (even considering the number of games each has played). To put this in perspective, Brede Hangeland leads his team and has won 29 of 40 challenges for Fulham. It sort of looks like Premier League opponents are targeting Koscielny, or he’s more actively challenging for headers than Mertesacker. I would tend toward the former because in the Champions League you see that Mertesacker is actually pretty dominant in the air. In those games he has won 8 of 10 duels to lead the team in that category.
Apart from tackles, where Santos and Song are the team leaders in each league, Koscielny is statistically Arsenal’s best defender, hands down. His interceptions numbers, clearances, and fouls numbers are all outstanding.
Offense
If you look at the first chart again another number should stand out; the number of shots that Arsenal are creating in the Champions League is five fewer than in the Premier League. And as a result of the fact that they are creating fewer chances in Europe, Arsenal are scoring fewer goals. Nearly half as many, in fact.
I suspect that this is down to the way that Arsenal’s midfield three of Arteta, Song, and Ramsey are being used in the Champions League.*
The first problem is that Ramsey has had only one start and two subs in the Champions League this season. If he had been able to start all four of the group stage games I’m sure his numbers would be higher. That he is averaging 0.7 key passes per game and 0.3 through balls per game while coming on as a sub should tell you that Ramsey could get the job done but for his (insert ailment).
But what’s even stranger is how much Arteta and Song seem to be shackled to their defensive duties in the Champions League. Arteta’s numbers overall are very consistent which is why when you see his through ball numbers disappear and his key passes numbers evaporate you have to think that it’s intentional in terms of strategy from the manager.
Similarly, when you see Song’s tackle numbers go through the roof, his forward pass numbers dry up and his long ball numbers more than double, again, that has to be because the boss is telling him to shield the back four a little more in these games.
It looks like Arsene is playing more conservatively with the midfield in Europe versus the domestic league and as a result Arsenal’s scoring is down. But on the flip-side, Arsenal defense looks much better.
What do you think, too early to draw that conclusion? Would you take numbers like the European numbers in the domestic league?
*The two matches against Udinese are not accounted here
Great work. But I guess we’ll need more games in Europe to get more conclusive stats.
[…] a quick note because I blew my wad on a post comparing Arsenal in Europe to Arsenal in England over at Arseblog News this […]
Are we playing differently in the PL because we had a poor start and had our confidence shaken?
Are we playing differently in the PL because it is so much faster than the CL games? Perhaps Koscielny gets more aerial duels in the PL because he is the faster of the two CBs so has been instructed to attack them, leaving Mertesacker to watch his back.
It’s not meant to be a dig at Arsene, but given the above numbers and recent results he finally seems to be utilizing the defenders he has a bit better and compromising and adapting his overall strategy to tighten up the defense. By bringing in Per he knows he that he gets a tall defender who has experience in Europe but also hopefully doesn’t have to use him constantly depending on the fixture.
brilliant analysis. i believe the stats with the right perspective can definitely convey volumes. after all, all we need are two games to establish a pattern. and i for one feel more confident going into an european fixture. atleast its highly unlikely to get a scoreline like we did at blackburn in europe.
Very interesting. Great work!
I’m sure that differences in continental playing styles and tactics and, of course, continental referees play some part in the differences outlined between the BPL and Champions League games. But I think the major factor in the difference in how we play in the two competitions has to be quality of opposition. Udinese currently lead Serie A, Dortmund and Olympiakos are second in the Bundesliga and the Greek Super League, and Marseille, after having endured an inauspicious season start, sit eighth in Ligue 1 after finishing runners up last year. One my scoff at the overall quality of the Greek… Read more »
My sense is that Kos is just far more aggressive about winning balls in the air then Perm. I think the best CB pairings usually have one player that is more aggressive and one that covers. EarlyBartSimpson is definitely a very fine defender now. Worthwhile to remember what we thought of him in the beginning, coming from league doo and all that.
Nice stats. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think Mikel has scored twice (Blackburn and WBA).
Nice catch, that’s a typo.
Koscielny has been excellent thus far, he got some flak early on but he is a solid defender. I’d be surprised if he misses out on Euro 2012.
Heh, ‘Barfelona’.
ramsy’s possesion numbers in the cl are very good except the pass % goes down quite a lot from the pl. nice post.
Hey 7amkickoff, could you provide stats on how the new boys are doing so far? I have been trying to dig up the statistics like how many interceptions per game Mertesacker has etc but can’t seem to find any!
That’s a great idea for a post. I’ll try to remember!
[…] this morning, check out 7amkickoff’s analysis of Arsenal in Europe v Arsenal domestically over on Arseblog News. One for the stats fans, for sure, but interesting reading all the […]
this is lovely nd very interesting wonder how a verm/perm patnership would work out
excellent stuff! gervinho’s burst of pace into the box to provide the final ball have been so so crucial for us.. so much more productive than na$ri..
if it helps, perhaps you could include the playing time for each player for a fair comparison?
I actually thought about that. Especially since Rambo has had his CL time severely curtailed.
[…] want a closer look at his highly impressive stats, just check out 7amkickoff’s fascinating piece here, but a football fan doesn’t need numbers to understand the evidence of their own eyes. The man is […]
[…] of Koscielny, Vermaelen, and Mertesacker and let Andre be the lone defender who bombs forward. Koscielny is hands down Arsenal’s best aerial defender having won 23/30 duels in that department. Mertesacker struggles in the air with just 8/16 duels […]