Defensive Errors Have Hurt
34 – Number of defensive errors Arsenal have made in League play this season, this is tied with Liverpool for the worst in the League
10 – Number of those Arsenal errors which have led to a goal this season, this is third worst in the League, 8 behind leaders Tottenham who have conceded 18 goals on 27 errors!
1 – Arsenal only allowed 1 goal on 6 defensive errors in the Champions League this season
39 – Number of defensive errors Arsenal conceded in League play last season, this was tied for the worst with Newcastle
14 – Number of goals Arsenal conceded off errors last year, this was second worst behind… WIGAN!
6 – Number of penalties Arsenal have conceded in League play this season
Penalty Shootout Record
0 – Penalty shootouts Piers Morgan publicly remembered Arsenal winning since 2005
0 – Penalty shootouts Arsenal fans on twitter seemed to remember Arsenal winning ever (“All I know is that Arsenal are terrible at penalty shootouts!”)
2 – Penalty shootouts that Arsenal have won so far this season
4 – Teams Arsenal have beaten in penalty shootouts since Piers Morgan last remembers Arsenal beating anyone in a penalty shootout (Wigan, WBA, Roma, Doncaster Rovers)
1 – Teams Arsenal have lost to in penalty shootouts since Piers Morgan’s failing memory started letting him down (Bradford)
2 – Penalty shootouts Arsenal won in their FA Cup run in 2005
1 – Penalty shootouts Arsenal won against Sheffield United in 2005 when the match ended 0-0
1 – Matches Arsenal played against Sheffield United on what looked like a freshly tilled cow patch in which Phil Jagielka had to don the keeper’s gloves
2 – Great penalty saves by Fabuhandski to lift Arsenal and seal the victory today
It’s me, or that Wembley Monkey, Arsenal!
15 – Years, YEARS, since Arsenal last won at Wembley
4 – Total matches that “hoo doo” encompassed in the last 15 years
0 – Chance any of these Arsenal players were affected by the 2-4 loss to Barcelona in 1999
1 – Monkey Arsenal have shocked
Box Score plus how do we measure a good performance?
My reading of these numbers is that Arsenal totally dominated Wigan. Arsene said that he was going to get Arsenal back to basics by which he explicitly stated “defend as a unit, attack as a unit.” What I see here is that Arsenal did exactly that: they took three times as many shots as Wigan; got three times as many shots on goal; dominated possession; created shots for each other as a unit; were more direct than many credit (the Pass/Key pass numbers mean that Arsenal took almost half as many passes as Wigan in order to get a teammate a shot); dribbled at a decent rate; and forced Wigan to make almost twice as many clearances. On defense the story is very similar: not only did Arsenal beat Wigan in tackles attempted but when you consider the fact that Wigan had so little of the ball, Arsenal’s tackle numbers are actually almost twice as high a rate (Opp.pass/tackle means how many passes the opposition made per tackle that Arsenal attempted); similarly with interceptions.
That said, the grumble is legitimate that Arsenal probably should have scored more. Incredibly, Sanogo had 10 shots today (5 on goal) and created 3 shots for his teammates. To give you some context, Giroud has had 11 shots in his last 4 games for Arsenal. So, 10 shots is a lot of shots! With Sanogo getting 10 shots and not scoring for Arsenal, along with Arsenal creating 27 chances and getting just one goal, I get the frustration.
But the flip side is why, then, wouldn’t those same people give Fabuhandski man of the match? Ox had a statistically outstanding performance: he took 5 shots, had 5 key passes, hit the woodwork, led everyone with 4 dribbles, was fouled 3 times, got the assist which got us back into the game, only had 2 turnovers and was dispossessed just once, and even made one tackle and one interception.
But it was Fabuhandski’s two saves at the end which won that game.
Isn’t football a funny old game?
@7amkickoff
Arsenal played well to win the game. Totally deserved it given that we have lost last 2 away games badly. Happy to be in final.
Been waiting for this stats, cos I thought we played well as well. But looking at twitter it’s like some people were watching a different game.
What I love the most is that we finally play a more physical game, not afraid to get the tackle in, etc. & got more purpose in our attacking too!
Aaah still buzzing.
Sick of the ‘experts’ saying we were lucky. Lucky? What luck are we having, cos I must have missed a meeting? We were shite vs Everton and deserved to lose. However, that second goal was offside, (RAFA MODE ALERT) FACT! The third goal was a foul. FACT! We could’ve had a penalty (handball from Cazorla’s cross…they get given against us, like at Stoke), FACT! Sanogo scored a legitimate goal. Not offside. FACT! Even though we were shite, with a decent ref we may have won or at least drawn the game and everyone would say ”We ground it out and… Read more »
Hum… i love it when monsier Wenger smiles like that 🙂
https://24.media.tumblr.com/88daa3b21ea435dea7790d859d39b571/tumblr_n3xsrxXy7Y1r5kkj0o3_250.gif
imagine if we win the FA cup in a campaign that started with this http://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/theo-walcott-2-0-gesture-to-tottenham-fans.gif?w=500&h=277
That gif is fucking awesome – shows a sign of Wenger we seldom see from the TV cameras, who only ever show him with his frown, wearing that god-awful jacket, or jumping up and down after a goal.
You’ll love it even more when you see me smile! COYG!!!
1 – 2014 FA Cup final in which Arsenal FC will be playing. COYG.
All the more impressive after our tough cup run, let’s not forget!
Would be interesting to see what proportion of our shots, key passes, possession, etc. were when we were playing with two strikers. Is it a viable formation for us sometimes?
We should never have stopped playing 4-4-2
8 shots between minute 1 and 70 19 shots between minute 70 and 120 9 shots between minute 70 and 90 10 shots between minute 90 and 120 8.75 minutes per shot before the sub 2.63 minutes per shot after the sub 2.22 minutes per shot in the last 20 minutes of regulation 3 minutes per shot in overtime It is a fact that playing 2 up top generally increases chances. However, it’s not entirely the sub that changed Arsenal. Wigan defended well for those first 70 minutes and started to look tired in the final 20. Arsenal really pressed… Read more »
Definitely easier to have a go with 2 top when the other team’s plan is “hold on for penalties.”
It’s viable when we are desperate for a goal and our normal way of playing is not working. Gives us a real presence up front and ideal for when hoofing it up there is required. I think it worked especially well against Wigan because they were playing with 3 CBs, which meant we needed 2 forwards to really cause them trouble.
Well Wigan played naively when Giroud came on and we had them pressed for most of the time he was on. My point? 442 works vs shit teams when we need a goal.
Agree that 4-4-2 works well in games like this but I wouldn’t say that Wigan are/were a shit team or that it works exclusively against ‘shit teams.’ Wigan played their part of underdogs in a FA Cup semi-final very well in that they were difficult to break down and always looked like they had the ability to either score on the counter, or from set-pieces, or even from a hard-won penalty or freekick. So by ‘shit teams’ I think you mean ones that are set-up in this kind of fashion – to get something out of a game in whatever… Read more »
liverpool more or less play 442 when attacking raciscunt/sturidge with coutinho and sterling on the wing,it work if you have the player . we dont have the player to play the 4-4-2 on regular basis
I thought we looked decent with
2 up top. Bit more help for each other with their knockdowns, and having 2 big guys in and around the box can only be a good thing. The number of times Sagna has crossed this season for no-one to be on the end.. Give it a go COYG!! Final here we come!!
You can’t fault the gaffer for having a Plan B here even if it is out of the pages of the old Tony Pubis play book.:)
I wish we could disown Piers Morgan from being an Arsenal fan.
He’s an Arsenal fan?
Sadly, yes. And 99 per cent of the time, a negative attituded one.
Are there other people than Piers Morgan that actually like Piers Morgan? What a despicable man he is.
Got a load of innocent fans arrested after calling them hooligans in his rag. Printed their pictures on the front of a National paper (when millions of papers were sold pre-tinterweb). Ended up being shown on the National TV news. People lost their jobs. Innocent people as it turned out when CCTV and police reports were filed. People being attacked. That’s why REAL gooners hate the guy. Nothing positive to say about Arsenal. I did enjoy him mouthing off that he would be braver vs the Aussie bowlers and that their bowlers aren’t anything special. The Aussie bowlers (cricket btw)… Read more »
You’d never know it with the foul that emerges whenever he speaks of The Arsenal. He cuts the team worse than a spud.
Now this is a little biased. If Man City or Chelsea or any of those sugar papa clubs had 27 chances and didnt score, they headline would read something like ‘ City Bombards Wigan goal, shows mental tenacity to progress in a tough game where they were knid of unlucky not to score’……arseblog, however, said that the victory is like getting a handjob frm an old crone. I get that there is relief among us and the scoreline wasnt a 7 0 thumping, but lets rmber that Wigan actually knocked City out, and in normal time too. Maybe when we… Read more »
For some reason Bale scoring for RM in La Liga is the top story on the BBC. The BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation. On the day when an FA Cup semi-final took place. W.T.F.
BBC means something completely different in the porn industry
Remember typing ‘bbc’ in a torrent search engine looking for some decent documentaries and wondering ”What the hell does ‘Lisa Loves BBC’ mean?”
It took a few minutes for the penny to drop.
We could win the the FA Cup and there still wouldn’t be a BBC article without several backhanded compliments.
Also how Phil Mcnulty or whatever his name is has a job as a football writer is beyond me. Apparently he is a huge Man utd fan and hates Arsenal and hes a scouser LOL.
I agree, and especially the team showed great mental strength to come back from 0-1 and to win it on penalties. Since we’ve been asking where that mental strength has been the last couple of weeks, I think we should be giving the players credit for it.
We’re going to Wemberleee…again.
Arsenal didn’t play that well but they did enough to win in normal time. Wigan got lucky because Arsenal missed good chances plus they hit the bar and post.
Though the gunners had the greater possession ,etc,in a penalty shootout
Wigan could have won.I am still not convinced the gunners can finish 4th.
Big Sam would be happy to dent the gunners cl hopes.
Wenger has to look at the tactical side. I believe there were still too many passes
in the sf and that is why the gunners will find it hard to score against determined opposition.
Imho,if the gunners can’t get cl soccer,Wenger has to go
otherwise he will continue with his flawed policies.
By then to replace him,the rot would have set in.
It appears the rot has already set into this comment section.
Seriously, if you cannot even enjoy a win that sends the Gunners to a Cup Final, why even bother?
The monkey is half off our back… AHA!
Yes now it’s casually sitting on our shoulder, eating a banana, no longer clawing at our face.
I did enjoy today yes, an FA Cup final is a dream, but tomorrow its back to the reality, 2 points behind everton and relying on other teams to take points off them even if we do win our remaining games. We only woke up when we went behind, and that’s a worry especially as it was a championship team. Maybe I’m being morbid, but the players need to know that the seasons not over and taking selfies after just scraping through against Wigan didn’t look that professional to me, sorry.
Geez, that reads like a Spuds and/or media bingo card of things to be critical about Arsenal. Include a ‘Wenger Out’ and you’d have a full house. Whether they are top of the Premiership or struggling in the Conference, any team that makes it to the FA Cup semi-final, beating City along the way, deserves to be there and should be treated as a genuine side who can win what is essentially a one-off anomaly of a game where anything can happen. Let’s not also forget that Wigan are the currently cup holders, this was never going to be an… Read more »
Actually Everton have to drop points for us to get 4th.
To be precise we need to gain three points on them, or two points and for us to make up a 7 goal differential.
So, Win them all, and Win them big!
Winning FA cup and finishing 4th (CL) would represent reasonable success to say even finishing 2nd and 3rd with no trophies TBH. We were tentative, nervous and frankly a bit square with our approach. But you can’t say we were anywhere outplayed (as some in the press would like to suggest) nor as good as Wigan were did they deserve to go through. After all the nerves surrounding this team from recent games, it is perfectly understandable to anyone who isn’t bias that they feel relief and wish to celebrate progression into the finals over a team which beat City.… Read more »
The only stat you didnt mention was
WENGER IN 8 LEAGUE GAMES HAS TAKEN US FROM 1ST TO 5TH
That takes some doing.I think it calls for a lap of honour
Well, go take that lap then.
He is the one who took us to 1st in the first place. What a &*#*&@
@7amkickoff, thanks – top notch as usual.
How did Ramsey fare in the stats? I’m interested because I thought he looked rather good, I’m amazed at the guy, he has ridiculous stamina to play over 110 minutes off the back of an injury layoff. He didn’t play with as much flair as we’re used to with him, but I have a feeling Wenger asked him to support Arteta a bit more (incidentally how did he fare too? Think he looked much better than recently).
hopefully he’ll be ok to start tuesday. I dont think ive ever seen a player kept on the field for so long in his 1st start after a long lay off. Ridiculous really…….
Ridiculous engine and determination on that lad. Couldn’t do that with anyone else!
And despite being a doubt, Gibbs stepped right in for his shorter shift.
1st to 8th in 5 games eh? I wonder who got us to 1st in the first place…
Pardon my language but another dumb cunt who is hunger to feed on the flaws again
Yesh, some people give managers little credit when the team does well, but laud the players; when the team falters, however, it always seems easy to lay it all at the feet of the boss. It’s not only on Arsenal blogs either, chairmen the league over are more than guilty. Results not looking so good? Sack the manager. It’s endemic, and I hate it that even Arsenal fans (they’re hardly supporters) jump on the bandwagon too.
Support Arsenal? Support the team, support the manager.
according to them at the start of the season we shouldnt havent been 1st anyway , they thought we would finish between 5-8 , now the FA cup and possibly 4th is not good enough (well if we dont win it it wont be good enough but let talk about that later)
Hungry, clearly, damn auto correct
Dear Timbo
What was Ramsey’s stats?
Why the input of P Morgan in the stats, was he being a during the game.
When are you Americans going to sign a petition to oust him out of your country?
Great stats today: Back to Basics for Arsenal. So John Major
I’ve already voiced my opinion to the network carrying the match that made me sit through Piece Moangan him pre- post- and halftime. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly hate that network any more than I already do, they up the stakes.
The missing word
‘dick’
Autocorrect!!
What a freaking good FA Cup Semi Win. 6 more cup finals to go to finish the season. Let’s hope for the boys who are injured are back swiftly. Fabianski was an absolute monster for saving those Pens. He deserves to be part of the final. He had put in good performances during our cup runs and culminated in the pen saves. So he deserves it. and hopefully a trophy before he leaves. And who says Wigan plays well should slapped themselves. They are dogged and resilient yes. But we are clearly are the better team and the only few… Read more »
I love reading the stats, so thanks. Would it be possible to get some info on refs/decisions? For example, how many incorrect decions lead either directly or indirectly to a goal or a goal scoring opportunity. Also, how many incorrect decisions prevent a goal or goal scoring opportunity, ie incorrect offsides etc. Stuff like that, if possible. Though I’m sure it would be quite a headache trying to work that out!
I basically want to see if refs are seriously biased and probably corrupt, or if I’m just paranoid.
If you’re truly paranoid you’ll think they’re cooking the stats too.
Roy Keane is a bell-end. Are you telling me his team wouldn’t have celebrated a Cup Semi final win on penalties? If you dig around enough, I’m sure you’ll find footage of him pumping his fists at beating ‘a smaller team’. And possibly not even in a cup semi. On penalties FFS. He just says stuff to get people’s backs up. Like when he was asked ”Who was the best manager you ever worked with?” He replies ”Brian Clough.” Cloughie was a fucking legend, but you can’t ignore Baconface’s pretty ridiculous achievements. He had a massive row with Baconchops and… Read more »
I always think 442 will come in handy. If my memory serves me well, mancity and manu won their premier league titles respectively through a mixture of 433 and 442.
How did Ramsey do? He was very positive and worked very hard. He played 100+ minutes and did good.
this is one of those games where I was unable to watch live I instead had to rely on ESPN play be play write up…what followed was the video pregame on FOX over hear in the states…where by Piers was a guest host… ‘diminutive squad’ lacking in commitment’, the game has passed Wenger by’, all the cliches which have been written in black and white…and happily I might add by a crap player like Wynalda What I saw in the following tape was; Arsenal allowing possession in their offensive half of the field A huge mental mistake by the BFG,… Read more »
4-4-1-1 or a 4-4-2 is nothing more than a 4-3-3 with interchanging offensive players
what we need are players who are not singularly right footed or left footed and have enough experience (awareness of defensive balance), size and speed to be interchangeable
We have a core of players who can do this…what we need is depth, for the latter parts of the season and the number of competitions we are in.
Unfortunately this is a WC year, so prices will be inflated…we must keep our heads..