Arsenal couldn’t make it 3 wins in a row but at least they managed to not lose after going down to 10 men, drawing 1-1 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
It wasn’t the best that we have seen Arsenal play, and there were again worrying signs that Arsenal couldn’t hold on to dominance beyond a half of play. Hopefully these things will come as Arteta is in charge longer.
It will be a tough ask now for Arsenal to be without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for three matches but with the team’s Premier League goals all but out of reach maybe its not as big of a deal as it could have been.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal: By the graphs
Running xG
xG Shot Map
Shot Placement xG
Simulated Match Result
Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal: By the numbers
6 – Touches in the box for Arsenal in the opening 25 minutes
68 – Touches in the final third for Arsenal in the opening 25 minutes
10 – Passes completed in Arsenal’s half by Crystal Palace in the opening 25 minutes
0 – Touches in the box for Crystal Palace in the opening 25 minutes
6 – Touches in the final third for Crystal Palace in the opening 25 minutes
1 – Shot for Arsenal in the opening 25 minutes
Arsenal dominated the ball in the opening 25 minutes. They pinned Crystal Palace back and probed before finally opening up their defense with a well worked goal. The only issue was that this period of dominance didn’t lead to anything beyond the one shot which thankfully was converted. It was worrying again that Arsenal couldn’t sustain the control that they showed early.
The non-shot xG for the match really illustrates how poorly Arsenal did after the positive opening period of this match.
Alexandre Lacazette splits opinion
2 – Shots, tied for most on Arsenal (with David Luiz LOL)
2 – Key passes, led Arsenal
1 – Assist
0 – Aerial duels won
0 – Dribbles completed of 3 attempts
5 – Times lost possession, tied for second most on Arsenal
6 – Fouls committed, led Arsenal
1 – Interception
3 – Tackles of 4 attempted, tied for most on Arsenal
Lacazette is going through a pretty bad finishing slump, he has gone 391 minutes since his last goal and with Aubameyang suspended more of the goal scoring burden will fall upon him. In this match we saw a bit of what he does good, with the link up play the led to the assist and a lot of the bad, his hold up play was not good when Arsenal needed an outlet to help get control of the match. I am not sure what the answer is to this but hopefully if he continues to play, he can get back into form.
David Luiz quarterback’s Arsenal
73 – Passes completed, led all players
13 – Final third entry passes, led all players
15 – Accurate long balls, led all players
1 – Pass into the box completed
David Luiz is a great passer, especially when he is given time and space to pick out a pass. He isn’t always the best defender (although he has generally been better since Arteta has taken over) and he really likes a speculative shot from distance. One of the nice things so far is that Arteta has put him in positions to maximize what he is doing well and minimize as much as possible what he struggles with.
@oh_that_crab
Sources: Opta via whoscored, StatsZone and my own database
Still variability in the performances, such as a good first half, poor second or vice versa.
If we can get that improved we will be very good.
Emery’s old habits of protecting a 1-0 lead will take time to wash off. On the positive note, our reaction to going 10 men exemplifies the newfound courage. We didn’t wilt or retreat defensively in fear. Onwards and upwards. The next 3 games will also show how much we need Auba to stay beyond this summer. This PL season is almost a writeoff, hopefully Arteta is able to imprint his ideas and have a good run in the Cups to lift spirits.
“One of the nice things so far is that Arteta has put him in positions to maximize what he is doing well and minimize as much as possible what he struggles with.”
And you can say the same about Xhaka, Torreira, Ozil, Maitland-Niles, Kolasinac. Not just positioning, but relationship to other players’ positions. A very promising start as a manager.
I feel like we’re working hard, learning structure and gaining confidence. I don’t feel like it’s “worrying” that we aren’t able to manage to dominate for the whole game because I think it’s to be expected.
Building a higher level of consistency will come in stages. Our plan is there but the opponent should be expected to suss us out and challenge us in periods of the game. Especially now. There’s a road ahead but I feel like we’re travelling down it positively
Mikel knows this is a results business, but I firmly believe results eventually match performance. We have consistently shown better performances so far with him in charge. Results will get better with time. Just have to keep plugging away at it and find more consistency.
Luiz should be banned from taking shots and free kicks.