This column was previously written by Scott, who did an excellent job, and whose work (as well as Tim before him) serves as an inspiration for my own. Before we jump in, I’d like to introduce myself – my name is Jon and I’ve previously produced content (Data Viz and By The Visuals) for Arseblog News.
I’m taking over By The Numbers, so please let me know what works and what doesn’t.
ARSENAL 3-2 BOURNEMOUTH: BY THE VISUALS
ARSENAL 3-2 BOURNEMOUTH: BY THE NUMBERS
Before yesterday’s fixture, Arsenal had scored in every Premier League meeting against their opponents Bournemouth and had won every previous home encounter. Yet it was the visitors who took an early lead.
9.11 – Philip Billing’s goal was timed at 9.11 seconds, and was the second fastest goal in Premier League history.
There were times during the first half when Arsenal had up to seven players in the opposition box. The problem being even with that many, they were still heavily outnumbered, as Bournemouth put everyone behind the ball, and gave away little space.
Arsenal had 85% possession, 14 shots, and four players who managed to complete more passes than the opposition as a whole during the first half, but hadn’t created anything of real quality since the 4th minute. Martin Odegaard’s shot was parried into the path of Bukayo Saka (0.58xG) who fired it straight back at Neto. In fact, had it not been for a fantastic save by Aaron Ramsdale to deny Dango Ouattara (0.60 xG) on 20 minutes, the scoreline could have been two goals against going into the break.
41 – Arsenal had 41 touches in the opposition box during the opening 45 minutes, the most by any side in the first half of a Premier League game this season.
1 – Bournemouth had 1 corner (Arsenal were awarded 17) and scored from it, as Marcos Senesi lost Partey all too easily to put the visitors 0-2 on 57 minutes.
This young Arsenal team, however, showed no signs of quitting, tying the game with two goals in seven minutes from unlikely sources; Partey finished well at the back post before Benjamin White scored his first goal in Arsenal colours following a Reiss Nelson cross. In the 97th minute, Nelson finally made one of the 17 corners count as he curled home with the game’s final kick to cause utter chaos at the Emirates.
41 – Bournemouth were restricted to just 41 touches in the final third, the fewest Arsenal have allowed this season.
12 – Touches in the penalty area for Bournemouth, the fourth fewest Arsenal have allowed this season in the Premier League.
31 – Arsenal had 31 shots against Bournemouth on Saturday, their most in a Premier League game this season. It’s just the fifth time in Premier League history they’ve had more than 30 in a game.
However, the shot map above is a little underwhelming, as Arsenal accumulated just 2.6xG from mostly low-quality shots.
11 – Odegaard took 11 shots for Arsenal. Only four players in Premier League history have ever had more in a single game.
106 – Pass attempts for Oleksandr Zinchenko, the most of any player. 85.8% completion rate while playing 11 progressive passes (ranked 4th among all players).
116 – Touches for Zinchenko, ranked first for the match. The third most by any Arsenal player this season.
18 – Progressive passes for Thomas Partey. Back in the starting line-up, the Ghanaian was sloppy for their first goal and should have done better for the second. However, his passes covered more distance than anyone else, while completing 9 from 9 long pass attempts and 16 passes into the final third, 2nd among all players.
19 – William Saliba completed 19 passes into the final third, 1st among all players and the second-highest total this season for an Arsenal player in the Premier League.
14 – Touches in the penalty area for Saka, 1st among all players.
11 – Passes into the penalty area for Odegaard, 1st among all players. The most any Arsenal player has played this season.
REISS NELSON’S GAME BY NUMBERS
20 – Passes, 85% completion rate, 3 key passes and 1 assist
2 – Shots, 2 shots on target, 1 goal
19 – Carries, 2 progressive carries, 1 take-on and 1 successful take-on
Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard’s injuries could result in Nelson playing a lot more minutes in the upcoming games. He has already demonstrated this season that he has the ability to contribute off the bench, and if he can maintain his physical fitness, there is a huge opportunity for him to seize.
96 – There were 96 minutes between Arsenal going behind at 00:09 and winning the game at 96:59. Who doesn’t love a last minute winner?
Follow me on Twitter @jonollington
Sources: Opta, fbref, @Orbinho twitter feed
0/9 potential penaltys given, 0/2 clear penaltys given.
Bang on our season average with VAR
1. the added minute given past the 96 rightly given by the ref. For a ref born near Manchester he could have easily blown at the corner. There is a northern bias but all penalty claims were soft enough and unlike fouls there is no cumulative effect.
I think bundling down Martinelli with two arms as he ist trying to get near a cross is a penalty. Not a soft one either.
The question you ask is would you be happy if it was given against us. The Trossard goal was chalked off by var last week after spotting white shake hands with the keeper yet didn’t spot Bournemouth no.3 manhandle Martinelli out of position for their scorer to run into the space vacated. That’s the inconsistency that drives you crazy.
It got to a point yesterday where I stopped appealing for them and even our 1st 2 goals I didn’t fully celebrate in fear it would be ruled out for an Arsenal player breathing on them
This is how I feel with every arsenal goal at the moment. “What’s this getting ruled out for”…
Can we have a discussion on the continuous baffling calls against us via var. Maybe a detailed insight into how many wrong calls we have gotten in comparison to other teams?
Welcome (in this section) Jon, great piece of facts and insights, as it used to be the case in the past 😊
And farewell to Scott💮
Yes, thanks. Interesting and good to have these back. Useful insights.
Out of interest is the 96 minutes between the first and last goal a Premier League record?
I would also love to know whether there has ever been a longer gap in any match (without extra time) between falling behind and going ahead – 96 minutes and 50 seconds, to be precise.
If we’re talking about the Premier League I think the answer must be no. Since it was the second fastest goal ever for the opener and the 96:59 goal must be one of the latest as well.
V glad to have these back!
Thanks for taking this up. I’ve missed this. Just one question, only 9 outfield players on the pass network map?
Great spot! Updated. Zinchenko’s circle size meant you couldn’t see Vieira’s.
Thanks Jon. Interesting that they were playing so close to each other
Two in one space
Welcome. The field tilt, possession and number of points gained as above works well. Can you make sure that this happens each week please.
Their two goals were awful from us …. need to sort that out and switch back on!
Still buzzing though….Ben White shit-housing Neto at the end was classic ❤️
There is a shot on Twitter of Neto slapping Ben White on the head after a corner was taken which was missed by VAR. That was him getting his own back.
PL seem to have deleted all evidence of it. I’d love to see it, if someone can find it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunners/comments/11ic2zd/noticed_neto_just_straight_out_punching_white/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Reiss Nelson leads the EPL in goals + assists per 90 with 5.0. Small sample size yes, but delighted a player on the margins for so long is making an impact when called upon!
Could this seasons Christopher Wreh, although I think Reiss has a much higher ceiling.
Highest noise level (anyone have a decibel reading?) ever recorded at a football match (?) “No atmosphere at The Emirates”Arsenal Fans Completely Crazy Reactions To 98th Minute Winner by Reiss Nelson Against Bournemouth – YouTube
Thanks for that. Great fun to watch
I honestly believe nerves were a big part of the reason we went 2-0 down yesterday. There is a lot of pressure on the team and most of our players are young. We just need to take it one game at a time and just focus on the 3 points and don’t look ahead. We have to be calm and concentrate on the game we have next. There will be no easy games till the end. Every team will try to frustrate us and make it difficult. Super proud of how we reacted after going 2-0 down to make it… Read more »
As a stats nerd myself welcome Jon and enjoyed your 1st By The Numbers!
Where did the crab guy go
He can be still be found on Twitter (@scottjwillis) and cannonstats dot com
Genuine question, sorry if I’m being stupid but I’ve seen I consistency across different outlets with regard to the stats.
In the first graph it shows 19 shots for Arsenal (9 on target and 10 off target) but as mentioned we had 31 shots.
Posession is shown in the same set of charts as 81% but in the article body you mention 85% which I think is also what the BBC reported.
Is there a reason for these differences or is it an error?
I believe the discrepancy with shots (19 on/off target compared to the 31 total) is that 12 were blocked shots and therefore taken out of the on/off target stat.
The 85% in the article body here appears to only refer to the first half.
Hi Alex, I think you raise a really good point – the blocked shots statistic needs to be either closer/clearer to both visuals, otherwise it’s not immediately obvious.
Possession is calculated by taking the number of passes on each team during the match, and dividing by the total number of passes in the game. However, data providers often update their totals after the game. I think possession was closer to 79% – 21% based on Opta’s numbers. The 85% referred to the first half.
Seriously? 535 passes by Arsenal in Bournemouth’s half to 47 by them in Arsenal’s half. And from their second goal to the final whistle, I don’t think they had five.
Love the visuals, thanks for
Bringing these back.
60 clearances from BOU – Surely that’s a very high amount!
Hi Jon thanks very much for this
Great article! My favorite column on my favorite blog is in good hands.
I fully agree. This slightly to moderately modified formal is great.
Can’t believe that those TV schedule prevented so many of us to share such a beautiful moment! This and the ridiculous PGmol outrageous decisions make me totally lose it!!!
Huge field tilt. 96-4. I have never seen anything like that.
Dig it. Crisp and clean. Well done.
Love the visuals
Welcome bro. Good job
I have some more stats:
Arsenal have equal to or more points now (after 26 games) than they had after 38 games in the 17/18,19/20 and 20/21 season.
No matter how this ends, Mikel has done a fantastic job, and I can’t wait to continue this amazing journey with Arsenal!