Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal – By The Numbers

LIVERPOOL 1–1 ARSENAL: BY THE VISUALS

LIVERPOOL 1–1 ARSENAL: BY THE NUMBERS

3 – Arsenal had suffered their last three Premier League defeats during Saturday 5.30pm kick-offs away from home.

So, facing the challenge of heading to Anfield on a Saturday evening and attempting to avoid consecutive away losses in the Premier League for the first time since May 2022 wasn’t the ideal situation, given recent trends. However, as has become almost customary now against Liverpool, we started strongly. Martin Ødegaard’s fourth-minute free-kick was headed home by Gabriel (0.12 xG).

46% – The percentage of Arsenal’s Premier League goals this season that have come from set pieces. Only Luton (47%) have relied on dead-ball situations more than The Gunners.

Just before the half-hour mark, Mohamed Salah easily beat Zinchenko before smashing the ball past David Raya (0.08 xG) to level.

5 – In five of the previous 10 Premier League games against Liverpool at Anfield, Arsenal had taken the lead but won none of them (D3 L2).

At halftime, the statistics indicated a fairly even game. The home team held 55% possession and recorded four shots (0.23 xG), while Arsenal managed seven shots (0.56 xG), and one big chance. Defensively, the numbers were close, with both teams making seven tackles and having similar interception counts (2 vs. 3). However, Arsenal made significantly more clearances (7 vs. 17) but had lost more duels (27, 56% vs. 21, 44%).

Liverpool had the better of the second half, but I believe the top two teams in the Premier League deservedly shared the spoils by full time.

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13 – Shots at Anfield by the opponents, Arsenal; the joint second-highest this season, with only Brentford having registered more (16).

1 – Big chance for Arsenal scored by Gabriel.

9 – Shots inside the box.

2 – Shots from set-plays, accumulating in 0.25 xG.

7.4 – Minutes per chance.

0 – Shots on target for Arsenal in the second-half.

0.94 – The expected goals (xG) for Liverpool, their lowest at Anfield this season and significantly lower than the 3.9 xG recorded in the corresponding fixture from last season.

23 – The average number of shots Liverpool fire off per game at home. Arsenal limited Liverpool to just 13 shots, which is their fewest at home so far this season and 10 below their Anfield average.

1 – Big chance for Liverpool missed by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

8 – Shots inside the box.

2 – Shots from set-plays, accumulating in 0.06 xG.

1 – Shot hitting the woodwork.

7.4 – Minutes per chance.

1st – Time this season Liverpool haven’t outshot their opponents at home.

51 – The number of touches Liverpool had in Arsenal’s box last season at Anfield, but in the current fixture, that number dropped to 27.

55% – Field tilt for Arsenal, a notable increase from last season when it was 37.5%.

82  – Touches recorded by Oleksandr Zinchenko (2nd for Arsenal, 3rd overall), including 11 progressive passes (1st overall) and 380 meters of progressive passes toward the opponents’ goal (1st for Arsenal). He also delivered 9 passes into the final third (joint first overall), 2 passes into the penalty area (joint first overall) and made 3 blocks (first for Arsenal).

The strengths and weaknesses of the Ukrainian are well-documented, but this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Salah effortlessly skip past a player and smash the ball into the net. If Takehiro Tomiyasu had been fit, he would undoubtedly have started, but injuries happen. The hosts faced their own challenges at left-back, missing Andrew Robertson, and later lost his replacement, Konstantinos Tsimikas, to a broken collarbone.

56% – Arsenal created 56% of their chances from their right-hand side, compared to Liverpool’s 33%. Despite Zinchenko’s apparent weakness, he wasn’t targeted.

16% – The percentage of Arsenal’s passes that were long (74) in this match was the highest of the season.

8 – Declan Rice made 8 recoveries (2nd for Arsenal), had more touches than anyone else (88), and registered 43 carries (2nd overall). Meanwhile, William Saliba won 100% of his three aerial duels, and Gabriel Magalhães got off the mark with his first goal of the season, making him the Arsenal player with the joint-most headed goals since joining the club

Rice, Gabriel, and Saliba, who were outstanding on the day, played a significant role in securing the point. While many of their defensive contributions may not be reflected in statistics, ‘the defensive triumvirate’ more than deserve a mention.

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In the Premier League, Manchester City have won at Anfield just once since 2003, and that was during covid played in an empty stadium. This Liverpool side is much improved from last season, currently having more 10 points at the same stage, making this a very good point for us to take back to North London.

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Sources: Opta, fbref, @Orbinho twitter feed