Let’s take a look at the key statistics from our 3-0 defeat to the Gunners last night.
Possession
Arsenal dominated us in all but every area last night and possession is certainly no different. The hosts had a staggering 65.6 percent possession to our 34.4 percent at the Emirates. The Gunners dominance can certainly be seen in the possession figures and if there was one stat that summed up our evening last night, that was it.
Shots on and off target
The home side certainly had the most of the goalmouth yesterday evening and this is displayed in the attempts on and off target. The Gunners had 21 shots in total, eight of which were on target, whereas we had seven shots with only two of them directly at Emiliano Martinez’s goal. Arsenal made the most of their chances by scoring 3, but we certainly gave them a lot of opportunities to shoot clearly at Darren Randolph’s goal.
Corners and passing accuracy
In terms of number of corners and how accurate the passing was, the Gunners were also dominant. Arsene Wenger’s men are known for their passing finesse and there would be no letting up in that area last night. 87.5 percent of Arsenal’s passes were successful, in comparison to only 76.8 percent of our passes reaching their intended recipients. Slaven Bilic was much criticised for the sheer amount of giving the ball away that occurred in our midfield at the Emirates and the passing stats certainly help to paint that picture. One main feature of our side is the aerial threat that we pose and this was something that we failed to utilise again last night. The hosts managed to win five corners whereas we didn’t win a single corner, which many fans saw as quite a shocking stat. We also failed to make the most of the many free kicks that the Gunners gifted us in and around the penalty area, especially early in the game. It is quite easy to see from these stats how Arsenal ended up beating us so convincingly in North London.
Blocks and clearances
One main downfall of our performance last night, as has been the case many times this season, was our defensive display which can clearly be seen from these defensive stats. We were forced to make six blocks in and around our penalty area at the Emirates whereas our London rivals only needed to make one defensive block for the whole game, it’s not hard to see why many fans were left outraged by our overall display last night. We only forced the Gunners to make 10 clearances from our deliveries into the box; in comparison Arsenal’s wingers forced our defence to make no less than 26 clearances. It is clear to see how much of a threat Arsene Wenger’s men posed to our weak back 4 last night.