"If I wanted to be critical I could say that that there is too big a difference between the number of chances we created and the number of goals we scored but that will come quickly once you win your games at home."-Arsene Wenger.
If someone, for whichever reason,had not managed to watch yesterday's 2-0 win over Stoke City, he/she would be forgiven for finding satisfaction in the final result. I mean; the first two goals scored at the Emirates, third consecutive clean sheet this season, both recognized strikers on the score-sheet, that's good right? Let me put it this way. Arsenal had 69% possession against Stoke and had an astonishing 29 attempts on goal, with 23 of the 29 shots coming inside the penalty area. No side has registered more attempts on goal in a single game this far into the league season. We had nine big chances to score yesterday (one-on-one situations or attempts from very close range) and only found the back of the net twice. Arsenal have had 17 big chances in the first five league games, that is five more than any other side, and only scored with two of them
THE LINE-UP:
Arsenal had failed to score in five of their last six games at the Emirates before yesterday,and a lot has been made in the aftermath of the transfer window where we failed to bring any forwards in as well as news of Danny Welbeck's long-term injury, about our ability to threaten opposition defences with only Theo Walcott and Oivier Giroud to call upon. Well it was the Englishman who got the nod to lead the line for the second game running, flanked on either side by Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez, and the trio of Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin behind him. We're now accustomed to seeing Ramsey starting from the right at the expense of Oxlade-Chamberlain, and that particular selection dilemma continues to plague Arsene Wenger. Ramsey continues to prove himself undroppable at least in the manager's eyes, but with Coquelin and Santi doing likewise, the Ox will have to force his way into the first-team picture or look to take his chances as injuries and/or suspensions inevitably take their toll on the players.
THE SET-UP:
After our 1-0 win over Newcastle a fortnight ago, Arsene Wenger said his choice of Theo over Giroud was informed by the hope that Newcastle would come out and attack Arsenal, leaving pockets of space for Theo to profit from at the back. The same line of thought was perhaps applied to this game, seeing as how Stoke with Mark Hughes at the helm has been slowly making the transition from "rugby-style" Tony Pulis football tactics to a more fluid possession-based style that is easier on the eye. If so then the plan worked a treat, with the Potters refusing to sit deep meaning that there was bags of space to play the ball into behind their back line as Santi did for Ramsey earlier on and, most notably, Ozil did for Walcott to score. One also has to wonder exactly how much Stoke are missing Steven Nzonzi, and with Marco van Ginkel still finding his feet they did look very lightweight in the face of constant Arsenal pressure.
Coquelin had another storming game, with five successful tackles (led all players) which all means that no one in the entire division has completed more tackles than Coquelin (19). Some, however, may have noticed that he also picked up possession in the final third a lot more often than usual, which resulted in him creating two goal-scoring chances for his team-mates, and as per this article, continues to refine and improve his all-round game.
It's probably just me, but after every game I play on FIFA I like to look at the possession statistics, and the passing accuracy of my outfield players... I'm just that kind of guy. I suspect Hector Bellerin is too as he spoke about the good tidings that come with maintaining possession and dominance on the ball. It allows you to control the tempo of the game, and as Bellerin says, it allows you to play the game as you wish. So it certainly warmed my heart to see every outfield player bar one posting passing accuracy stats of well over 80%, with Laurent Koscielny of all players boasting a 90.4% passing ratio after 83 passes (led all players). That's a knock-on effect of maintaining possession of the football, when it allows your centre-back to get involved in the team's build-up play to such an extent. Koscielny ended up having two attempts on goal as well, one of them a screamer from about 30 metres which Stoke keeper Jack Butland did well to save.
One positive with Aaron Ramsey starting from the right and coming in-field is that it leaves young Hector Bellerin to overlap on the right to great effect, and but for some terrible finishing should have had at least two, perhaps three assists yesterday. He still had a great game, with four key passes, 5 crosses (2 accurate), as well as a tackle, 3 interceptions and 2 clearances.
Now, as mentioned above, we had 29 attempts on goal yesterday, the most of any side in a single league game so far. In fact, no side has created more goal-scoring chances or had more attempts on goal than Arsenal, yet 11 teams have scored more goals than we have (5). Remove own goals from that figure and we're left with a paltry return of three goals in five games. Sanchez had the most attempts on goal yesterday, eight, but only two found the target. It is worth mentioning though that the Chilean did strike the post twice, and these do not count as shots on target (weird right?) The profligacy got to alarming levels with Theo, who should have had at least a hat-trick... first he volleyed over after Sanchez first hit the post in the 3rd minute, then he headed over after an inch-perfect delivery from Bellerin from the right. He had two more opportunities one-on-one with Butland which he contrived to miss, and the trend would continue when Giroud came on for Theo as with his first touch he shot wide from close range and one-on-one with the keeper once again. Theo's movement and pace allowed him to have eight attempts on goal as Stoke struggled to deal with him, and it perhaps is encouraging that he finds himself in goal-scoring positions with such regularity,but he really needs to improve his chance conversion rate. Arsenal, overall, had the second-worst shot conversion rate prior to yesterday's game, and that certainly would not have been helped by our performance in front of goal against Stoke. One shudders to think how such profligacy in front of goal would be detrimental against Chelsea next weekend.
THE GOALS:
After missing absolute sitters, Theo ironically scored the most difficult chance he had. With Stoke threatening to make inroads into our half, Coquelin slid in and won the ball from Joselu, which set up Ozil to chip the ball over Stoke's retreating back line for Theo. His first touch was exquisite, his second clinical as he rolled the ball through Butland's legs and in.
Giroud, also after missing another sitter, connected with a header from a Santi Cazorla free-kick to seal the points late on. If only he would be this ruthless more often.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH:
I noticed on Twitter that Arsenal fans voted for Mesut Ozil as their man-of-the-match, but I disagree. Well, I had three contenders for my man-of-the-match vote, Bellerin, Ozil and Cazorla. Ozil and Cazorla registered assists, and Walcott should have been kind enough to finish the chances put on a plate for him by Bellerin. Ozil, meanwhile, has created 76 chances in 2015, more than any other player in the Premier League, and created eight chances yesterday (led all players), and made 66 passes with 88% accurate.
Having said all that, my man-of-the-match was Santi Cazorla. 109 touches (led all players), 83 passes (led all players), 89% accurate, seven crosses, five accurate, four attempts, one on target, one assist and seven chances created, the Spaniard continued to re-define the deep-lying playmaker role in a very Pirlo-esque manner. Just hope he can bang a few in now and then.
*Image adapted from Arsenal media*
*Quotes adapted from Arsenal.com and Arseblog*
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