- How Liverpool commit many more fouls than Arsenal, before getting a card
- A Liverpool foul is 27% less likely to get a yellow card than an Arsenal foul
By Bulldog Drummond
On the Arsenal History Society site today: one of the earliest videos of an Arsenal game as Arsenal win 69 years ago on this day.
Here’s the home and away table as usual…
| Team | P | W | D | L | G | G | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal home | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 26 |
| Liverpool away | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 22 |
There is no trying to escape the fact that Liverpool are having a good season, although there is a little consellation in the league table when we compare Arsenal at home and Liverpool away.
For while Arsenal have scored 27 goals and gained 26 points from 11 home games, Liverpool have scored 21 and gained 22 points away from home. It is of course Anfield, where Liverpool remain undefeated which has ensured Liverpool are currently top of the league.
However, even that advantage is diminished somewhat when we look at the last six games in a similar way. Each team is top of its table for the last six games, but across the last six games Arsenal at home have outscored Liverpool away.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal home | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 4 | +13 | 15 |
| Liverpool away | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 14 |
There is one other straw we might clutch at which is the distances that clubs travel, Obvioulsy this is not the same for all clubs as London clubs have the advantage of there being seven clubs in the metropolis this season, meaning very limited travel for them. (Arsenal, Brentford, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United). I am not sure that really gives London teams an advantage (it used to be said that London clubs can’t win the league as they play too many derbies) but all straws are welcome.
What the geographical location means is that in the past 15 days Liverpool have travelled 370 miles while Arsenal have travelled 105 mails. The furthest travelling club of late is Newcastle on 419 miles and the least travelling comes for Brentford on 12 miles. I rather think comments about straws and clutching are relevant at this point, but the data is there so I thought I’d mention it.
On the injury and international front Arsenal are reported to have five players away. Jurrien Timber is said to be “very far away” from a return, but there is hope that he might be able to play in April. Fabio Vieira is out after surgery but might be back in a few weeks. Mohammed Elneny is now back from the Cup of Nations but Takehiro Tomiyasu is still with Japan in the Asia Cup.
As for Thomas Partey the quote from Arsenal is that, ‘With Thomas, unfortunately, we had a little setback a few days ago, so he’s not going to be available to be in the squad. Whether that’s a matter of days or weeks, we’ll see, but he had a little thing.’ I guess “thing” is the medical technical word for whatever it is.”
As for Liverpool, Matip, Maquieira, Salah and Alcantara all appear still to be out with their injuries. Tsimikas is said to be close to return while Darwin Nunez Riberio is a possibility. MacAllister is fit again and Endo is at the Asian Cup.
So in terms of players listed as unavailable or just about ready to come back Liverpool have eight to Arsenal’s five. The worst affected clubs are three with nine players out or only just ready to return: Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle United. The least affected by any injuries etc is Manchester City with just one player out.
There is one other statistic that might just be related to the number of players that are out injured which is the number of times each team is fouled per game.
It is an interesting set of statistics in that Tottenham Hotspur who are the more fouled team in the league (at least according to referees) are fouled 14 times a game on average which is almost 50% more times than Manchester United.
In the table of being fouled Arsenal and Liverpool are identical each getting fouled 10.5 times a game, leaving them both in 10th position – exactly half way down the league.
To round this off, one more stat before we go and it is an informative one in terms of scoring goals. Arsenal have fewer shots per game, fewer shots on target per game and thus a lower success rate in getting in shots that are on target, than either Liverpool or Manchester City. That is clearly the issue for Arsenal to address.
| Team | Shots per game | Shots On Target | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Liverpool | 19.2 | 6.9 | 36% |
| 2. Manchester City | 16.8 | 6.8 | 40% |
| 3. Arsenal | 16.6 | 5.5 | 33% |
More anon…
Great work in the reported figures. I must say however that yes according to refs spurs are the most fouled, but that’s because most refs and VAR staff are either spurs or Liverpool fans, and that’s a real fact. Also we all know that Saka is probably the most Fouled player in the league where the opposition don’t get penalised, also a fact. Keep up the great reads.
Facts and figures say one thing , though our better figures are underpinned by a 5-0 stroll whereas otherwise we have stressed to score..
The eyes tell us another. Liverpool form
Is much better. Rolling teams over and playing fluent football.
Ias
You will probably have garnered from previous posts I am far from a fan of Arteta ball. At my age I don’t need such aids to fall asleep. I have little confidence going into games this season and truly believe, hoping I am wrong , that the title challenge will die today and it’s only the first days of Feb. Quite how he has taken us backwards after that summer spend if remarkable.
When you struggle to score against the bottom 3 teams expecting victory against an in form Pool , who have an edge over us, seems too optimistic
Arsenal will have a strange starting 11. Havertz was the most dangerous player against Liverpool last time out and had five opportunities to score up front. So.
Havertz will start as the main striker ahead of the inform Jesus!
Smith Rowe will continue Arsenal’s fluid passing by getting another shot at a starting place in the side after his midweek passing display of over 90%. My only concern is the risk of starting Zinchenko, but what hoice does Arteta have, maybe Kiwior? The rest of the team will no doubt remain unchanged from midweek.