By Tony Attwood
As the season draws to an end so we come across more and more little bits of statistics about Arsenal, the most recent being one on the issue of corners. Arsenal are good at scoring from corners but poor at defending them we are told.
But the problem with such statistics is that they never seem to take into account the very high level of injuries Arsenal have had this season. And the point here is not so much that one specific player who can defend corners is missing but rather that it is hard to maintain a strict tactical pattern in an issue such as defending corners, for the simple reason that the tactic requires each player to understand the role of everyone else.
Indeed the Physioroom total for injuries this season makes interesting reading when compared with the number of goals conceded
| Position | Team | Total Injuries in 24/25 | Conceded |
| 1 | Arsenal | 27 | 33 |
| 2 | Brighton | 22 | 58 |
| 3 | Tottenham Ho | 22 | 61 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 21 | 49 |
| 5 | Manc Utd | 20 | 54 |
| 6 | Ipswich T | 19 | 79 |
| 7 | Manc City | 18 | 44 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 17 | 43 |
| 9 | Newcastle Un | 17 | 46 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 14 | 50 |
| 11 | Liverpool | 14 | 40 |
The fact is that Liverpool had 13 fewer injuries than Arsenal this season and yet still managed to concede seven goals more than Arsenal – a quite remarkable achievement for Arsenal. Tottenham didn’t quite manage to concede double the number of goals that Arsenal let in, but they got close – despite having around 20% fewer injuries than Arsenal this past season. A Totttenham season with an injury level similar to Arsenal’s would probably break every goals-conceded record for all time.
What is interesting however is that despite having the best defence in the Premier League this season, (over 8% better than Liverpool’s for example), the best defence in the league last season, and the third-best defence the season before that, we have comments in the media to the effect that this season “Arsenal has struggled to defend against set-pieces” and that “Goals conceded from corners against teams like Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Brentford have raised concerns.”
It is true that “Arsenal have conceded 48% of their Premier League goals from set-pieces this season, with no side conceding a larger percentage,” as Opta tell us but that is because only two clubs have conceded fewer goals than Arsenal. To work out the percentage of Arsenal goals conceded from set pieces you have to divide the number of goals from set pieces by 43. If you were working the number out for Tottenham you would divide by 63, so the numbers are not comperable.
This is not because Arsenal conceded more and more goals from set pieces, but because they conceded fewer goals than other clubs overall. So yes it might well be true that “including own goals, 38.7% of Arsenal’s goals conceded in the Premier League this term have come from set-pieces,” but the reason the figure is high is because Arsenal concede so few goals overall compared with other teams.
However if you do want a statistic on defending that is a bit of fun, try this: Tottenham conceded 85% more goals than Arsenal this season. And isn’t it strange that the media go on and on about statistics that make Arsenal look bad without explaining the context, but ignore something simple like that 83% figure from Tottenham.
In fact tonight’s Europa final involves the club with the 12th worst defence in the league against the club with the 16th worst defence in the league (that’s Tottenham). But no one has yet called it the Battle of the Bunglers.
Here’s another wonderful quote. “This defensive vulnerability has been a factor in some recent match results, costing them points.” Or if you want to put that another way, “if Arsenal had conceded fewer goals they would have won more games.”
And when put like that I think we can generally say, yes, we knew that.
And so with everyone having played 37 games here’s the league table for the clubs we have been following…. and yes if Manchester City win their final game by 4-0 and Arsenal lose to Southampton 4-0, Manchester City will be second and Arsenal third.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arsenal | 37 | 19 | 14 | 4 | 67 | 33 | 34 | 71 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 37 | 20 | 8 | 9 | 70 | 44 | 26 | 68 |
| 16 | Manchester United | 37 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 54 | -12 | 39 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 37 | 11 | 5 | 21 | 63 | 61 | 2 | 38 |
Now we must admit that indeed Southampton did knock in four against Arsenal – in 1988 when they won 4-2 and in 2015 when they won 4-0. On the other hand Arsenal beat Southampton away 0-5 in the FA Cup in 2018 and in both 2003 and 2012 scored six in home league victories. So second place still looks secure – but I expect Arsenal to put out the strongest possible team to secure the final win of the season on Sunday.
Meanwhile, of course we must admit that it has not been that bad a season for Tottenham. They have got five more points than the last time they were relegated and they have a positive goal difference of plus two. They got further in the FA Cup (round four instead of round three) and in the League Cup (round five instead of round three), than in their worst Premier League season. And let us not be churlish about things – they could win a cup tonight which would make the media happy.
Indeed the tiny totts did win the Uefa just over 40 years ago and since then they have won the League Cup twice and the FA Cup once. So they can’t be all bad. Only two league titles ever, of course, but still, you can’t have everything.
On the basis of which club is least disliked, I hope that Spurs win.
Hmm can’t agree on that one John, whilst I despise Man U it is nothing compared to my utter disdain for Spuds! Also it would be a final shut up for tat annoying Australian manager who can’t face te camera.
For me a far more important final takes on Sunday at Wembley at 1pm Leyton Orient (local to Arsenal) v Charlton. the winner is promoted to the Championship League.
Come on you O’s.
I am leaving the tin pot head pundits to stew this ‘Tin pot trophy as much as they like. I have better things to do.