By Bulldog Drummond
This being a Europa League game we don’t have too many statistics around to help us, but we have found this little lot from Uefa…
Rapid Vienna
- Assists: 6
- Saves: 10
- Fouls Committed 68
- Fouls received 37
- Yellow cards: 11
- Fouls per yellow card: 6.18
Arsenal
- Assists: 10
- Saves: 8
- Fouls committed: 50
- Fouls suffered: 30
- Yellow cards: 6
- Fouls per yellow card: 8.3
It is interesting that both teams have committed many more fouls than they have received, and that Rapid Vienna is the fouling side of the two.
As would seem appropriate from these statistics Rapid Vienna are getting a yellow card after about six fouls, whereas Arsenal have to get through around 8 before getting a yellow card.
Interestingly this is not too far off the number of fouls that Arsenal have to commit in the Premier League before getting a foul, where the number is 7.14.
Rapid are achieving a foul per yellow card ratio that is close to Fulham and Leeds United in the Premier League.
Racing Post make a rare foray into Arsenal statistics telling us that only two of Arsenal’s last 15 Europa games have featured three or fewer goals. Now there’s a thought. And contrary to a thought below, they also tell us that “Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is unlikely to feature.”
The BBC tell us that David Luiz will certainly not play, after he collided with Jimenez, and apparently that accident has seriously unsettled Luiz so he will not play.
90 min give us this line up.
Runarsson the unbeaten
Soares Gabriel Mustafi Maitland-Niles
Pepe Willock Xhaka Willian
Lacazette Aubameyang
The Boot Room meanwhile tells us that “Arsenal fans want Folarin Balogun to start against Rapid Vienna”.
I would have thought that was unlikely however.
SportsMole give us their thoughts on the line up as usual
Runarsson;
Cedric, Mustafi, Holding, Maitland-Niles;
Xhaka, Elneny;
Pepe, Smith Rowe, Nelson;
Lacazette
The Evening Standard offer up a very different looking line up, this time complete with Eddie playing as the lone forward and Lacazette behind him…
Runarsson;
Cedric, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles;
Elneny, Willock;
Pepe, Lacazette, Nelson;
Nketiah.
Meanwhile the Daily Express, undoubtedly revelling in the new restrictions that the Premier League have accepted as part of the UK leaving the EU, have come up with
Runarsson;
Cedric, Mustafi, Holding, Maitland-Niles;
Pepe, Elneny, Willock, Nelson;
Lacazette Nketiah.
Goalkeepers
Bernd Leno, Runar Runarsson, Matt Macey, Karl Hein, James Hilson, Arthur Okwonko.
Defenders
Hector Bellerin, Gabriel Magalhaes, Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Shkodran Mustafi, Pablo Mari, Sead Kolasinac, Joel Lopez, Zane Monlouis, Kieran Tierney.
Midfield
Bukayo Saka, Dani Ceballos, Willian, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Mo Elneny, Emile Smith-Rowe, Granit Xhaka, Ryan Alebiousi, Ben Cotrell, Miguel Azeez, Omari Giraud-Hitchinson, Charlie Patino.
Forwards
Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, Folarin Balogun, Jordan Mceneff.
It’s rather nice to know we have such a choice.
The Daily Express appear to believe that there are Arsenal players, called Maitland and Niles respectively, in their predicted team selection
Confirmed team for tonight’s game
Runarsson, Cedric, Mustafi, Mari, Kolasinac, Pepe, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Nelson, Lacazette, Nketiah
Subs: Leno, Macey, Tierney, Saka, Ceballos, Willian, Holding, Chambers, Willock, Smith Rowe, Balogun, Azeez
@ John L – they are silly. Forgot about Ainsley!
Well that was fun.
3 – 0 up at HT.
Lacazette, Mari, Nketiah
Congratulations to Mari on his first Gunners goal.
Obviously with these games you have to take the opposition in to account but that accepted that was the best, most fluent offensive football we’ve played for ages, including all our other EL matches.
Well that really was fun. So good to see us playing one and two touch football and the three nil halftime score really is no more than we deserve.
And even though it’s 1-1 in the 2nd half we really should of scored at least another 3.
Still playing really well.
I’m still going for 6
Well it’s ended up just the 4 but honestly it could of been 14 we were that dominant.
Well played lads.
Good performance and good to have supporters in the stadium again.
Good showing against a good European team. This should bode well for our game on Sunday. Here’s hoping we play as agressive as we did today.
Andrew, Smith and Rowe both played well when they came on.