Arsenal led the Premier League for shocking stat in 2023, it’s now a big problem

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Arsenal had a poor ending to an otherwise strong year in 2023, but there is plenty for Mikel Arteta’s side to work on.

Arsenal ended 2022 flying at the top of the Premier League, but saw this title challenge collapse after William Saliba picked up an injury in the second half of last season, but did return to the Champions League after a six-season absence.

A promising start this season has now been halted after back-to-back defeats to end the year, and Arsenal are struggling in attack. However, there is a worrying stat which suggests they should also be worried at the back.

Arsenal made more defensive errors than anyone else in 2023

It has now been highlighted that Arsenal made 11 errors leading to goals in the Premier League in 2023, more than any other side in the competition in that time.

Mikel Arteta’s side were often the architects of their own downfall, conceding goals through errors whilst otherwise being dominant in games. Now that there are a lack of goals to compensate for the costly mistakes, Arsenal’s form is on the verge of hitting a crisis point.

This season, David Raya has made two errors directly leading to goals, with both coming in the 4-3 victory at Luton, whilst Jorginho, Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all made one each.

Last season, Gabriel Magalhaes and Aaron Ramsdale made two each, with William Saliba, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard all making one each.

Errors at the back are costly for Arsenal

Arsenal have built one of the best defences in the Premier League, and Saliba, Gabriel and Declan Rice are excellent at shot prevention.

The system is rock solid with this trio in the middle, but Arsenal’s regular errors means that the Gunners can turn victory into a draw too easily. The 2-2 draw with Fulham near the start of the season was perhaps the perfect example of this, as Arsenal were dominant but saw errors at the start and end of the match cost them two points in a game which they would otherwise have won.

With Arsenal’s attack not clicking, results can now be quickly changed by one error, which puts even more pressure on the defence to deliver. This stat will definitely be of concern to Arteta, and it may be a tactical issue which means that players find themselves in positions to make costly mistakes, rather than a problem with the quality of the defenders in the squad.