Arsenal are focused on challenging for the Premier League title however, a lot has to be resolved before dreams of the top spot can carry weight.
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Fulham meant that Mikel Arteta’s side have dropped points seven times from 15 games this season.
The Gunners’ form doesn’t make for encouraging reading in the table, sitting six points and a game in hand behind leaders Liverpool.
As Arteta knows very well, Arsenal must be faultless in order to remain in the title race however, there’s a far more pressing issue for the manager to resolve.
Statistic issues top-four warning to Arsenal
Arsenal’s draw to Fulham was particularly concerning based on the lack of performance level on show from several senior players.
As many as five Arsenal players sent a transfer message to Arteta during the draw, signalling through their displays that they’re far from what the Gunners require right now.
While Arteta’s lack of squad depth beyond the favoured XI is a grave concern, there’s a rather pressing issue that’s being spoken about in two lights this season.
Firstly, Arsenal’s strength from set-piece situations is something impossible to ignore as Nicolas Jover’s work behind the scenes continues to be rewarded on a match day.
It’s all smiles in that department however, it could be said that Arsenal’s superiority from corners is masking a deeper problem.
The Gunners are struggling to create and convert chances from open play, which is made clear through the drop in the squad’s expected goals (xG) from open play compared to last season.
On X, Soccerment provided details of Arsenal’s underperformance from open play, noting the drop from 1.63 last season to 1.20 this term.
Detailed statistics are seen as tedious to some although, in this instance, it would be naive to ignore the importance of monitoring xG.
In the past eight seasons, only two teams have managed to finish in the top four of the Premier League with an xG similar to or worse than Arsenal’s right now, spelling bad news for the Gunners’ title hopes.
Arsenal have to improve from open play
It’s been quite the season for Arsenal in the set-piece department it might just be that such costs the Gunners the title.
In fact, given how poor Arteta’s side are at creating from open play, if focus doesn’t turn from set-pieces it could cost the North Londoners the top four.
The numbers don’t lie in that instance as only Manchester United (2019/20) and Spurs (2018/19) have managed to make the top four with an xG so low, spelling trouble for Arteta.
Already, people are starting to recognise the danger Arsenal are in as Alan Shearer questioned where the Gunners would be without corners.
“Without set pieces where would they be? They haven’t created much. They’re so important those set pieces it’s unbelievable,” Shearer said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
Things have to surely change in the coming weeks if Arsenal are to keep their title dreams alive, with concrete evidence of what could happen if Arteta ignores the warnings.
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