One remarkable Arsenal stat shows Mikel Arteta has learned key lesson from last season

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Arsenal’s incredible recent form has seen them outperform anyone else in the Premier League at both ends of the pitch.

Mikel Arteta’s side are still unbeaten in the league in 2024, scoring 25 goals in the last six games, whilst barely conceding any big chances.

The winter break in mid-January has been transformative, with this run of games their most impressive in years, and Arsenal now have the best goal difference in the league as they are just two points behind Liverpool in the title race.

Whilst the attack has suddenly clicked into gear, with Bukayo Saka particularly impressing in front of goal, the defence has been crucial, and a remarkable stat has now emerged about Arsenal’s defensive unit.

Arsenal’s incredible defensive statistics

Journalist Jordan Campbell has now highlighted on X that Arsenal have remarkably conceded just 1.9 expected goals in these last six games, conceding just three times, with unlucky goals against in clashes with Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Newcastle alongside three clean sheets.

By comparison, the second-best team in this metric, Manchester City, have conceded 6.8xGA in the same timeframe. Liverpool have conceded 10.0, over five times the amount Arsenal have.

Saturday’s opponents Newcastle United have allowed 20.5 xGA, the worst in the division, and a far cry from the defensive unit which shut out Arsenal earlier this season.

Whilst this stat further proves that Arsenal have the best defence in the Premier League this season, it also shows that Arteta himself has learned a key lesson from last season.

Mikel Arteta has learned from last season’s Arsenal collapse

Arsenal were outstanding going forward last season, but saw their title charge collapse as they lost defenders William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu to injury.

Whilst the injuries did play a huge part, there was arguably some naivety that Arsenal could simply score their way out of trouble, rather than prioritising the defensive unit in the late stages of the title race.

This saw Arsenal concede over three goals to Southampton, Manchester City and Brighton, whilst conceding twice at Liverpool and West Ham.

In this run of form, despite also scoring for fun, Arteta has not let Arsenal’s defensive standards slip at all. There are still players to return from injury in the back line, but it is clear that the priority has been control over games and stifling opposition chances.

This could mean that Arsenal conserve their energy better during the run-in: more controlled games has seen the likes of Saka substituted earlier, without reliance on him to help produce a late goal, and there has been less defensive worry and end-to-end chaos than there was this time last year.

Arteta has clearly realised the effect defensive negligence errors and a weaker unit at the back had on his side last year, and knows that the key to maintaining their current form would be to continue their outstanding performances from the back.