Came across an interesting stat on Twitter. Arsenal consistently drop points in matches where they don’t score from set pieces.
There have already been seven such games this season: Forest, Liverpool (twice), Villa, Chelsea, Sunderland, and City.
A couple more facts for context:
• In 11 of their 15 Premier League wins, the opening goal came either from a set piece or immediately in the second phase after one.
• They have only two league wins without scoring from set pieces: against Brentford and Tottenham.
This isn’t a dig at Arsenal — just an observation.
Especially since from open play they’re still creating well: 20.81 expected goals, the fifth-best figure in the league. And at the top it’s very tight too — leaders Man City are on 28.29.