Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have come a long way in their year under the Spaniard, with considerable improvements across the board. "Every time we pressed the ball they could not come out, we regained the ball. The Arsenal boss is under increasing pressure after … Arsenal’s defense. They are defending better but they cannot help it, it is in their DNA right now.". By measuring chance quality, xG can show how many goals a team should have scored or conceded compared to the actual numbers and give us a sense of whether a team is performing to expectations, over performing, under performing or whether luck plays a factor. The bad news is Arsenal will start to concede lots more goals if things carry on the way they have gone so far. It’s easy to nullify attacking threats by defending deep and having no intention to play football. "The game was ours. Ignoring tactical shuffles, a stronger spine and clever coaching for a moment, it’s a joy to behold. The defeat highlighted that Arsenal are back to square one under Mikel Arteta; Sunday signalled a full year since Unai Emery was sacked as Gunners manager; By Jonathan Spencer For Mailonline David Luiz is 33. That equated to an average of 1.38 points per game and a win rate of 23.5%. It was poor by Mustafi, needlessly speeding up the Spurs attack by diving in. It doesn't get much bigger than this for Mikel Arteta and his side, who have the opportunity to secure a place in the Gdansk-based final later this month. Different coach. A deeper look into expected goals should help determine whether things really have been changing under Arteta. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal … They were in fact worse in the context of xG with the team conceding 1.6 expected goals per game – more than twice what the team were actually conceding and even worse than they had been doing with a back four. The good news is that expected goals can help predict what will happen if a team keeps doing the same things. At that level, you cannot do it. But Mustafi is 28. Mikel Arteta has helped transform Arsenal into a defensively resolute outfit. In many cases, Wenger was working with some of the players for years! That works out at an average of 1.0 points per game … 'Devastated' Arteta knows Arsenal job is under threat May 7, 2021 00:23 Mikel Arteta claimed he "always feels the pressure" as he seemingly conceded his position at Arsenal may well be under … Again, seems like a definite improvement. 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A long-term fix is still needed. “It’s a huge job at this football club. Arsenal’s FA Cup defence was ended by Southampton in the fourth round and the Europa League is their only hope of silverware this season, but Willian is confident they are on the right track. ST ALBANS, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during a training session at London ... [+] Colney on March 20, 2021 in St Albans, England. Arsenal winger Willian believes the north London club are in good hands under manager Mikel Arteta and have all the tools they need to reclaim their status as a powerhouse in Europe. Arsenal plunged to the lowest of lows under Mikel Arteta on Sunday night. We’ve compared Arsenal’s defensive stats under Arteta and compared it with their record during Emery’s time in north London. And so to Arteta’s opening 15 games since his December appointment. "I have never seen them nullify an opponent like they did today," Arteta told Sky Sports, "but we gave them a goal again and we concede a set piece. Arsene Wenger then decided to switch to a back three and things changed. Spaniard Arteta led Arsenal to the FA Cup last season but the team have failed to kick on and are currently ninth in the Premier League, a competition they last won in 2004 under Arsene Wenger. The Spaniard has helped the team overall, but the defence still let them down in their game against Chelsea. Now back in Ligue 1, Saliba has drawn widespread praise. It’s 11% under Arteta – one in nine. Mikel Arteta claims Arsenal flops didn't respond to gameplan "completely changing" at last minute. Last season Arsenal let in 48 goals in the Premier League, which was eighth best. “And then we found our chances.”. A team that had fallen into… Arsenal defence "They do not have a centre-back of prominence at the club. ... with Villa’s attacking quartet pulling the Arsenal defence apart at will with their pace and movement. It is difficult to attack a low block like this but we generated enough chances. Do not miss your chance to land the £250,000 jackpot for a sixth time this season on Saturday. Arsenal’s attack suddenly stopped bailing out the defence and the top four and European glory slipped away. Yet Arteta’s defence of Arsenal’s values came at the end of a week in which they were forced by public outrage to abandon their secret breakaway plans. Toby Alderweireld nodded into the net and a game that should have been won was lost. Arsenal have been the better side for long periods of the two matches that have followed - at home to Leicester and this away day against Spurs. That is a frustration for fans because there had been positive signs in beating Wolves 2-0 at Molineux just one week ago. I think under Arteta they have shown a bit more steel and backbone at times, but it's a long old job. But under Arteta, the defensive structure and stability installed within the team has helped reduce the volume of chances. Arteta has built the foundations already and seems to have settled into a preferred 3-4-3 shape, but these games best showcase the improvements needed in certain aspects of Arsenal’s in … Same players. The problem is that results can be deceptive and underlying performances could be telling us a different story. Arsenal’s defense is the most thorny issue that Mikel Arteta has had to face. Spaniard Arteta led Arsenal to the FA Cup last season but the team have failed to kick on and are currently ninth in the Premier League, a competition they last won in 2004 under Arsene Wenger. The key phrase to take is ‘defensive stability without being a defensive team’. Arsenal should know that they have been a bit fortunate at times. It was a neat summary of a game in which Mourinho's Tottenham were dominated for large spells but still ran out 2-1 winners thanks to Arsenal's all too familiar weaknesses. The warning signs were there even as Arsenal probed for a winner of their own. The numbers don't show it, but Arsenal are a different side under Mikel Arteta 27 January 2020 Whether or not it's obvious from the results right now, … However, right now, it was enough to beat them. Arteta has kept to the same system but has changed the way Arsenal play. It’s a similar story on quality of chances. Even during the inconsistent first nine games, the Gunners seemed more resolute in defence and more structured in midfield – something that has held the club back for some time, even with the undisputed attacking talent at their disposal. Arsenal transfer news How Arsenal could line-up under Mikel Arteta next season if the Gunners manage to sign a player in the summer transfer window to replace Dani Ceballos in the engine room Ian Wright names the two changes Mikel Arteta must make to his Arsenal line-up vs Villarreal Arteta has been working with so many players that are not his, and some of them were shocking! Expected goals hadn’t received much mainstream media use at that time, but it was clear when we looked at the data that things were not as good as they seemed with the Gunners’ defence. Goals against: 35 Goals against per game: 0.87 Alexandre Lacazette's opening strike was a reminder of the firepower that Arsenal possess. Sead Kolasinac was the player guilty of the slack pass to David Luiz that Heung-Min Son latched onto and lofted over goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Spaniard Arteta led Arsenal to the FA Cup last season but the team have failed to kick on and are currently ninth in the Premier League, a competition they last won in 2004 under Arsene Wenger. Until he is able to make the necessary changes - to the personnel and the mentality - defeats such as this one are likely to continue. Emery's efforts to correct his leaky defence came at a cost at the beginning of the 2019/20 campaign. The ball stopped finding the net and shots were saved or found their way into the crowd. Arteta has managed Arsenal for almost exactly the same number of games as Emery did. It was amusing but also worrying. Expected goals tells us a story Gunners supporters should know from recent history: Their defensive form is not sustainable. Having been educated in his playing days by a defence-first David Moyes and an offensive mastermind in Arsene Wenger, Mikel Arteta spent 3 years under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola and then took the stride forward in December 2019 to become the head coach of a depleted Arsenal side. Arteta took over at Arsenal in … Emery was sacked by the Gunners after a poor start to his second season, with their vulnerable defence being one of his biggest problems. Soon after, the Germany international defender allowed Kane to get away down the left channel once more, with Martinez coming off his line to pull off the save. Spaniard Arteta led Arsenal to the FA Cup last season but the team have failed to kick on and are currently ninth in the Premier League, a competition they last won in 2004 under Arsene Wenger. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said his side are on a downward trend and that there were reasons behind that decline he could not explain in public after crashing out of the Europa League. "It is a fact. Instead, he was able to continue merrily on his way while Mustafi sat there on his backside. Arsenal exit a 'disaster': Who would you keep or axe? xG showed Arsenal were scoring at an unprecedented rate, netting 50 goals, but with xG at around 33. Whether it can be done with some of these players is highly debatable. Some poor finishing by opponents – Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez, Calvert Lewin for Everton and Michail Antonio for West Ham – and the performances of goalkeeper Bernd Leno have turned defeats into draws and draws into wins. Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has defended current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after he was criticised for not playing a striker in the 2-1 defeat to Villarreal. A leaky defence has often undermined the Arsenal cause, with holes which first appeared under Arsene Wenger yet to be plugged. In the 72nd minute, Shkodran Mustafi was beaten to the ball by Harry Kane and his toe-poked pass was almost slotted home by Son. xG told us they should be conceding around 1.2 per game, so things were about as bad as they seemed. After similar upticks in form in recent seasons for the Gunners, things have gone awry. It was the sort of mistake that most would file under shocking but has long since lost the power to shock their own supporters. Played: 40. His no-nonsense approach and clarity of communication contrast starkly with the seemingly confused state of affairs – both on the pitch in terms of performances and off it in press conferences – that existed under Unai Emery. All up in the 18 games he has featured for Arteta, Mustafi has a total of 30 interceptions and 60 recoveries. Mikel Arteta has improved Arsenal's defence already | Pool/Getty Images. Not the numbers Mikel Arteta will want to see at the conclusion of the 2020/21 season, but not horrible considering what he had to work with, the injuries the team suffered during the restart and the crunched schedule.