A quick Monday pop quiz for the class: Which of these verifiable facts are we fixated on after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, a club in top-five form in 2025, which padded the Gunners’ first-place lead to four points?
a. Arsenal have conceded three goals through nine matches, four fewer than the next best defence, and are on pace to break the Premier League defensive record.
b. Arsenal have are joint-third in goals scored in the Premier League, one off the top, with 16, while taking just two penalties to date.
c. Arsenal are third in the Premier League in shots taken, fifth in non-penalty xG generated and fifth in shot-creating actions from live passes.
d. Arsenal are 14th in open play goals, with five. Only Leeds, Wolves and Nottingham Forest are below them.
You’ve probably been near a computer or smartphone and therefore know the obvious answer is D, in yet another frustrating example of something becoming unfashionable just as Arsenal are becoming experts at it.
We could of course talk about the round-the-league sentiment, but I’m more interested today in tackling the idea of fan concern — is this something that should keep Arsenal fans up at night, and why or why not?
Now, I thought Leo Trossard handled the question very well in the immediate post-game:
And as Scott and I have discussed, I don’t think this is an Arsenal side that is playing for set pieces. This side would love for the ball to stay in play for 90 minutes, because they’re equipped to win in that format as well. But the bigger question here, of course, is: Are Arsenal failing to do something they should be doing something better? For that, I dug a bit more into the schedule.
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