Quantcast
Blogs

Easier said than done for Newcastle against Arsenal

|
Image for Easier said than done for Newcastle against Arsenal

Newcastle United take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League this evening and one thing the Magpies might find difficult is getting the ball! Check out the stats below to see why…

Arsenal’s last Premier League outing was against Wigan on December 22nd, when a Mikel Arteta penalty was enough to give Arsenal all three points.

Arteta’s goal was his fourth of the season, and having got his four goals from just twelve efforts at goal he has one of the best chance conversion rates in the Premier League this season.

Cazorla and Arteta have been dominating possession for Arsenal in midfield this sseason, and are ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for passes completed in the opposition half with 737 and 699.

Cazorla has been more effective at turning that possession into goals, however, having got 7 goals and 6 assists this season compared to Arteta’s 4 goals and 2 assists.

Add to that midfield the return of Jack Wilshere, who has averaged a pass completed in the opposition half ever 2 minutes 24 seconds since returning from injury (on a par with Cazorla’s 2 minutes 18 seconds and Arteta’s 2 minutes 28 seconds) and Newcastle will find it hard to win the ball from this Arsenal midfield.

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

Newcastle came close to causing a huge upset when they lead Manchester United for most of the game before conceding a last minute goal to Chicarito Hernandez and losing 4-3.

Goals from James Perch, Papiss Cisse, and an own goal forced from a Danny Simpson cross seemed to be enough to secure back to back victories after Shola Ameobi had scored a spectacular winner in their previous outing against QPR.

Cisse’s finish for his third goal of the season belied the form of a striker who has struggled to recapture the goal scoring touch that saw him make such an impact last season. Cisse has three goals from 31 efforts at goal this season, with an accuracy rate of 41.9% on target and a conversion rate of 10.3 shots per goal demonstrating his struggles in front of goal this season.

James Perch wasn’t the most likely goalscorer for Newcastle in their last game, having impressed more in his defensive duties. Perch has made 45 interceptions and won 54.8% of the tackles he has attempted.

Simpson’s cross was one of 33 he has made this season, making him the 7th most prolific crosser of the ball from a full back position this season.

Ameobi’s goal was his first of the season, despite getting a healthy two thirds of his 12 shots this season on target, and also contributing two assists.

Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the official player rating index of the Barclays Premier League.

Share this article