Stats pinpoint Arsenal’s best 3 players at Newcastle (one surprise!)

Three Arsenal players who impressed in their side’s win over Newcastle United

Arsenal extended their winning streak to 6 matches in all competitions, as an Olivier Giroud brace helped them to a 2-1 win against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Saturday. John Carver’s men, after trailing their visitors by 0-2 at the break, came out fighting in the second half and Moussa Sissoko halved the deficit in the 48th minute, but they could not breach David Ospina’s resistance for the second time on the day. It was close to a no-show from the Gunners in the second half and Arsene Wenger cut a frustrated figure in the dugout, but who were the three architects in Arsenal’s narrow win over the Magpies?

Giroud
The French striker continued his impressive goal scoring form against Newcastle on Saturday, scoring a couple of poacher’s goals in quick succession to put Arsenal in a commanding position even before the half hour mark. Giroud boasted a shot accuracy of 67%, scoring with 2 of his 3 attempts on goal.

The striker’s real test came in the second half, when the hosts were firmly knocking on the door and the visitors didn’t see much of the ball. But Giroud, whenever Arsenal cleared the ball from the danger area, did his very best to hold it up and relieve some of the pressure his defenders were under. He won 4 of his 9 aerial duels on Saturday. It was a clinical display from the Gunners’ leading marksman.

Calum Chambers
Surprisingly, Chambers was by far the most impressive Arsenal player, apart from Giroud, on Saturday. He was flamboyant in an attacking sense, but his attacking instincts didn’t deter him from defending well. He was a constant menace on Newcastle’s left-hand-side, getting forward at every possible opportunity and providing his side with attacking impetus. Chambers had a mighty impressive take-on success rate of 75%, as he completed 3 of his 4 attempted take-ons.

In a defensive sense: Chambers won 62% of his 13 attempted tackles, while also winning 6 of his 7 aerial duels on the day. In addition, he made 4 interceptions and 4 clearances, to complete a solid day’s work at right-back.

Francis Coquelin
The French midfielder produced another solid display as a defensive midfielder for Arsenal, rendering good defensive cover to his backline while also doing his bit when Arsenal attacked. Coquelin completed 84% of his attempted passes on Saturday, creating 1 goal scoring chance over the course of 90 minutes. The 23-year old midfielder also completed his only take-on of the game.

When Arsenal didn’t have the ball, Coquelin came to his own, averting any potential danger to Ospina’s goal and neutralizing the threat posed by Remy Cabella & co. He won 5 of his 7 attempted tackles, while making 4 interceptions and 4 clearances (3 of which came in the second half, when Newcastle threatened to rescue a point). Coquelin also won all his aerial duels (2/2) against the Magpies.

The aforementioned trio of Giroud, Chambers and Coquelin were definitely the chief architects of Arsenal’s victory over Newcastle on Saturday, but Santiago Cazorla also did his bit while he was on the pitch. He made the assist for Giroud’s second goal, and created 1 other chance during his 71-minute vigil in the middle.

Suhith

Tags Chambers Coquelin Giroud

50 Comments

    1. I wouldn’t go so far labeling him useless at RB. Not his best position but nevertheless still some competency.

      1. I believe that Chambers is doing exactly what Arsene intended for him. Playing RB CB DM and coming on to shore up a game. Every team has jack of all trades and i believe Chambers is one of ours. Only us and some pundits have said he is to be groomed for CB, but we would have gotten some hints to this as the lad is at a crucial age/stage if he is to become orthodox CB. I believe also the reason he has looked unsure at times is just the pressure of such a move and with his age bedding in and getting used to Arsenal players and their game… to be a little expected i reckon. He will get better and better becoming a very important player.

      1. WTF are you talking. Chambers is terrible at RB. I didn’t say we should get rid of him. I said he has a future at CB or CDM.

      2. chambers was worst against newcastle… worst than ramsey.. although the stat are good but he was not playing like a RB as soon he made good tackles he losses in stupid areas putting pressure on defense…

        1. Cazorla was worst… only because we know how controlled he is on the ball so it was very unlike him. He was visibly shattered though. Chambers didnt have a bad performance… not a top one but nowhere near bad… done enough in makeshift.

    2. Bit harsh on chambers. Before joining as a teenager he had only ever played half a season of a senior football in a position that is not even his.

      I doubt Kos, Mertesacker or Gabriel would do much better at RB so he is doing admirably.

      He won’t even get a look in at RB once Debuchy is back.

      1. Spot on RvP. All things considered he has done well enough as a 4th choice RB. His use has enabled Hector to be rested as required, covered for Jenks improving at WH and for an unlucky Debuchy. Bit risky by Wenger but he has just about gotten away with it. He is obviously being targeted on a weekly basis and he has been caught out a number of times – think it is part of Wenger’s training him for his CB role because it will be a relative doddle there in terms of one on one exposure and pace battles. Full backs in the modern game are more exposed and vunerable than just about any other position on the field. On the positive side I have seen plenty to suggest he will be an authoritative passing CB when he gets his time – maybe the best passer we have amongst our defenders – seen him ping quite a few quick, accurate passes to feet when playing out of defence. Looks a very decent footballer to me and a sound investment. He will be fine.

      2. It demands him being a decent 10 year investment for Arsenal – NOT being Roberto Carlos 2.0 within 6 months of his Arsenal career starting and playing out of position as a 4th choice RB. £15M ain’t nothing to do with him – you make it sound like he has dipped in to your pocket and fleeced you. Just imagine how angry you would be if he cost nearly £30M like his pal at United, or £35M like Mangala, or close on £20M each for Lovren and Sakho.

    3. Useless? Dramatic much? He’s a CB as you suggest so why aren’t you cutting him a little slack for not being completely at ease at RB?

      Back to the article…..easy to see how stats can misinterpret reality. Chambers was our weakest player defensively, and Coquelin was largely at fault for the goal and a liability in possession…yet no ‘stats’ pointing at that.

  1. That’s why I don’t take Stats seriously like other Gooners. Chambers was terrible defensively, his body position is terrible and is easily beaten, how many times did he get turned to easily, he is absolutely an accident waiting to happen at RB. Very slow and lethargic at RB.

    I hope he is nurtured in CB or DM positions, the boy has no business at RB.

  2. Ges wenger can transform players for the better….Remem hows fan here used to hate Giroud(there even 1 guy named “No Girioud, Im happi”)…..Now he shows good commitment in our games and shows his importance even when he doesn’t score…

  3. I believe Chambers will still come good. I remember Coquelin almost end up leaving us, as a free agent, with nobody requesting for extension of his contract.
    Thank God that Flamini had a dip in form and Arteta perennial injury problem, Coquelin would have ended leaving us.

    Chambers will come good. I am so confident about this guy. Mark my words.

    1. So many of us have always rated The Coq, every start of the season or in between you could hear saying things like “I hope we could give The Coq a chance as we all believe he has got what it takes, he can’t be any worse than Flamini or Arteta”. Season after season I have been said that The Coq is a trooper and that he he needed was a run of games. But since Wenger could not include him in the squad and give him games, I then gave up and was not bothered if we sold him as long as we got top class DM.

  4. I don’t understand

    I didn’t think he was that good defensively @ RB Saturday

    I haven’t been convinced all season of him at RB. I think he is a good CB and can develop into a good DM

    I seriously think we should consider keeping Jenkison. He has played well For west ham. He will be behind Debuchy and Bellerin but will be good backup @ RB

    Chambers can focus on CD and DM.

    Welbeck and Chambers cost £16 million each and they were always going to be expensive long term gambles, but they are young and have time to improve.

    1. @fred cowardly
      He did ok in the beginning when he played there. But he has a mean streak about him, especially when he see’s he’s gettin owned by a player.

  5. Rather than laying in to chambers who is a 20 year old that has been playing in the PL for only two years, people should take a closer look at the consistency, or lack of, coming from international experienced players earning over 100K a week.

  6. He scores when he wants, he scores when he waaaaannnnnttts.

    Olivier Giroud, if he could get away from a mirror for long enough, he’d score when he wants!

    1. Its funny 80 percent of people here to used to hate Giroud by calling him average but this year he
      has been in better form they call him world class. Fact- He is good striker but not world class. We
      need a quality striker to win big trophies. I would keep Giroud but we still have to buy striker who can score goals.

      1. Name these quality strikers.. People go on about strikers like Bezema blah blah, how the hell is he going to leave Madrid where is their only striker and move to Arsenal?

        “Like Bezema”, if these strikers were readily available the likes of City, United, Chelski, Liverpool etc would not be gambling with the likes of Bony, Dzeko, Jovetic, Falcao, Remy, Didier, Balotelli etc..

        We need another striker we all know that, but the way people are asking for these quality and world class strikers out there is confusing. There has not been a period like this where quality and world class strikers have dried up around Europe.

        1. We need a new striker who can score goals whether they are 50m or 30m strikers.
          We cant just rely on Giroud to win games. Welbeck, Akpom and Podolski are not ready to be the main man. Do you understand now?

  7. Wenger will sign maximum 3 players next season. CDM, Winger and Striker looks likely.
    GK and CB could come only if Szczesny and Mertesaker leave. We need to get rid of injury prone players and deadwoods like Sanogo, Podolski, Campbell, Arteta, Diaby, Flamini. Walcott and Wilshere could be sold sadly.

    1. I hope you are right. A striker, DM and winger would definitely put us in title contention

      I would love
      1. Schneiderlin or Kondogbia
      2. Dybala or Lacazette
      3. Reus or Greizmann

  8. Man Utd Cheaters recent league form is making me scared. They are just a point behind us. We have to keep on winning games. We cant afford to lose at Old trafford. We still have to face Liverpool and Chelsea at home. Although Man cheaters also have to play City and Chelsea too we need to win atleast 7 games and draw to ensure we are in top 3. Man City have easy fixtures left so I expect Arsenal and Man cheaters for 3 rd spot. 4th spot is scary.

        1. If the confrontation will be about Wenger vs Mourinho then yes, Mourinho probably will beat Wenger. If it is about Arsenal vs Chelsea then I am pretty optimistic we can beat them.

  9. I think that if Giroud, Welbeck, Podolski, Sanogo, Walcott and Sanchez leave, then we might need a new striker!

    1. I think you’ll find that Per is a natural centre forward and that Wenger has already earmarked him as our main striker.

      If anyone can make him into a World Class Striker than Wenger can!

      He has all the attributes of a top CF and the ‘potential’ to be as good as Wellbeck.

      I for one don’t think we need any buys at all as our team is already perfect and will win the PL & the UCL as well as the FA Cup and Charity Shield next season.

  10. Reports are that we could loan akpom to norwich for the remainder of the season, I think is a good move for him

  11. Bale is very unhappy in Madrid, Wenger make him happy in London, oh boy, he and alexis would destroy EPL, i know many would disagree but players from UK cant play good abroad, i know his transger would cost arround 60 80 mil, but for that kind quality i would go all in, sell podolski, campbell, sanogo, and we add 50 60 m and we can get him, he would transform our attack from great to best !!!

    1. And prepare a 200k/week for salary. I highly doubt we can give him more than 150. Unfortunately it won’t happen. Come to think of he used to be an Arsenal supporter. As a comparison, shirt sales with Bale are 5 times less than ones bearing Ozil’s name.

    1. Yes he is world class. Maybe not in the level of Xavi or Iniesta but still one of the best in EPL.

  12. We need a world class striker! That’s the truth. Giroud is trying but we still need an upgrade.

  13. chambers did so much defensive work because he had to track back and correct his mistakes so any times. Any one of those times Perez was close to scoring. As usual, stats dont tell the whole story. Chambers positioning as a RB is horrible.

    1. Keown has been coaching him in how to frighten the opposition by impersonating an angry extraterrestrial.

  14. Hope we get this little gem of a No.9:

    (HTeeTeeP://(www.gazzetta.it/Calciomercato/02-12-2014/premier-arsenal-pole-dybala-pronti-42-milioni-chiesti-palermo-100116549510.shtml

    Will certainly offer more threat then welbz up front. His 3 years younger, can control a football, has vision and skill and can score goals.

    So perhaps a little less work needed to turn him into WC.

  15. The same people with their vague notion of world class this or that is back! The truth is there is no standard definition of world class player unless you mean to say a world class player is one who has ever won the world cup. All the talk about world class players is just imaginary in the minds of those who love to fantasise! There is no dictionary definition of world class player anywhere. Anyone opposing me should produce irrefutable evidence of the existence of such a definition. Hence I view the debate of why player is world class and which one is not as just a farce because there will never be consensus on it. This is the kind of debate that seems rather idle and not in any way useful. Is Giroud a world striker? My answer is I don’t know because world class has never been defined. Is he a good striker? Yes because he has been scoring crucial goals for us. Does it affect me whether or not he is world class? My answer to this is absolutely no because it does not have any impact on his performance. What I need is a player who does the job not how others define him. Other people’s views will not in any way alter facts on the pitch.

  16. i have to say that i am not a fan of giroud , not by any stretch , but , i take my hat off to him . he is playing his heart out for us , even though i still insist he is not arsenal quality . but he is working like a trojan so full marks to him and respect .

  17. The stats can say what they like but we know what we saw in the match. CC was awful esp in the 2nd half. He really needs to improve on his performance esp when he plays RB.

  18. Some people will still be saying Giroud isn’t ‘good enough for Arsenal’ when he is scoring 20+ goals a season and reaching his world class potential in the not too distant future..

    I’d say those fans don’t deserve a player like Giroud and the quality he brings.

    Maybe they would prefer a Costa who likes to stamp, or an expensive Falcao flop, or an overrated Balotelli or an out of reach Suarez.

    Maybe we don’t deserve Giroud if we think we are better than him???

    Anyone unhappy with a player who has scored 40 goals in 89 PL appearances for us and is getting better by the year truly need their head examining.

  19. I’m not a Giroud fan but I v respect for him. Now, let’s not forget that he is 29 now. in less than a year from now, he ll b 30 n his legs will start becoming feeble.
    I feel we need another striker ( a much younger one) to blend with the team before giroud’s legs won’t kick much again and not because he is not world class ( as some people have described him)

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