A single recurring detail threads through each Premier League game in which Arsenal have dropped points this season: the side failed to score from a set piece. That statistical quirk accompanies seven dropped-point fixtures listed by date and result: Aug. 31, 2025 \u2014 Liverpool (A) 0\u20131 Loss; Sept. 21, 2025 \u2014 Man City (H) 1\u20131 Draw; Nov. 8, 2025 \u2014 Sunderland (A) 2\u20132 Draw; Nov. 30, 2025 \u2014 Chelsea (A) 1\u20131 Draw; Dec. 6, 2025 \u2014 Aston Villa (A) 1\u20132 Loss; Jan. 8, 2026 \u2014 Liverpool (H) 0\u20130 Draw; Jan. 17, 2026 \u2014 Nottingham Forest (A) 0\u20130 Draw.<\/p>\n
Arsenal still lead the table thanks in part to other results, yet the club\u2019s reliance on dead-ball situations is clear. The Gunners have won only two top-flight matches without a set-piece goal this term, those home victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford. In 11 of Arsenal\u2019s 15 Premier League wins this season, the first goal arrived from a set piece. With a 1\u20130 lead Arsenal have collected 46 points from a possible 48 after pulling ahead.<\/p>\n
Away form underlines the consequence of failing to take an early lead: Arsenal have fallen behind in six of their 11 away matches, dropping points in five of those outings.<\/p>\n
Statistic (per 90)
\nScore Is Level (PL Rank) \u2014 Expected Goal Difference 0.84 (3rd) | Arsenal +1 Up (PL Rank) \u2014 Expected Goal Difference 1.35 (1st)
\nGoal Difference \u2014 0.70 (4th) vs 1.63 (1st)
\nExpected Goals For \u2014 1.58 (3rd) vs 1.93 (2nd)
\nGoals For \u2014 1.40 (4th) vs 1.63 (8th)
\nExpected Goals Against \u2014 0.74 (5th) vs 0.59 (3rd)
\nGoals Against \u2014 0.70 (4th) vs 0 (1st)
\nStats via Macro Football .<\/p>\n
Creatively, Arsenal rely heavily on two players from open play. Bukayo Saka and Martin \u00d8degaard sit among the division\u2019s leading creators, while Eberechi Eze has produced just 0.12 expected assists per 90 in open play. Player expected assists per 90 (Premier League rank): Bukayo Saka 0.26 (4th); Martin \u00d8degaard 0.23 (7th); Leandro Trossard 0.15 (30th); Mikel Merino 0.13 (37th); Eberechi Eze 0.12 (43rd); Declan Rice 0.11 (56th). Stats via Opta .<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be as fluent, it\u2019s not going to be as hectic, because there\u2019s no space to run,\u201d Arteta once moaned on this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seven matches Arsenal dropped points all share one detail: none produced a goal from a set piece. PL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230,192,969],"tags":[1162,1305,826],"class_list":["post-6087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analytics-stats","category-arsenal","category-premier-league","tag-analytics","tag-bench-selection","tag-bukayo-saka"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}