How Arsenal’s stats under Emery, Ljungberg and Arteta compare
Arsenal have had three different managers already this season – but how do the three bosses compare?
Unai Emery was sacked after a poor start to the season before Gunners legend Freddie Ljungberg was appointed interim head coach while the club looked for a replacement.
Arsenal eventually appointed former player Mikel Arteta and we’ve looked at how his league record this season matches up to his two predecessors.
Results
With Emery in charge, Arsenal picked up four wins, three defeats and six draws from their 13 league games, giving them 18 points out of a possible 39.
That equated to an average of 1.38 points per game and a win rate of 23.5%.
In comparison, Ljungberg picked up five points out of a possible 15, as he got one win, two draws and two defeats in his five league games as interim manager.
That works out at an average of 1.0 points per game and a win rate slightly lower than Emery’s at 20%.
Arteta has had one win, one defeat and five draws from his first seven league games, claiming eight points from a possible 21.
That means the 37-year-old has an average of 1.14 points per game so far and a win rate of 14.3%, which is worse than both Emery and Ljungberg.
However, while Emery got the best results, how do Arsenal’s overall performances compare under the different managers?
Arsenal have now drawn 13 Premier League games this season, the joint-most they have managed in a single 38-game top-flight campaign in the club's history.
Even outdoing the Invincibles. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/d4WZWR2SQX
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 2, 2020
Defence
Arsenal’s defensive issues have been well documented over the last few years and they have already conceded 34 league goals this season.
During the first 13 league games under Emery, the Gunners conceded 19 goals (1.46 goals per game), with their opponents managing 218 shots (16.7 per game) and 73 shots on target (5.6 per game).
Under Ljungberg, the Gunners let in eight goals in five games (1.6 goals per game), faced 69 shots (13.8 per game) and conceded 28 shots on target (5.6 per game).
Arteta has started to improve their defence during his short time at the club as they have conceded seven goals in seven league games so one per game.
Arsenal have conceded 87 shots (12.42 per game) and 29 shots on target (4.14 per game) in that time, with both averages an improvement on Emery and Ljungberg’s.
Attack
All three managers have had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe at their disposal, but Arsenal have still struggled for goals this season.
Under Emery, Arsenal scored 18 league goals at a rate of 1.38 goals per game, coming from 162 shots (12.46 per game) and 58 shots on target (4.46 per game).
Ljungberg was a fine winger in his playing days, but the Gunners only scored six goals from his five games in charge, averaging 1.2 goals per game. Arsenal had a total of 50 shots in those games (10.0 per game) and 18 shots on target (3.6 per game), both of which were down from Emery.
Since Arteta was appointed as manager, Arsenal have eight goals from seven games which works out at 1.14 goals per game. They had 67 shots (9.57 per game) in that time, with 20 shots on target (2.85 per game).
Arsenal lead Man United!
Nicolas Pépé gives Mikel Arteta's side the perfect start after a fine move down the left! 🔴#BTAllDayer pic.twitter.com/NGMBfR8Jhq
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 1, 2020
Possession
During Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal, the club was renowned for possession-based football, but they haven’t maintained the same ball retention skills recently.
When Emery was in charge this season, the Gunners had an average possession of 56.23%, but that has surprisingly dropped to 54.4% under Ljungberg and 52.57% under Arteta.
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