- 1,612
- 9
- 38
But what happens between the boxes only matters if you deliver inside them.
Manchester City's performance was an exhibition in ruthlessness, with Kevin De Bruyne's instinctive finish for the opener, following Takehiro Tomiyasu's error, setting the tone. Arsenal, by contrast, lacked a clinical edge, carving City open but then failing to capitalise.
The same profligacy could be seen in their previous games against Everton and Brentford, when they had a combined total of 38 shots and yet only found the net once, through Leandro Trossard.
The Belgian's opener in the 1-1 draw with Brentford was their only goal from open play across the three games.
The problem was compounded by sloppiness and a lack of efficiency at the other end. Arsenal, so difficult to break down earlier in the season, were suddenly giving up too many chances, the underlying data suggesting they were fortunate to concede only twice across the two games against Brentford and Everton.
In fact, in the meeting with Brentford, Arsenal's total for expected goals against came out at 2.01, making it their highest of the season to that point. Their totals against Manchester City (1.80) and Everton (1.67) were not far behind, their third and fourth-highest respectively.