Arsenal once again conceded from the first shot they faced against Manchester United in what has to be a major concern for Mikel Arteta despite his team largely dominating the game and earning a deserved win.
It was a thrilling encounter at the Emirates Stadium yesterday afternoon as Marcus Rashford gave Man Utd the lead, only for Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard to equalise just a minute later.
Alejandro Garnacho then thought he’d won the game for the visitors, only for his 88th minute strike to eventually be ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus then scored in stoppage time to give Arsenal the 3-1 victory, but this stat from Opta below shows a worrying trend emerging for the Gunners…
7 – Arsenal have conceded from the very first shot they faced in a game in seven different Premier League matches in 2023, more than any other side. Concern. pic.twitter.com/GO80dmMsjk
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 3, 2023
Arsenal don’t seem to have much trouble dominating their opponents and limiting their chances, but for some reason they seem to switch off enough at key moments, meaning opposition sides don’t need many high-quality chances to score.
Rashford’s goal was a fine individual effort, in fairness, so sometimes it’s hard to account for that, but some of these goals Arsenal have conceded have also come from poor defending or individual errors, such as the one they conceded early on in their recent draw against Fulham.