Four stats: Xhaha must do more for Arsenal as Leicester revert to title-winning tactics

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While Arsenal remain one of the most enigmatic and unpredictable teams in the Premier League, they are making a regular habit out of lighting up the top flight’s opening weekend.

After contributing fully to a harrowing 4-3 home loss against Liverpool at the beginning of last season, they edged out a gritty Leicester side by the same score this time around.

New-boy Alexandre Lacazette gave the Gunners the lead just 94 seconds into his debut, but Arsenal fans were stunned as first Shinji Okazaki and then Jamie Vardy scored to give the Foxes an advantage within the first half hour.

Although Danny Welbeck equalised on the stroke of half-time, Vardy was allowed the freedom of the penalty area to head home his second early in the second half.

Substitutes Aaron Ramsey and the excellent Olivier Giroud came to the rescue for the Gunners, with the former equalising before the Frenchman bulleted home a header to win the game.

So while Arsenal celebrate, we will take a look at four key statistics for the game:

81% – Xhaka needs to do more in Arsenal’s midfield

While he may have set up Aaron Ramsey to crash home and created five chances during the game, it was largely a disappointing night for Granit Xhaka.

At the heart of his poor performance was the lack of accuracy and tempo in his passing, with a completion rate of just 81% well below the standards set by Arsene Wenger’s teams. The Swiss players’ recklessness with the ball also contributed to Leicester’s second goal, as a poor pass set Marc Albrighton clear to assist Jamie Vardy at the far post.

Xhaka also provided ineffective cover for an unfamiliar back three, failing to win any tackles or aerial duels during the game.

While he boasts obvious quality and the ability to influence the game in the final third, Xhaka must improve if he is to fulfill his role and feed Arsenal’s supremely gifted attack.

4 and 3 – Leicester City have reverted to their title winning tactics

While they may have lost, the Foxes looked back to the giant killing best for the first hour at the Emirates. This should not come as a total surprise given that eight of the 2015/16 title winning team started against Arsenal, but it was refreshing to see after the club’s turbulent title defence last season.

Manager Craig Shakespeare seems that have reverted Leicester to type, adopting a compact 4-4-2 shape that relies on organisation, energetic pressing and the pace of Vardy and Mahrez in attack. No single stat embodies this better than the fact that Leicester created just four chances in the whole game (with Mahrez contributing two of these), while converting three of these into goals.

While the Foxes may ultimately have faded during the last half hour and eventually crumbled in the face of Arsenal’s attacking excellence, the energy in their play and ruthlessness on the counter-attack during the first 60 minutes should not be discounted. In fact, this bodes well for the rest of the season and Leicester’s chances of securing a return to the upper echelons of the table.

18 – The Foxes exploit the wide areas

Despite enjoying just 30% possession and striking six shots at goal to Arsenal’s mammoth 27, both sides attempted a similar number of crosses.

In fact, the Foxes attempted 18 crosses to Arsenal’s 20, and this underlined Leicester’s tactic of attacking Arsenal in the wide areas. With the Gunners deploying a three-man defence and attacking wing-backs, there was considerable space for Leicester’s full-backs and wingers to exploit in tandem. There was also little cover from the midfield area, leaving Rob Holding particularly vulnerable to the thrusts of Marc Albrighton.

All three of Leicester’s goals came from crosses into the box, so this is a tactic that they used to excellent effect. From Arsenal’s perspective, they will need to defend better against crosses as the season progresses if they are to sustain a realistic title challenge.

5 – Monreal holds the Gunners back-line together

While Nacho Monreal struggled at times and was beaten too easily by Jamie Vardy for Leicester’s third goal, he was generally the glue that held a fragile home defence together at the Emirates.

Operating both in the centre and on the left of a back three, he was the one player trying to cajole and organise his teammates, while be also boasted impressive individual stats at the end of the game.

Monreal completed five interceptions and eight clearances during the 90 minutes, while he also managed to win 100% of his tackles. He also won 50% of his aerial duels, and showed enough composure on the ball to maintain a 95% pass completion rate.

Without Monreal’s individual performance and desperate attempts to lead a bedraggled back line, Arsenal could well have lost another season opener at the Emirates.

Whether the Gunners stick with back three or adopt a flat back four throughout the course of the season, the Spaniard should be one of the first names on Wenger’s team sheet.