Not shooting or creating enough could cost Arsenal in the Champions League

Arsenal battled through the ‘Group of Death’ in the Champions League to reach the Last 16 ahead of Napoli and Marseille. They joined group-toppers Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages despite a 2-0 defeat to the Italian side in the final group game. The Gunners impressed throughout the group but just fell short of claiming top spot. A victory in Germany against Dortmund was the highlight of their matches, while they dominated their home games, showing promise for the rest of the tournament.

The Gunners travelled to Germany with the odds stacked heavily against them. They returned to England on the back of a very famous victory. They stopped Dortmund scoring at the Westfalenstadion for the first time in a very long time and their main man, Aaron Ramsey, popped up to score the winner.

The Germans had 15 shots but Arsenal restricted them to long-range shooting, meaning just three hit the target. Arsenal themselves had just four shots, hitting two on target. A real defensive smash and grab.

Arsenal were poor on the evening and just made it through to the knockout stages of the competition. The Gunners would have been replaced by Napoli had the Italians won 3-0 so it was close. Arsenal had just one shot on target from six shots and completed only 77% of their passes. They’ll be counting their lucky stars that they got through after this defeat.

Strengths in Europe

They were extremely clinical this year, Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s side is normally an attacking force but they didn’t create many chances and haven’t had an awful lot of shots in the Europe this season. They scored just eight goals from 52 shots, the fewest in the competition, with a conversion of 21%.

The Gunners soaked up pressure, especially against Dortmund, and scored their chances when they came.

Weaknesses in Europe

As I have just pointed out, the Gunners were clinical in front of goal and scored their chances when they came. That was good – a real strength. However, it won’t always work like that in the knockout stages. Arsenal have Bayern Munich next and if they don’t create enough chances, the likelihood is that they’ll exit the competition.

Arsenal created just 42 chances in the group stages which was desperately low. Only three teams – Austria Wien, Copenhagen and AC Milan – created fewer chances. They need to be more expressive and creative to knock out the kings of Europe.

Best Player - Laurent Koscielny

Koscielny was a rock at the heart of Arsenal’s defence. In their defiant, solid performances in the group stages, Koscielny was the leader at the back and the main reason why the Gunners kept Dortmund at bay.

The Frenchman won 8/12 headed duels and 80% (4/5) of his tackles in the group stages. Remarkably, he also completed both of his take ons.

His Performance Score of 212 was ahead of Per Mertesacker, his defensive partner, who has scored 170 points so far.

Best Young Player - Carl Jenkinson

Jenkinson only wins this award by default as he is the only player aged 21 or under at Arsenal to have appeared in Europe this season. His Performance Score of -8 is from his one and only match against Napoli when the Gunners lost 2-0.

Verdict

It has been good for Arsenal so far. It could have been better, though. They’re now feeling the effects of losing 2-0 to Napoli and finishing as runner-up in the group, as they now face Bayern Munich in the Last 16. They’ve been clinical and compact at the back so if they continue, they may do well against the European champions. However, they really need to create more chances in order to stand a chance.

Prediction: Last Sixteen