Arsenal's Creative Struggles in Open Play: A Potential Title-Deciding Factor

Welcome to The Debrief, a Sky Sports column where Adam Bate combines data and opinion to reflect on key Premier League stories. This week, we examine Arsenal's concerning performance against Bournemouth, which highlighted their lack of creativity in open play. The Gunners' reliance on set-pieces has been a theme this season, but their inability to create scoring opportunities from open play is a growing concern. With an expected goals total of just 0.18 from open play, Arsenal's performance was underwhelming. The focus on set-plays has been a successful tactic, but it can also hinder the team's momentum. The opportunity cost of sending defenders up for set-pieces can be significant, and on Saturday, it felt like a struggle to watch. In total, 26 minutes and 48 seconds of the match were spent with the ball dead, and six minutes preparing for corners. Perhaps Arsenal know their strengths, but it made for a disjointed game, and this has been a recurring issue. They have had more matches with an open-play expected goals total of 0.3 or lower than Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea combined. This is unusual for a Premier League leader, as the eventual winners typically rank among the top two for open-play creativity. Arsenal rank sixth on this metric, below Brighton. If they can beat City next time out, it might not matter, but their lack of fluency could be a problem. Meanwhile, Jarrod Bowen played a crucial role in West Ham's 4-0 win over Wolves, moving them out of the relegation zone. Bowen has been consistent, with eight assists and eight goals in the Premier League this season. Since signing for West Ham in 2020, he ranks among the top half-dozen players for goal involvements. His consistency is underlined by the fact that only two other players, Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes, have registered more than 10 goal involvements in each of the past six seasons. If Bowen can finish the season strongly, he could join an exclusive club and help keep his team in the competition. Elsewhere, Sunderland's Brian Brobbey impressed in their 1-0 win over Tottenham, leading the line effectively. According to statistics, Brobbey is one of the best in the Premier League at holding the ball up, with a success rate higher than anyone else near the top of the list.