Arsenal's Creative Drought: A Threat to Their Title Ambitions?

In the latest edition of The Debrief, a Sky Sports column, Adam Bate analyzes the key stories from recent Premier League matches, using a combination of data and opinion. This week, he examines Arsenal's dismal performance against Bournemouth, which has put the title back in the balance. The Gunners' lack of creativity from open play, with an expected goals total of just 0.18, raises concerns about their ability to win the title. While their focus on set-pieces has been a successful strategy, it may also be damaging their momentum. In total, 26 minutes and 48 seconds of the match were spent with the ball dead, including six minutes preparing for corners and seven minutes waiting for throw-ins. Arsenal's reliance on set-pieces has been a theme of their campaign, but it made for a disjointed game. The team often struggles to create from open play, with six matches this season having an open-play expected goals total of 0.3 or lower. This is unusual for a Premier League leader, as the eventual winners of the competition have typically ranked among the top two for open-play creativity. Arsenal currently ranks sixth on this metric, below Brighton. The Gunners' lack of fluency may be a problem, especially as Manchester City looks capable of going on a run. Meanwhile, West Ham's 4-0 win over Wolves moved them out of the relegation zone, thanks in part to Jarrod Bowen's two assists. Bowen has been a consistent player for the Irons, with eight goal involvements in the Premier League this season. He ranks among the top half a dozen players in the league for goal involvements since signing for West Ham in January 2020. If Bowen can finish the season strongly, he may join an exclusive club of players with 20 goal involvements in each of the last three Premier League seasons. Erling Haaland is the only player to have achieved this feat so far. West Ham's chances of staying up were further boosted by Tottenham's 1-0 defeat to Sunderland, with Brian Brobbey impressing as a striker. Brobbey has held the ball up 48 times this season, with a high success rate of retaining possession. His total of six Premier League goals may seem modest, but all six have been the final goal of the game, directly winning Sunderland eight points.