When Arsenal finally pulled the trigger and fired Unai Emery in late November it took them a moth to hire his replacement.
Entrenched in a season of struggle, it was always known replacement Mikel Arteta’s job would be to put the pillars in place for a long-term renaissance.
A smart move. All too often managers are swapped and a dead cat bounce is given too much credence.
Not that the Gunners didn’t want results in his first few games, but it’s not the be all and end all as they attempt to change the culture at the club and restore a flowing style of play.
It has been tough for Arteta though, especially with star forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang absent for two Premier League games due to suspension.
Meanwhile, fellow frontman Alexandre Lacazette hasn’t found the net in the English top-flight since November – a worrying development.
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They have at least stopped shipping so many goals with gentle improvements in defence – even with the maligned Shkodran Mustafi back in the side.
But just how have Arsenal been doing compared to the rest of the Premier League since the appointment of Arteta?
The table doesn’t make amazing reading for Gunners fans with just one win in seven under their Spanish boss, but it’s worth noting they have also lost only once – only Liverpool have fared better, failing to taste a defeat.
The fixture list should also be considered to give the table context with Arsenal facing Chelsea twice, Manchester United, and high-flying Sheffield United.
But still, for a club the size of Arsenal, five draws in seven isn’t quite good enough.
So, do underlying statistics make things look any better for Arteta? Are they creating quality chances and decreasing the level of those they concede?
talkSPORT.com have taken a look at UnderStat to find out how Arsenal are performing, according to the expected goals metric?
According to these figures, the Gunners would be 12th on expected points with nine compared to their actual eight so we can see they’re underperforming a touch but not dramatically, giving them a solid enough base to make further improvements.
However, the one thing we can really see is the Gunners are overperforming defensively.
The statistics suggest the value of the shots they have conceded amount to about 10.52 goals but they have only allow seven since Arteta’s arrival.
Now, the pessimists may suggest it’s down to poor finishing but it’s just as much likely to be a sturdy defensive set-up, which would also account for the lack of goals.
Title wins, as Liverpool look set to prove, are built on strong foundations. The results aren’t there just yet, but with a bit of faith goals will start to come at the other end too.
