Arsenal: The weird phenomenon of goalscoring flurries

Arsenal have only played well in fits and starts this year. As a result, there has been a weird phenomenon of goalscoring flurries in matches. Here, I investigate why.

Arsenal haven’t put together a full 90 minutes together yet this season. Unai Emery is still implementing his system and style and it is clear that there are some growing pains as this relatively new collection of players — next weekend, there will likely be five starters who have all been signed within the past three transfer windows — adapts to the new regime.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

But every now and then, it just clicks. What Emery is trying to install suddenly just works, the players slip into a state of instinct, rather than hesitancy and overthinking, and the play flows smoothly, quickly and potently.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

It has shown in the speed of the goals that they have scored. In Saturday’s win over Watford, for example, the first goal was scored in the 81st minute. The second, by Mesut Ozil, was scored in the 83rd. In that match, Arsenal struggled to break Watford down and create any meaningful opportunities prior to the goal, other than when Alexandre Lacazette nicked the ball away from Craig Cathcart in the first half and but only proceded to chip by the far post. But once the first goal was scored, they suddenly looked far more dangerous.

Similarly, in another 2-0 win the week prior over Everton, Lacazette opened the scoring in the 56th minute. Three minutes later, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added the second. In the 20 minutes, from half-time through to the 65th minute, surrounding the goals, Arsenal had four shots. In the other 70 minutes of the match, they only five shots with just three coming in the first half. This team creates and scores in spurts.

In a 4-2 win over FC Vorskla, the Gunners scored all four goals in a 42-minute span, less than half of the 90 minutes played. In a 2-1 win over Newcastle, the two goals were separated by just nine minutes. And then against Chelsea, in a 3-2 loss back in August, Arsenal scored their two goals in just four first-half minutes.

Even more noticeably in that game, however, was the distribution of their chances. Arsenal had 15 shots in that game. Eight of them, over half, came in a 22-minute spell to end the first half, and 12 of the 15 came in the first half entirely. It is an odd phenomenon that has repeated itself time and time again this season: Emery’s side seems to be able to score in blistering quick bursts but also grow dormant for large portions of matches.

Is it merely just a consequence of a team adapting to a new style, such that it clicks here and there but is a little inconsistent and incoherent at times? Or does it illustrate a characteristic of these players, that the players themselves fluctuate greatly, even within matches? Perhaps it is a combination of both.

It is not necessarily a bad thing, either. While it would be nice to see this team put together a 90 minute performance, their ability to score and score quickly does make them dangerous, no matter what the score is and no matter what stage the game is in. This is a high-scoring team. But it is also a quick-scoring team. Let’s hope that they can combine the two as the season progresses.