Arsenal fans will love the stat that silences every doubter

Throughout this campaign, and previous ones if we're being totally honest, there has been plenty of discourse around this Arsenal team. Paul Scholes, for one, asserted that they would be the worst Premier League champions ever, while many have labelled Mikel Arteta's team "boring" and "over-reliant on set-pieces".

Not sure any of the 150,000 Gooners at the Emirates partying on Tuesday night really care about that; wonder how the zeitgeist will change if they manage to beat holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Final in Budapest. Even before then, a mind-blowing statistic has come to late that is very much in contrast to the widespread media narrative.

This season, across 61 matches in all competitions, Arsenal have only been behind by 2 or more goals for 26 minutes. This came during the second half of March's EFL Cup final after Nico O'Reilly's double had secured victory for Manchester City. Arteta's team have barely even been behind by a single goal in the Premier League this year, as the numbers prove.

Percentage of time Premier League clubs have spent behind 25/26

Note: Statistics courtesy of SoccerStats.

Amazingly, Arsenal have only been behind for 8.6% of Premier League matches this season, second only to Manchester City. On the flip side, the Gunners have been ahead 42% of the time, again second only the Pep Guardiola's team.

So, how long have Arsenal really behind trailing in total?

Total minutes Arsenal have been behind in matches 25/26

Across the 5,490 minutes Arsenal have played this season, they have only been behind for 403 of them, which equates to 7.34%. In the Premier League, that tally is only 287 minutes, of which a miserly 152 have come at home, these against the two Manchester clubs and Bournemouth.

All of these are remarkably low tallies, underlining that this team have been capable of exacting the control that Arteta desires. Very rarely does it feel as though Arsenal need to throw the kitchen sink at opponents and these numbers underline why. So, after Sunday's trophy presentation day at Selhurst Park, all eyes will turn to Budapest for the Champions League final.

Of course, holders Paris Saint-Germain will kick off at the Puskás Aréna as favourites, but having just won their first title in 22 years, Arsenal will arrive in Hungary brimming with confidence. Given how much attacking quality Luis Enrique's les Rouge-et-Bleu possess, staying in the tie will be the name of the game for Arteta's team, something they have very much excelled at, which bodes well.

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