Friday 4 November 2016 21:02, UK
The last round of Premier League fixtures threw up yet more eye-catching facts and figures.
This week Martin Tyler's stats and facts column looks at when Arsenal last beat a top-four team home and away in the same season, the fastest player to record 15 assists in a campaign and the highest number of games a side has gone without scoring and more...
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Tyler’s starting stats
I was at the Etihad Stadium on Super Sunday, where it was unlucky 13 for Manchester City after 12 games unbeaten. There have been three meetings this season between City and Arsenal and City have lost two and draws one – the other Arsenal win was in the Community Shield in August. They drew 2-2 in the Premier League in September.
City have now conceded two goals in each of their last three home games in the Premier League – against Burnley, Sunderland and Arsenal. This is the first time they have shipped two or more in three consecutive home Premier League games since October 2002 when they drew 2-2 with Blackburn and lost 3-0 in games against Chelsea and Liverpool.
City had scored in 18 Premier League games in a row before Sunday. It’s only the third time in 80 home Premier League games where they have failed to score. The others were a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea last February and a 1-0 defeat to Stoke earlier this season.
Santi Cazorla has scored five goals in his last eight games, four of them penalties. He also scored in the Community Shield win at Wembley.
Arsenal scored through Olivier Giroud with their ninth Premier League header of the season - and they have conceded nine headers as well!
Arsenal’s top-four efforts
@SkyFootball When was the last time Arsenal have beaten a top-four team home and away in the same season? #TylersTeasers @AFC_Guly
MARTIN SAYS: Arsenal surprised many people on Sunday with their disciplined 2-0 victory over Manchester City and away day successes have been few and far between against fellow Champions League qualifiers in the last 10 years. To answer your question, Arsenal have only done the double twice against teams that went on to finish in the top four.
In the 2004/05 season Arsenal beat Everton, who finished fourth in that campaign. Amazingly they won 11-1 on aggregate over their two fixtures. They won 4-1 at Goodison Park and 7-0 at Highbury. Amazingly, despite scoring 25 Premier League goals that season, my new colleague Thierry Henry failed to score in either game!
However, in the 2006/07 campaign Henry did score the winner in the 2-1 victory over that season’s champions Manchester United in the game at The Emirates. That followed up a 1-0 Arsenal win earlier that season where Emmanuel Adebayor netted the winner. They also failed from the penalty spot in that game. That was the only other occasion in the last decade when Arsenal have done the double over a team that finished in the top four.
Pass masters
How many passes has Fabregas misplaced this season? #TylersTeasers YanDje Ontoye
MARTIN SAYS: Firstly, Cesc Fabregas has attempted 1,807 passes in the Premier League, with 1,568 of those deemed as completed. That gives him an eye-catching success rate of 86.8% after 22 games of the season. He has misplaced only 239 in total so far.
Just three outfield players have failed to complete more outfield passes this season – although that’s probably because Fabregas attempts many more than most. Only Kieran Trippier of Burnley (355 out of 935 in total), Southampton’s Graziano Pelle (254/731) and Mile Jedinak (242/744) of Crystal Palace have failed with more passing attempts than Fabregas.
Interestingly, eight of the 10 players with the most incomplete passes are goalkeepers according to Opta data – although that inevitably involves a high number of long kicks.
Outfield players with the fewest incomplete passes (2014/15):
Of players that have attempted a minimum of 500 passes this season, the player that has misplaced the fewest is Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho, with the France defender having failed to complete 58 of the 525 passes he has attempted so far this campaign.
King of the assist
@SkyFootball Who’s the fastest player to get 15 assists in a single Premier League season?#TylersTeasers @1905Fahad
MARTIN SAYS: Diego Costa’s second goal against Swansea in the 5-0 win at the weekend was a landmark goal as Cesc Fabregas became the first player to provide 15 assists in two different Premier League seasons (2007/08 and 2014/15).
The Chelsea midfielder has taken five games fewer than anyone else in Premier League history to reach 15 assists. He needed just 21 games to reach the landmark. Robert Pires is second in that list, taking just 26 games in the 2001/02 campaign for Arsenal. I think this says a lot about the quality of Fabregas – and also the quality of the team he is playing in.
The 10 players to reach 15 Premier League assists in the fewest games (courtesy of Opta):
Cesc Fabregas (2014/15) 21 games
Robert Pires (2001/02) 26 games
Frank Lampard (2004/05) 28 games
David Beckham (1999/00) 29 games
Nolberto Solano (1999/00) 30 games
Eric Cantona (1992/93) 33 games
Thierry Henry (2002/03) 34 games
David Silva (2011/12) 36 games
Steve McManaman (1995/96) 38 games
Matt Le Tissier (1994/95) 39 games
Villa’s goalless runs
What is the longest a Premier League team has gone without a goal? How far are Villa off it? Dev (Aston Villa fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Incredibly Aston Villa have just gone five consecutive games without a goal for the second time already in the season, in the process becoming the 22nd team in Premier League history to do that.
The highest number of Premier League fixtures a side has gone without scoring is seven. The record was set by Ipswich Town who went scoreless against Newcastle, Manchester United, Spurs, Norwich, Villa, Leeds and QPR in 1995.
And that run was then equalled 12 years later by Derby County when the Rams failed to net against Reading, Fulham, Everton, Villa, West Ham, Chelsea and Sunderland.
Next up for Paul Lambert’s men are Arsenal away and Chelsea at home, so it’s very possible that they could soon match that unwanted record.
The biggest concern for Villa fans, though, is that of the 19 clubs to have a minimum of a five-game goalless run - excluding this season - only six maintained their top-flight status: Norwich (1992/93)*, Nottingham Forest (1994/95)*, Wimbledon (1994/95)*, Everton (2005/06), West Ham (2006/07), Bolton (2009/10).
*These were 42-game seasons so there was more chance to make up the lost ground.
