EPL: Part 1 Statistics and Figures from the 2nd League weekend
Some fantastic stats and numbers have come out of the English Premier League’s second round of matches. The first team under the scanner from this weekend is Arsenal. The London club who won their last trophy five long years ago played Blackpool over the weekend and won big by scoring six goals without conceding a reply.
Arsenal’s much maligned winger, Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick at the weekend and it was his first for the Gunners ever since his move to the Emirates Stadium. In doing so, Walcott equalled his Premier League tally of goals from last season and even bettered on the total number of goals that he scored in the 2008-2009 season. However, if Walcott managed to score two more league goals in the current league campaign for Arsenal, he would make this present English Premier League season as his most prolific ever in terms of scoring goals.
Something that Arsene Wenger will be disappointed about is that his new signing, Marouane Chamakh had around seven shots on the Blackpool goal before the Moroccan opened his account for the Gunners. Nonetheless, it should be noted that all of Arsenal’s six goals against Blackpool were assisted by different players. Frenchmen Sagna and Diaby grabbed an assist each while Van Persie, Arshavin, Chamakh and Wilshere also got themselves an assist apiece.
Arsenal’s London neighbours Chelsea, who thumped six past Wigan Athletic over the weekend played Drogba upfront. Didier Drogba has either assisted or scored 26 goals in his last eighteen matches in the English Premier League for Chelsea. If this wasn’t enough for the blues, they have scored an astonishing 30 goals since they last conceded a goal in the Premier League. At the DW Stadium against Wigan, Chelsea had a perfect shot conversion rate. Malouda scored with his first attempt on goal and so did the likes of Kalou, Benayoun and Anelka.
However, it was a relatively more disappointing weekend for Aston Villa, who equalled their own worst defeat ever that the club has seen in the English Premier League. This was done when they suffered a 6-0 defeat to Newcastle United at the weekend. Previously, Villa had lost to Chelsea by seven goals to one in March, 2010 during last season’s league campaign. Surprisingly, Villa was so atrocious that they didn’t even manage to get a single shot on target at the St. James’s Park.
Villa’s rivals and city neighbours, Birmingham City had a much better weekend as they won against Blackburn on Saturday, 21st of August 2010. In doing so, Birmingham kept their home record intact of not losing even a single match at the St. Andrew’s stadium since their loss to Bolton in the September of 2009. Additionally, Birmingham City has already picked up four points from losing positions in their two games of the season so far. They drew with Sunderland after coming back to level the game from a two goal deficit and against Blackburn, they came back to win the match after going a goal down.
Title contenders Manchester United had a frustrating weekend as they drew away at Fulham. Their two strikers on the day, Hernandez and Berbatov managed a total of twelve shots on target without scoring a goal in the match which took place at Craven Cottage. United’s midfielder Paul Scholes scored his 150th goal for the club in the match and quite amazingly, Scholes’s ten goals out of the last twelve have come for United in their away matches in the Premier League.
West Brom, who won against Sunderland at home, took sixty four minutes to get their first shot on target at the weekend through Chris Brunt. It should also be noted that the Baggies are unbeaten at their home ground, The Hawthorns stadium since January of 2010, when they lost to Nottingham Forest.
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