English Premier League: A Dozen Facts and Figures in EPL till the 6th week (Part 3)
5. 5 - The 33 year old Spanish goal keeper Manuel Almunia has been the heart of Arsenal problems since last season and his dismissive performance continues in this season.
Last season Arsenal lost 22 points just because of goal keeping errors and who else but Arsenal’s most trusted man with the gloves Almunia happened to be standing between the posts to ensure that.
In the season of 2009-10 they ultimately finished with 76 points which is just 6 short of the leaders and holders of English Premier League title, Chelsea.
This season a similar story is being seen again. Fans are heavily criticizing the decisions made by Gunners manager Arsene Wenger who refused to bring a new goal keeper at North London despite of having 45 million pounds in his
pocket that were solely reserved to buy in new players.
He will be regretting his decision now as the keeper has already shown his klutziness on field. Their reserve shot stopper 25 year old Lukasz Fabianski is no better than Almunia, in fact he has endangered Arsenal’s campaign even
further.
In the recent Carling Cup match against rivals Tottenham Hotspurs, though Arsenal defeated a lack lustrous reserve team by 4-1 it was Fabianski who made a fool of himself this time.
Almunia on the other hand showed his handy skills again in the English Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners suffered a humiliating defeat 3-2 defeat at home by Baggies which made
them loose crucial points to Manchester United who are now at the 2nd position and competing with Chelsea for the top spot.
In reference to Almunia’s performance it can be said that though his performance has been disappointing, it does not suggest that the glove man lacks skills. His decision making capability is what has let him down and needs serious
work.
That is supported by the fact that Almunia has saved
5 of the 6 penalties at the Emirates Stadium. This suggests that in an ideal situation where nothing but skill is tested Almunia can succeed. Nevertheless it would still be wise for Wenger to find a replacement for him.
6. 2 - There has been a heavy deficiency of luck in the English Premier League this season. There have already been numerous woodwork strikes and many close calls.
Just last weekend, there had been 2 major moments where players struck the goal frame not once but twice. The first one was with Kenwyne Jones from Stoke City who struck the wood work twice but in the end they
did defeat Newcastle United 2-1.
The other player was Andrei Arshavin of Arsenal who had to face defeat in the face humiliation as the North London were defeated at the Emirates Stadium 3-2 by West Brom.
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