What's wrong with Arsenal and Chelsea – in numbers
With the two London clubs facing a crisis, perhaps in-demand manager Jurgen Klopp should start planning a move to the capital?
Jurgen Klopp should wait before he starts looking at houses in Liverpool. The German manager has been tipped to replace Brendan Rodgers at Anfield after his side's faltering start to the season, but after a disastrous night for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League the chances of a vacancy arising in London look a little more likely.
Predictably Arsenal's anti-Arsene Wenger lynch mob, led by celebrity journalist Piers Morgan, was out in force on social media and radio phone-in shows after the Gunners capitulated to Greek side Olympiakos at the Emirates, while even level headed observers agreed that Chelsea's defeat to Porto hinted at some serious problems for Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge.
But how bad have Arsenal and Chelsea been this season?
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Row 0 - Cell 0 | P | W | D | L | F | A |
Arsenal | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 13 |
Chelsea | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 18 |
Combined | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 36 | 31 |
Against others | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 28 |
Between them the two London clubs have a win ratio of just 45.5 per cent, and when the two matches they have played against each other this season are taken out of the equation the ratio falls to 44.4 per cent.
They are averaging 1.6 goals a game, which is not unhealthy, but are conceding 1.4 which is less encouraging, and a record of three draws in 22 games, with nine losses also suggests that both teams are having trouble avoiding defeat.
Chelsea's record is the worse of the two. As the BBC points out, they have already lost as many games this season as they did in the whole of the 2014-15 campaign.
Last season the Blues also had the best defence in the league, and conceded 32 goals in 38 games. This season they have shipped 18 goals in just 11 games at an average of just over 1.5 a game.
"If Mourinho was a new manager coming into the Barclays Premier League, he would have been sacked. He looks as vulnerable as his players," says Tony Cascarino of The Times.
Over at the Emirates, things are not quite so bad, except for the fact that the Gunners are bottom of their Champions League group after two damaging defeats. While they have been criticised defensively, their record in that department is actually better than Chelsea's and they have kept four clean sheets this season.
It is in front of goal that the problems are most apparent. A return of 16 goals in 11 games may not look disastrous, but take away the five they scored against Leicester and it is just 11 in ten games. Last season the Gunners managed 71 goals in the league, that appears to be a long way off at present. This season they have scored two league goals in three games and, taking the game against Olympiakos into account, it is four goals in four games and only one win in front of their fans.
Football journalist Henry Winter told the BBC that the Gunners have a structural problem on and off the pitch. "There's something wrong in the DNA and the mentality of Arsenal," he said. The club is suffering from a lack of leadership, which is apparent in the boardroom, the dugout and on the field.
Gab Marcotti of ESPN agrees. "At some point Arsenal - and, by this, I mean the guy who ultimately makes the big decisions, majority shareholder Stan Kroenke - need to explain to fans what they are trying to do," he writes.
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