Arsenal have had just two penalties all season and, when you consider that they have more touches in the opposition box than any other side, it makes you wonder what is going on…

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 09: Jordan Henderson of Liverpool clashes with Granit Xhaka of Arsenal after a penalty was given to Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC at Emirates Stadium on October 09, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 09: Jordan Henderson of Liverpool clashes with Granit Xhaka of Arsenal after a penalty was given to Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC at Emirates Stadium on October 09, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

We all know that Arsenal rarely get penalties.

They’ve had just two awarded all season.

A good indicator of how many penalties you can perhaps expect is how often you touch the ball in the opposition box. It stands to reason that the more you are in the other box, the more likely you are to be fouled.

So how, exactly, do Arsenal only have two penalties when they make more touches in the box than any other side in the Premier League?

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Do teams magically tackle better when they face Arsenal?

Two penalties puts Arsenal 12th in terms of penalty awards this season.

By my count, Arsenal have had at least eight good calls turned down, including a number on Gabriel and, of course, the assaults that happen to Bukayo Saka on a regular basis without punishment.

Top touches in the opposition box this season

Squad Touches in oppo box
Arsenal 993
Manchester City 949
Liverpool 842
Newcastle Utd 760
Brighton 694
Manchester Utd 647
Tottenham 639
Chelsea 630
Brentford 584
Leeds United 562
Southampton 557
Wolves 539
Everton 538
Aston Villa 529
Fulham 527
Leicester City 514
West Ham 511
Crystal Palace 480
Bournemouth 453
Nott’ham Forest 412

 

As you can see, Manchester City are second in the touches table. They are also second in the number of penalties awarded.

Penalties awarded in 22/23

Squad Penalties awarded
▼
West Ham 7
Fulham 7
Brentford 6
Manchester City 6
Brighton 4
Newcastle Utd 4
Tottenham 4
Aston Villa 3
Chelsea 3
Nott’ham Forest 3
Southampton 3
Arsenal 2
Everton 2
Manchester Utd 2
Wolves 2
Leeds United 2
Leicester City 2
Crystal Palace 2
Liverpool 1
Bournemouth 0

[source]

Last season, Arsenal were awarded eight penalties (the third highest in the Premier League behind Chelsea and Manchester City (9 each)) and were fourth for the number of touches in the opposition box (behind City, Liverpool (5th for pen awards) and Chelsea).

As you can see, the number of penalties awarded that season roughly equates to the amount of touches a team has in the opposition box.

So, it’s clear that something has changed this season.

Whatever that could be, who could say…

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