This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.cannonstats.comIn this special episode of the Cannon Stats podcast, Scott is joined by Jake Entwistle to dive talk about the youths.This episode explores Arsenal’s thriving Hale End and the striker options to suplant the perhaps unrealistic target of Alexander Isak. The first half unpacks Hale End’s golden generation, spotlighting Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
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43:46
3-0 and Dreaming
Adam and Scott are back to give an analytical deep dive into Arsenal’s Champions League heroics and beyond! Fresh off a stunning 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the quarter-final first leg, we unpack the tactics, standout performances, and what lies ahead fro Arsenal.It is a full show with things starting with with Arsenal’s Emirates masterclass, with a tactical breakdown, second-leg strategy, rankings of all the potential other teams in the CL, and a short weekend preview vs. Brentford.Arsenal dominated with 12 shots, 64% field tilt, and 2 big chances. Declan Rice’s two free-kick golazos and Mikel Merino’s clinical finish sealed the rout. We analyze Arteta’s high press, Jakub Kiwior and William Saliba’s defensive solidity, and the brillance of Myles Lewis-Skelly. Was this Arsenal’s best under Arteta? The best in the Emirates era? At the Bernabéu, should Arsenal press or protect their lead? We explore countering Mbappe and Vinícius Jr., set-piece defense, and lineup choices. Arteta’s “half-time” mantra aims to keep focus amid 80,000 fans and a trip to a place none of these players have been to with Arsenal.We then spend the second half going through each of the other teams in the Champions League doing a quick power rank and talking through their first leg matches.Like, subscribe and do all that great stuff. Thanks for Listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cannonstats.com/subscribe
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1:04:41
Gabriel out :-( | Gyökeres in?
Adam and Scott get together to chat about the latest news in the Arsenal world. That of course, means we get to chat about the injury to Gabriel Magalhães.* How does the club cope with him out?* Is it Kiwor next man up or something more exotic?* How much blame does the club have for this and the other hamstring injuries?Hamstring Injuries in context:Arsenal are a bit above average (3.8 and 3.5 median) this season with there 5 total injuries. 3 of Arsenal’s have been to the level that they decided to go to surgery but it is one of those where we can’t really say with confidence that these were grade 2 or 3 injuries here.Then, there is the other big news with fresh links to Viktor Gyökeres. This has been a more divisive link than many I remember in recent times and that means it makes for excellent fodder for conversation.He has been a topic of our writing previously, which is linked here:The big topics here are about the relative quality of the Portuguese League and how that translates for a player like Gyökeres, because there is no doubt that what he has done there is mighty impressive.The major part here is that the difference between the top teams in Portugal and England is noticeable but it really drops off after you get past the top 4 teams. Elo ratings aren’t perfect here (they are also backed up by the Opta team ratings) but it is one of those things where the level is much closer to the Championship than the Premier League.This is backed up by the wages that these teams have as well. Sporting laps the League with what they can pay and then it drops quickly. These are sums that are less than most teams in the Championship.Viktor Gyökeres goals against the top Portuguese teams (in the league): Benfica - 270 minutes, 1 goal Porto - 247 minutes, 4 goals (1 penalty)Braga - 263 minutes, 1 goal 0.58 Non-penalty goals over 8.7 90s played.This dosen’t mean that players can’t translate from Portugal to the Premier League; I think it just means that it is important to have more skepticism about what the numbers mean and to have larger error bars with an expectation is adjusted down. Here is how the adjusted numbers look compared to Havertz:Thank you for listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cannonstats.com/subscribe
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1:05:48
Which players would you swap Odegaard with?
It has been too long of a break and we appologize for that. To make it up, Adam and Scott are coming in with some potential hot take topics here.The duo starts out with a good hypothetical: which players in the world right now would you have serious considerations to replace Martin Odegaard at Arsenal?Adam went with the following: Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, maybe Cole Palmer but not really and a whole bunch of not really sure there is better options.Scott went with the following: Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Pedri, Jude BellinghamThis is a fun exercise to do because I think you start realizing that while Odegaard might not be the best player in the position, the number of players that are for sure an upgrade, plus don’t have some other flaw in their game like their age that tilts things against them, is quite hard.This digs into some of the bigger issues that we have with player discussion in general, especially how familiarity breeds contempt and a bit of grass is always greener with other players. Scott went deep into this topic if you haven’t seen it yet, it is worth checking out.With Saka back on the grass and Scott with egg on his face for his pessimism, the next question is how do Arsenal set up and how do they go about setting up for the rest of the season? Also, how do they prioritize things while they are mostly safe in second place and set for Champions League qualification while juggling the Champions League?Should Arsenal move Odegaard? Move Nwaneri? Move Saka to left-back (Joking)? Who is going to be starting striker? It’s April 16th at the Santiago Bernabéu what does Arsenal’s eleven look like? What if we have a team that we expect to throw a deep block at Arsenal? One the other big bits of news that has hit during our break is the addition of Andrea Berta as Director of Football.It is an action packed episode and glad to get back into the swing of things. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cannonstats.com/subscribe
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1:03:26
So Back from the Precipice of Being So Over
It is amazing what a couple of big wins will do for the mood and confidence and optimism around the club.Scott and Adam talk about the back-to-back scintillating performances against two tricky teams in Nottingham Forest and Sporting CP.* The return of Odegaard gets the ball flowing again* The return of healthy fullbacks adds balance* Rotation!Then the conversation turns to how Viktor Gyokeres looked and if our opinions on him changed at all with his performance against Arsenal.Then it is a bigger picture view of the Champions League situation.As the podcast moves into the second half the topic switches to how Arsenal handled the injury and suspension crisis and if the club could have done anything better for that. Last it wraps with a high-level view of the Premier League.It is a full podcast and one that hits on a lot. Lastly, we want to thank all the listeners and subscribers, we just had our 2nd anniversary of the website and still feel blown away by the support.We hope everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving has a good one, and if you don’t that you have a wonderful rest of the week. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.cannonstats.com/subscribe
South Africa