Arsenal vs Man City Stats: 5 Key Numbers You Need to See Now

16/07/2025 David

Alright lads, settle in. Was doing my usual Saturday night deep dive after the big match, right? Arsenal and City going at it is always spicy, and I just had to know what the real story was behind the scoreline. Ended up neck-deep in numbers like some kind of football detective. Figured I’d write down how I usually tackle this mess.

First Thing First: Grabbing the Raw Stuff

Woke up Sunday morning, brewed an stupidly strong pot of coffee – needed it, trust me – fired up the laptop. Headed straight to my go-to stats sites. You know how it is, gotta verify facts. Spent way too long flipping between tabs, cross-checking possession percentages from two different sources. Confirmed Arsenal really did edge it slightly. Made a mental note.

The Spreadsheet Grind

Copy-pasting is my life some days. Highlighted blocks of numbers on the sites, slammed them into a Google Sheet I’ve got set up – it’s frankly, a bit of a chaotic mess visually, but it works for me. Needed to see the actual figures side-by-side. Especially focused on:

Shots on Target: City having more but Arsenal’s conversion… interesting.
xG (Expected Goals): This always sparks debate. City’s total surprised me, higher than I remembered watching the game.
Passes Inside Final Third: Pure dominance for City there. Expected, but seeing the actual number… wow.
Tackles Won: Arsenal absolutely crunching this one. Proper grit.
Fouls Suffered: Especially by Saka vs Walker. Big talking point post-match, numbers backed it up painfully.

Started scribbling notes on a pad next to the keyboard. Coffee stains already appearing. Classic.

Connecting the Dots (Trying To, Anyway)

This is where my brain starts hurting. Staring at the sheet, flipping back to the match highlights replaying on a second screen, muttering to myself. “Okay, City’s got the ball mostly… but Arsenal’s tackles won are way up… and City’s xG is high but they only scored once… How?” Ended up staring at that damn Arsenal tackles won figure versus City’s passes in the final third. Arsenal disrupted like mad even without the ball constantly. Not pretty possession, but effective disruption where it counted.

The “Oh!” Moment

Happens almost every time. One stat suddenly clicks with what my gut felt watching the game. Yesterday? It was Saka’s fouls suffered number. Watching back the specific challenges logged, paired with that crazy high number… confirmed the absolute battle down that flank. Stats validating the eyeball test is weirdly satisfying. Slapped the desk. “Right?! RIGHT?” Woke the cat.

Brewing Thoughts for the Post

Leaned back, nursing cold coffee now. The five numbers screaming loudest were those five I listed above. They told the real story better than just yelling “City dominated!” or “Arsenal grafted!”. Started jotting down bullet points in my draft:

Don’t be fooled by City’s possession/territory.
Arsenal’s defending was aggressive & smart.
Saka needs a padded suit.
City should have scored more? (But didn’t!).
Efficiency edge to Arsenal despite less.

Took one last look at the messy spreadsheet, the scribbled notepad, the replay still paused on a tough Saka challenge. Yeah. Those five stats nailed the essence of the battle. Shared the core findings as a quick tweet, saved the detailed sheet for later. Maybe I overthink football stats. Or maybe everyone else doesn’t think enough? Who knows. Another Saturday night down the stats rabbit hole.

TLDR: Dug through stats, confirmed City bossed the ball but Arsenal won the crucial battles (tackles!), took their chance better (xG vs actual goals!), and poor Saka took a pounding (fouls suffered!). The numbers don’t lie… mostly. Just need to dig ’em up properly.