By David 
This morning I figured I’d catch up on the Emirates Cup preseason action. Flipped on my laptop thinking “easy Arsenal win here” since Monaco’s rebuild is still cooking. Pulled up the live stats tab first thing – always like watching numbers move alongside the game.
First Half Madness
Saw that crazy two-minute double punch around the 30′ mark. Balogun smashed one against his old club, looked proper sharp. Then Arsenal immediately hit back through Ødegaard – sweet finish near post. Stats showed Arsenal had like 60% possession but only two shots on target! Monaco parked that bus real good.
Digging Post-Match Stats
Post-game I pulled detailed metrics. Weirdly Arsenal “won” by every measure except the only one that counts:
- Possession 62% Arse, 38% Monaco
- Shots 17 vs 9
- Expected Goals 1.8 vs 0.7
Mad how Monaco’s keeper got player of the match. Checked his stats – 7 saves with five being clear goal opportunities. Broke my spreadsheet formula trying to calculate his overperformance!
Strikers Tell The Tale
Focusing on attackers showed why Arsenal didn’t finish it:
- Havertz: 0 shots on target. 12 times he lost the ball? Woof.
- Nketiah: xG of 0.4 but scored zip
- Meanwhile Monaco’s Diop: One shot all game – banged in the winner
Classic case of stats lying through their damn teeth. My chart plotting chance conversion looked like a cliff drop for Arsenal.
The Final Math
End of my analysis? Monaco 2 – 1 Arsenal on actual goals. Expected goals said Arsenal 1.8 – 0.7 but football isn’t played on spreadsheets. Player ratings backed it up too – Monaco’s defense averaged 7.9 ratings vs Arsenal’s 6.4. Gonna need way more coffee before Arsenal’s next friendly…
