"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics" mused Benjamin Disraeli, perhaps not fully understanding how common the use of statistics, or "stats", would become in today's world.

Statistics give a very good insight into the performance of a player throughout the season. However, there are intangibles qualities to performance, and therefore statistical analyses must always be taken with a pinch of salt. 

Nevertheless, Arsenal.com today released the official statistics relating to Arsenal's first team in the English Premier League. It certainly made for some interesting reading.

 

Goalkeepers: Almunia's first full season a reasonable success

Manuel Almunia appeared in his first full season, making 32 of a possible 38 appearances. He kept 15 clean sheets, which meant that he performed efficiently for approximately 50 percent of the games in which he featured.

However, he also conceded 26 goals in the 17 others games in which he appeared. 

His distribution success-rate of 64 percent was also impressive.

Lukasz Fabianski though, managed to keep only two clean sheets in his six appearances—one notably at Old Trafford, with his distribution success-rate being 63 percent.

 

Defenders: Silvestre certainly not a "geriatric."

The statistics as far as defenders are concerned made for some interesting reading. We know how poor Arsenal were at the back for long spells during the season, but what would concern Arsene Wenger is the lack of an offensive threat posed by the full-backs. 

Bacary Sagna made only ONE assist in his 35 games, and Gael Clichy made NONE in his 31 appearances. The right back though made the most clearances of the back four this season (44). Sagna also had a healthy tackle-success rate of 71 percent.

Clichy opened his goal tally for Arsenal this season, but only had a tackle-success rate of 59 percent. But he did make 10 interceptions, the most by any Arsenal defender.

Many will be surprised to know that Mikael Silvestre is no slouch in the tackle—the French centre-back had a very respectable tackle-success rate of 100 percent in his 14 games. Kolo Toure had an excellent tackle-success rate at 90 percent, considering that he played 2280 minutes, and he also made the most blocks (13).

William Gallas is technically one of the better Arsenal defenders. He had an impressive pass-success rate at 73 percent. However, his passes must have all been either short forward or sideways passes.

Johan Djourou made 15 appearances this term and had a superb tackle-success rate at 92 percent, losing just 1 in 11 tackles. His pass-completion rate was also impressive at 78 percent.

Keiran Gibbs also showed that he didn't necessarily "play the Arsenal way"—making 32 clearences in his eight games (Clichy made 40 in his 31 games).

 

Midfield: Nasri's impressive first season

In midfield, Samir Nasri enjoyed a very good first season at Arsenal—he appeared 29 times in the Premier League and managed to score six goals (including a notable deuce against Manchester United). He also had a large share of successful dribbles and a healthy pass-completion rate at 63 percent.

He also had an impressive shots accuracy, with 78 percent of efforts on target.

Denilson has had a steady season, appearing in 37 games (more than any Arsenal player) and made the most completed passes at 164. He also had seven assists to his name, but managed to score only one goal all season long.

Alexandre Song also made progress this season. In his 31 games, his pass-success rate was higher than Denilson's at 69 percent. His tackle-success rate was at impressive 76 percent. But a criticism of the defensive midfielder, like Denilson, would be his goal tally of one all season.

Abou Diaby was statistically the poorest Arsenal midfielder. He attempted the least passes in his 24 games, but managed a pass-success rate of 66 percent. Playing deep in midfield or on the left-flank, the French midfielder managed a tackle-success rate of just 52 percent.

Cesc Fabregas had a hugely disappointing season, but managed 10 assists in his 22 games. His pass-completion percentage was largely disappointing at 55 percent, considering he is seen as the pass master at Arsenal.

Andrey Arshavin played an impressive cameo in the latter stages of the season. In his 12 appearances, the Russian scored six goals and made seven. He also impressed with his shooting accuracy, at 74 percent.

He also had the best "minutes per goal" of any Arsenal player at 166 minutes per goal.

Theo Walcott had a relatively good season for Arsenal, but the statistics don't reflect that. The right-winger made just two assists throughout the campaign and scored just two goals in his 22 games. 

Overall, the statistics point to the inexperience in the Arsenal midfield, with comparatively low passing completion rates standing out against competing sides.

Of Arsenal's 68 goals this season, the midfield managed only 24—a paltry number.

The lack of a settled midfield four caused all the problems and Arsene Wenger will certainly know that his midfielders (existing or new) will have to pull their socks up to improve their performances from this season.

 

Attackers: Any guesses for the most "flagged" player?

Arsenal predominantly used only three forwards all season. Robin van Persie had a relatively injury-free season. He scored 11 goals in the Premier League with a shot-success rate of only 50 percent. He also had the weakest pass-completion rate of all the attackers at 64 percent. He also played for the most number of minutes among the attackers this season (2213).

van Persie also had 10 assists to his name during this campaign.

It's also worth noting that the Dutchman struck the woodwork a whopping SIX times this season.

Nicklas Bendtner appeared in 31 games this season and managed to score 9 goals. His shot-success rate was better than that of van Persie's at 58 percent. 

Emmanuel Adebayor, the most lamented player at Arsenal at the moment, had an impressive season—statistically.

He scored 10 goals in 26 appearances, and made us wait 191 minutes for every goal he scored. He had 7 assists to his name, but was flagged offside a shocking 43 times.

 

To sum up

Denilson played the most number of minutes for Arsenal (3148).

Robin van Persie top scored for Arsenal with 11 goals.

Bacary Sagna made the most number of tackles (32).

Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie made the most assists (10).

Denilson was also the 16th most efficient player in the Premier League, according to Actim.

 

Clearly, the defense started focusing more on retreating rather than surging forward due to the defensive frailties witnessed at games against Tottenham (home), Stoke and Manchester City (away). The first-choice full backs made only one assist all season between them.

The midfielders were steady at best, but without their lynch-pin for most of the season—they were lost. Andrey Arshavin's injection in the middle of the season gave the midfield a face-lift, but the statistics don't lie when they say that only 35 percent of Arsenal's goals came from midfield.

The attackers did well, considering the midfield behind them, but the statistics point out that Adebayor and Bendtner, the oft-criticized pair, were more statistically efficient than the "best" Arsenal forward—Robin van Persie.

Overall, Arsenal had a mediocre league campaign and the statistics back it up.