An attack that can produce 1.6-1.8 non-penalty xG per match alongside an elite defense that holds teams under 0.8-1.0 allowed is a recipe for winning a lot of matches. We’d all love to see the attacking number go higher, but as we have learned we don’t want to see that at the expense of giving up more opportunities to our opponents.

It would be ideal to marry an elite attack with an elite defense, but the next best outcome is to have a very good attack and an elite defense and that is exactly where Arsenal find themselves.