This fan post does not reflect the opinions of The Short Fuse.

A shock loss at the Emirates on Monday evening with Wigan taking all 3 points in a hard fought win.

After the jump I'll break down some numbers and scoring chance data to show that although Arsenal were dominant early on, a lethargic and disjointed 2nd half cost the team points.

A quick sketch of the basic EPL provided stats

Arsenal 23 shots 4 on target

Wigan 15 shots 7 on target

Arsenal 64%- 36% Wigan

A couple of thoughts here. Shots off target, I believe, are a pretty useless stat. It is not an accurate reflection on a true scoring chance or an ability to get close to goal. In fact, most shots off target come from a distance, an acute angle or under severe pressure. Shots on target are more reflective of a teams ability to score goals and thus win the game.

Also, there is no way Wigan had 7 shots on target this evening. So I doubt the accuracy of that provided stat. They had 5 by my count. Arsenals number looks sound, though.

Scoring % in the EPL (shots on goal/goals) runs at .31. This % number is far higher for forwards. Get shots on net and good things happen. Only 4 shots on target for Arsenal will not likely result in enough goals to win a game if the opposition scores.

Scoring Chances For Arsenal

Brackets indicates the player who assisted on the chance

6' Benayoun (Sagna) shot saved 8 yards

15' Van Persie (Rosicky) shot blocked 6 yards

16' Benayoun (Rosicky) header saved 12 yards

18' Santos (Rosicky) shot blocked 16 yards

21' Vermaelen (Rosicky) Header goal 12 yards

23' Van Persie (un assisted) Saved 26 yards

24' Djourou (un assisted) shot wide 18 yards

26' Rosicky (Van Persie) shot over 18 yards

32' Santos (Rosicky) shot wide 16 yards

HT

55' Vermaelen (Van Persie) header over 6 yards

58' Santos (Van Persie) shot wide 7 yards

67' Ramsey (Sagna) header over) 9 yards

83 Van Persie (Sagna) shot wide 8 yards

My thoughts here. Arsenal after conceding 2 quick goals took 5 minutes or so to steady themselves and then laid siege to Wigan's goal for 15 minutes.

From 16' to 32' minutes on the clock they tallied 7 scoring chances.

Rosicky was at the hub of most things good for Arsenal. He assisted on 5 chances and had 1 scoring chance himself.

Although Arsenal managed to score during this spell, they seemed to fade badly afterwards. Only 4 scoring chances were tallied from the 33rd minute to the 95th. Just 4 chances in 65 mins which includes the injury time given.

Some credit must go to Wigan. Around the half hour mark they seemed to change shape slightly. They back line played slightly higher up and Wigan's forward press had a little more urgency to it. Credit to Martinez for a small tactical change which coupled with Arsenal seemingly running out of ideas, and the fading of Rosicky gave Wigan all 3 points.

Scoring Chances For Wigan

7' Di Santo shot goal 6 yards

8' Gomez shot goal 3 yards

HT

53' Moses shot saved 12 yards

59' Moses shot saved 19 yards

65' Jordi shot wide 14 yards

70' Jordi shot wide 11 yards

90' Diame shot saved 16 yards

Credit to Wigan for the win. They made the most of a lightning fast start and capitalized on two scoring chances early on. Notice the distance that the scoring chances were converted into goals. Close to the net and you tend to score.

Arsenal scoring chance distances tonight were kept to the periphery apart from a few chance from corners and other headed opportunities. Wigan did well to keep Arsenal at a safe distance in regard to scoring chances given up. The industry of James McCarthy and the outstanding forward play with the constant pressing threat of Di Santo and Moses were standouts for me.

Final Numbers

Scoring chances 1st half

Arsenal 9

Wigan 2

Scoring Chances 2nd half

Arsenal 4

Wigan 5

Individual Numbers

Van Persie 3 chances 3 assists

Rosicky 1 chance 5 assists

Benayoun 2 chances 0 assists

Santos 3 chances 0 assists

Sagna 0 chances 2 assists

Vemaelen 2 chance 0 assists

Djourou 1 chance 0 assists

Ramsey 1 chance 0 assists

Van Persie and Rosicky were the players really driving the scoring chances today, ably assisted by the full backs playing very high up. Sagna and Santos featuring in the numbers aswell.

A disappointing night for Walcott if all is told. He didn't feature on a single scoring chance. In fact he was the only outfield player for Arsenal (discounting Arteta) who failed to tally a scoring chance or a scoring chance assist. Walcott played 90 mins in a game when his team had 64% possession. That doesn't look good on paper.

Thanks for reading.

I am a Man City fan (don't be too harsh) writing for Bitter and Blue under the SBNation network