Arsenal face Fulham in the Premier League at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
With Stats Zone, you can brush up on the facts and figures behind every Gunners match this season, brought to you by Opta and the official matchday programme.
PER MERTESACKER - 100 UP
KEY BATTLE - OZIL v PARKER
Mesut Ozil's return to the Arsenal team after injury adds an extra layer of creativity to an already free-flowing side. The Germany international has created 48 chances for his team-mates in his 16 Premier League games this season, an average of three per match - a total which puts him third behind only Eden Hazard (50) and David Silva (49). He also has seven assists to his name, placing him second behind Wayne Rooney.
"Ozil has created 48 chances for his team-mates in 16 Premier League games this season, an average of three per match"
Ozil may have had one of his quieter games at Aston Villa on Monday night, but he still supplied a sublime through ball to Nacho Monreal in the lead-up to Jack Wilshere's opener, and dragged the home defenders out of position numerous times. Back on home soil, he will be confident off adding to his already impressive statistics against Fulham.
The man most likely to be tasked with shackling him is former Tottenham Hotspur captain Scott Parker. The 33-year-old is a tenacious and energetic player, whose aim will be to shut down Ozil, deny him space and cut off much of Arsenal's creativity at source. Parker has won 77.8 per cent of his tackles so far this season, made 29 interceptions and 23 clearances. He has also conceded 23 fouls and picked up four yellow cards in his 18 games.
Escaping Parker's attentions will be no easy task for Ozil, but if he can find the space he is so adept at finding then you can expect him to add to his chance creation stats and cause havoc in the visitors' defence.
ARSENAL v FULHAM - MATCH FACTS
- Fulham have never won away at Arsenal in any competition, losing 22 of the 27 visits to the Gunners. They have, however, drawn the last two
- Darren Bent has scored eight goals in his last 10 appearances in all competitions against Arsenal, including five in the last four
- Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski have both scored three goals in three Premier League appearances against Fulham
- There have been four red cards in the last six Premier League meetings between these London rivals, but all of them have come at Craven Cottage
- Arsenal have kept seven clean sheets in their last eight games in all competitions at the Emirates Stadium, conceding just one goal in the other match
- Fulham have allowed 133 shots on target this season, more than any other club in the Premier League
- Arsenal can match their best run of the season with a win in this game (five wins in a row)
- Arsenal have played 39 through balls this season (a joint-high with Liverpool), while Fulham have played only eight
The matchday programme is now available on the iPad! Find out more here.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.