Arsenal youngster Carlos Vela was at London Colney for training yesterday morning, and although he is yet to play alongside his new team-mates, his Opta stats put him above many of his new colleagues in specific areas.
Vela was on the pitch for 2,009 minutes during the last campaign, with only Emmanuel Adebayor playing for more time. He scored the least amount of goals than the other strikers at the club, but he did play mostly as a winger in a relegation threatened team.
However, he does possess the best shooting accuracy, thrashing Eduardo by 32%. His role as a midfielder clearly showed, as he made the most tackles, and had the most successful tackles. But he made the most fouls, and took the most amount of cards.
Where things get interesting, is when it comes to leading the line. Vela was caught offside on 12 occasions, with Emmanuel Adebayor being caught on the wrong side a massive 66 times. This compares with Eduardo who was flagged just 4 times.
Certainly promising signs from Carlos, who is just 19 years old, the youngest of all the forwards analysed.
Read on for the complete stats for all Arsenal’s strikers.
| Player | C. Vela | E. Adebayor | N. Bendtner | Eduardo | R. Van Persie |
| Season | 07/08 La Liga | 07/08 PL | 07/08 PL | 07/08 PL | 07/08 PL |
| Appearances | 33 | 36 | 27 | 17 | 15 |
| Starts | 21 | 32 | 7 | 13 | 13 |
| Minutes On Pitch | 2,009 | 2,932 | 926 | 965 | 1,079 |
| In Front Of Goal | |||||
| Goals | 3 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| Minutes per goal | 670 | 122 | 185 | 241 | 154 |
| Shots | 33 | 104 | 25 | 17 | 46 |
| Shooting Accuracy | 73% | 51% | 48% | 41% | 50% |
| Chance Conversion | 9% | 23% | 20% | 24% | 15% |
| Passing | |||||
| Assists | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Total Passes | 510 | 1,221 | 431 | 340 | 392 |
| Pass Completion % | 75% | 80% | 71% | 78% | 80% |
| Crossing | |||||
| Total Crosses | 75 | 47 | 22 | 28 | 56 |
| Cross Completion % | 15% | 15% | 9% | 29% | 14% |
| Tackling | |||||
| Tackles Made | 41 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 11 |
| Tackles Won % | 85% | 80% | 69% | 64% | 73% |
| Discipline | |||||
| Fouls | 58 | 55 | 10 | 19 | 21 |
| Offside | 12 | 66 | 9 | 4 | 10 |
| Yellow Cards | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Article By – J.Sanderson
jay do you think that barazite has a futre at arsenal
Great J.
Nr70, Barazite is a talented player, i doubt we’ll be letting him go so soon.
Barazite is one our most exceptional talents, not a chance he would leave on a permanent basis.
He probably has the best chance of the current youngsters to make it at Arsenal. We the fans and barazite himself might have to be a bit patient but he is a fantastic prospect. Many people don’t know just how good he is. Arsenals best kept secret i call him.
Eduardo has nice stats. Bendtner isn’t that bad.
Goonie, he is indeed our best kept secret. I’m surprised he doesn’t carry a bat to fight of scouts.
Sorry mate, but if he is only converting 9% of his chances and the rest are converting above 20% (apart from RVP) then he can not be classed as our most accurate striker. Yes he hits the target, but we dont get any points for that – it is conversion that tells how good a striker is.
The lad is one I am looking forward to seeing play next season, however, if the starts are correct then it shows that he had 24 shots on target last season, but played 33 times which means that he got a shot on target roughly once every 1.4 to 1.5 games which as an attacking player is terrible (or Hleb like).
Maybe I am being a wee bit harsh and it may just be that he is more deadly when playing up front rather than out wide. Wenger certainly knows more than me (Sanderson knows more than me aswell).
I think the thing to remember about stats and percentages is that they can be used and bent to prove anything – 90% of people know that ha ha ha.
Seedorf – He does carry a bat…
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3953/n7875549063878843353ub3.jpg
Mate as it says in the article he was played on the wing for the most part so his stats are pretty good for that!
Also if you hit the target most then you are the most accurate striker.
The article didn’t say he was our best, or most prolific it said most ACCURATE which as you can see by the stats he is!
Hi J, your articles are as usual very informative and accurate. Your running a great blog here. I do have one request, every time i read your comments section everyone keeps going on about Barazite, do you mind doing an article on him? like you did recently with Merida and Wilshere
Thanks J for informative blog, Ade’s stats are quite good than i expected I must admit. I think Ade’s contribution to the team is great. When you think about it critically, in Arse squad there is nobody who could have led the line as lone striker for that long and scored the goal Ade did. As much as we critise Ade for lack of loyality, he is a guy i think Weger should not let go. There very few strikers in Ade mould.
The truth is Arsenal’s Wage structure shld be revised, mind you Arsenal creates world class players & there4 they shld be rewarded accordingly imediately they attain that status. Otherwise you cant blame them when they ask out for better offers. Sorry, this was off the discussion i can see that Vela will be bomb at Emirates.
J. I laughed so hard. Where the hell did you get that picture.
I haven’t seen this guy play but I think he will be a breath of fresh air. He will bring something different from what we’ve seen at the club. T.Henry recently spoke highly of him, which must mean something. T.Henry hardly talks up any player, so that gives us hope. I would take the stats with a pinch of salt really. The LaLiga is very different from the EPL and must be a good thing if he was playing out wide at Osasuna. Question is how will his shooting accuracy be in a striking position? I think the signs are good. There’s cause to be glad about this one.
I think his main positions will be on the left, He and Walcott are Very fast and have the ‘touch’ So that’ll be great.
Henry i remember a long time ago was talking up Gilbert so don’t take him too serious LoL. But i agree Vela does seem to have something special about him
Would be interesting to compare him with Theo.
Moh – sure i will write something before the end of the week.
Seedorf – haha, it was on his facebook account, my eyes lit up when you talked about a bat.
Lol, i’m sure it did.
What’s his Facebook… (6)
Wenger has said multiple times that Vela will be used as a striker, a la Eduardo. So please stop saying he’ll be playing on the left wing. A left-footed left winger has never been Wenger’s style of play, preferring a left winger in the model of Pires/Rosicky/Overmars who tucks in, as this wouldn’t allow Clichy to bomb forward.
Surely Vela v. Theo v. Eduardo v. say… Messi v. Tevez seem like a better comparison than v. Ade and Bendtner. The winger/striker role is obviously gonna come out with a lot different stats than out-and-out strikers…
Josh – we are comparing stats from last season.
he played as a left winger last season, thats where the confusion is coming from.
So true Josh. Look people….
“Where things get interesting, is when it comes to leading the line. Vela was caught offside on 12 occasions, with Emmanuel Adebayor being caught on the wrong side a massive 66 times. This compares with Eduardo who was flagged just 4 times.”
66 times!? 66!? An absolute joke! I remember a certain game last year when we had a counter-attack from an opposition corner and Tommy Rosicky picked the ball up just outside our box and carried it about 40 yards….Ade was the only player in support – f***in 10 (YES, TEN) yards offside screaming for the ball…obviously he didnt get it cos Tommy aint a dumb fuck like him and the move broke down. Ade then turned to Rosicky and complained about not getting the ball…this prick makes me fu**in LIVID MAN! No brain! Get out!
J i just thought, i swear either this weekend or last week i saw that we have loaned Gilbert to leicester?? Think it was Gilbert anyway.
I have a Swindon Season ticket and will most likely be going to the away game at Leicester too so if ya want after Swindon have played thm i can give ya a quick mail or summit to let ya know how he got on?
Another good read.
But you know who offside 66 times?! That’s appalling. If he stays at the club & accepts any kind of improved contract it must include strong clauses about having to learn (inside out) the offside rule & how & when to beat it.
To think that this player regularly shows love to TH14 by text, but apparently doesn’t get any tips on this subject from the man himself. Or perhaps EA25 is just a bit ‘slow’, to put it mildly.
Go figure.
Nice stats J. U r always gr8. Walcott n Vela are very similar in speed. But as far as i’ve seen, Vela is better he’s got a good footballin brain, better skills, better ballcontrol, technique n works a lot harder. Meanwhile Walcott uses his pace more and drifts away.So he assists more . Actually Vela was not playing the traditional winger in la liga. The midfield of osasuna is very conjusted. They are very defensive. Vela was used like a left wing back playin a bit more advanced role. He starts from his own half. He had to do a lot of defensive duties. Most of his shots are from outside the area. Yet more accurate. When playin up front for his country he’s given more freedom. N so he attacks n strikes more. Hence he’s exceptional for country. Walcott plays somewat like henry. But vela plays exactly like henry. The only difference is the foot. Vela’s left footed so he drifts from right. Whereas henry is right footed n drifts from the left. Vela is the next henry. He’s so creative n is more direct than walcott. I juz love watchin these two play. It’ll be more interestin watchin them in one team. Both are dynamites. All i want to know is who’s got henry’s deadball skills.. Any answers??
Jits, I’d say… Haven’t a clue mate. Diaby has a great foot and always seems to lift the ball easily whenever he shoots, so i’d say him, I’ve never ever seen Walcott take a Corner let alone free-kick so wouldn’t be sure how he takes deadballs…
Clearly keeping Ade is a must. Based on the stats he is Arsenal’s most reliable striker in the bunch. Just looking at the minutes played proves his worth. If, and its a big if Ade can continue to develop into a complete footballer, Arsenal will be absolutely unstoppable this season. With the team now a year older, more experienced, and the versatility of players. I see a major trophy coming the Gunners way.
I am liking Nendtners stats and dont forget eddie and bendtner starred in the carling cup as well
ade is surely the best at dead balls…..no? oh yeah no.
I was just watching some of our games earlier this season and th 7-0 against Slavia was incredible, the passing has always been great, but in this match. Wow
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2880741294282999165&q=Arsenal&ei=Xn58SPisB5jK2wKp3Ilg
i hope someone can upload a compilation video of david seaman on you tube,i don’t even find 1 compilation video for david seaman on youtube..please mate…
Here you go Hazwan
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5295982027900402429&q=David+Seaman&ei=i4V8SLOWKYTgjAL1mYiSCg
Interesting stats but I would love to see him compared to the players who played a similar role for us last season ie Diaby, Rosicky, Hleb, Walcott, and Eboue.
Seedorf: I was watching those videos from early last season and I was wondering how we failed to win the league and CL. The moves were just incredible.
i think comparing vela with other arsenal strikers is good but that doesn’t mean he can beat those with lesser stats. he has been playing in an easy league and in a lesser team with only one objective of surviving relegation. i think arsenal should start planning on Eduardo next season, if you are to compare the matches he played with those he missed, the tally speaks. arsenal only won against 3 clubs or so after birmingham- when he got injured. i also think arsenal lost the race coz adebayor had lost the defenders main catch, Eduardo.
Guys please no speculation, By the way J is your name Jamie?
J gr8 blog, any update on amaury bischoff.
Pumpd: Yep it is.
Shuaib: I think UEFA have put it in their ‘not important’ folder, just wait a while i guess.
I have to agree about Eduardo. there is summit about him that is special, he is a weird sort of player, never seems to even be trying but does sooo much!
I just hope that the injury he has had hasn’t hit his confidence! We will all see if it has when he get s his first proper tackle against him. I hope he comes back to us the player that he was before because we all know that he is a pretty special talent!
Also i think that Vela will have a good season but don’t expect too much cos i can’t see him playing regularly unless he does a fabregas and just settle into the team straight away!
juventus reportedly have scouts at euro u-19s watching fran merida
Thos Juves!
Clocko, yeah. Eduardo is a wonderful player. He is an INCREDIBLE finisher and works 100% all the time.
Clacko the Gooner – Totally disagree mate, his stats for hitting the target are terrible – one shot on target every game and a half (there or there abouts).
Yes the lad is hitting the target, but they are not going in – I must measure accuracy differently to you when it comes to attackers in football as hitting the keeper is not accurate in my book, scoring is. Scoring is what you pay strikers to do, scoring is what wins you games, competitions and silverware – when was the last time hitting the target won you anything in football?
You are correct in saying that the lad played out wide last season and that his stats may well be different when he plays up front – Wenger has said he see’s him as a striker, but he said the same about Theo – he said that Diaby was going to be Paddys replacement then plays him out wide, he said lauren was not going to be a right back then played him there.
I have said I am looking forward to seeing Vela play and I trust Wengers judgement, I am just not convinced that the lad will play up front this season (apart from in cups) and if he plays wide left then we will have the same situation we have just had with Hleb – great player but no end product and after all its the end product that we need.
Thank god fran was out of the game last night then :)
But theres no way we would let him go, hes just signed a new deal…
Offside 66 times!! Unbelievable to think we might get 20mil plus for him
Clacko the Gooner – that would be awesome mate if you could do that :).
I will never understand why people are so critical about Ade! The guy carried us last year! We he hit a dry spell, like all strikers do, no-one else stepped up! Yes, he had 66 offsides, but that’s in 36 appearances, most of them as a lone striker….that’s an average of 1.8 offsides a game! Its not that bad! If Ade goes, we will definitely struggle…
lol Adebayor failed to score in that 7-0 trashing of Slavia, even Hleb could score in that game. Walcott 2, Fabregas 2, Bendtner 1, Hleb 1, Owngoal 1
By the way,I’ve to give you a credit for putting a link,to say I got this info from somewhere else.That’s good.It shows your credibility.
Keep up the good work.And I wish you and all Arsenal fans to have a great season at least with one trophy.
Gunner ’till I die!!
as for shooting conversion rate, vela didn’t look good on that part because he played wing midfield mostly and the most shots from distance which can’t be comparable to those near the goal. still, stats doesn’t show everything, eg. bendtner is almost our best crosser (as you can recall several times that his cross resulting in goal), but the stats showed he’s got the lowest success rate
Vela won’t lead the line – too small.
Under Wenger you graduate into a position when you earn his trust. Eg Walcott is no winger not in a million years -but he doesn’t trust him as a striker yet.
La Liga inferior? Oh you think so! The PL has one third utter rubbish, one third so so and a very good top 4 with Villa Everton and Spurs with potential. See UEFA cup last season. Tells you a lot.
Adebayor was crucial to our whole game plan last season if we lose him it’ll mean a rethink. ie lots of sub 5’11s with great touch etc BUT Manure made it work.
i am gooner from India and a regular reader of ur work . i appreciate the good work ur doin , keep it up mate.
Jay, Can you please post a picture of Vela in an arsenal kit? I would be very grateful if you did.
Bendtner needs to be starting more. His touch is superior to Ade, and i’m sure if given a chance he’ll more than improve our team. If you’ve seen him play for Denmark then you will have seen how influential he can be. Ade misses to many chances. I’m not surprised he scored 24 goals, it should be more. The way we play football creates chances, teams sit back we eat up possession and gift chances to strikers. He’ll never be able to score that many with any other team. And he cant head. Watch Bendtner head the ball. He leaps above everyone, he attacks the ball from distance. Ade jumps up from the spot. Bendtner should be playing up top with RVP, at least till eduardo recovers.
The bad thing about these stats is that Vela wasn’t playing Striker at Osasuna, while the other players were playing at striker and getting chances of scoring.