Opta Stats Analysis: Wednesday PL matches

Arsenal have never lost in 21 home Premier League games against sides starting the day bottom of the Premier League table (W15 D6) – the only ever-present side in the competition’s history to have never suffered such a defeat on home soil.

Norwich’s defeat at the Emirates was their 100th Premier League loss in their 174th match away from home – in the competition’s history, only Sunderland (58%) have a higher losing % among all sides to have suffered at least 100 defeats on the road than the Canaries (57%).

Since losing to Chelsea during Mikel Arteta’s first game in charge at the Emirates, Arsenal have won five of their last six Premier League games at home (D1), including winning four in a row for the first time since April 2019 (10).

Norwich City have now lost six of their last seven Premier League games (D1) without scoring in each defeat, with the Canaries suffering four straight league defeats without a goal for the first time since May 2016, a run which also included a defeat at the Emirates.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opener was his 50th Premier League goal in just 79 appearances, with only five players managing to do so at a quicker rate than the Arsenal skipper (Torres, Salah (72), Nistelrooy (68), Shearer (66) and A. Cole (65).

Since joining Arsenal back in 2018, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 14 goals in 14 games against sides starting the day in the Premier League relegation zone, netting a brace both home and away versus Norwich this season.

Granit Xhaka’s strike was his first goal in any competition since March 2019, when he netted against Manchester United, with five of his eight top-flight goals for Arsenal coming at the Emirates stadium.

Since scoring at Tottenham back in January, Teemu Pukki has failed to score in each of his last 10 Norwich appearances in all competitions, playing 657 minutes, attempting 15 shots, with just five hitting the target.

Cédric Soares became just the third different Portuguese player to appear for Arsenal in the Premier League, after Luis Boa Morte (25 apps) and Amaury Bischoff (1 app). Indeed, he netted 229 seconds into his debut for the Gunners, as many Premier League goals as he managed in 120 appearances while at Southampton (10 090 minutes).

Bournemouth 1–4 Newcastle United

Newcastle scored four goals in a Premier League game for the first time since May 2019, when they won 4-0 away at Fulham.

Bournemouth have suffered 16 defeats in their last 21 Premier League matches (W3 D2), losing each of the last four in a row.

Newcastle have won three consecutive away games in all competitions for the first time since November 2016 (four in a row) when they were in the Championship – as a Premier League side, it is their best run since November 2014 under Alan Pardew.

Since joining the Premier League in 2015-16, Bournemouth have conceded more home goals in the competition than any other club (145).

Newcastle are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games (W3 D2), their best run since going undefeated in their final six games of the 2015-16 season.

After a run of no goals in the first half of any of their previous nine Premier League games, Newcastle scored twice inside half an hour in this match.

Allan Saint-Maximin became only the third player to assist three goals in a Premier League game for Newcastle, after Andrew Cole (in March 1994 v West Ham) and Moussa Sissoko (in October 2015 v Norwich).

Newcastle have ended a run of 19 Premier League games on a Wednesday without a win (D4 L15), with their first Wednesday win since a 2-0 away win at Chelsea in May 2012.

Everton 2–1 Leicester City

Everton are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League games at Goodison Park (W5 D4); their longest run without a league defeat there since between April and December 2016 (11 games).

Leicester have failed to win each of their last five away games in the Premier League (D2 L3), after winning six of their seven away games prior to this run (D1).

Six of Everton’s seven wins under Carlo Ancelotti in the Premier League have been by a one-goal margin, including both since the competition restarted last month.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers suffered his first defeat against Everton in the Premier League since March 2012 (Everton 2-0 Swansea), having been unbeaten in eight games against them in the competition coming into this one.

Since the start of last season, Neymar (28) is the only Brazilian player with more goals than Everton’s Richarlison (24) in the top five European leagues.

Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty was the first awarded to Everton in a Premier League game since March 2019 (v Chelsea) – they had previously gone 38 consecutive games without one; their joint-longest such run in the competition (also 38 games in 2008).

Since making his Premier League debut in August 2015, only Olivier Giroud (16) has scored more goals as a substitute than Kelechi Iheanacho (8).

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy is goalless in his last four away games in the Premier League – his longest run since between September and December 2017 (seven away games, 0 goals).