Arsenal may have only defeated Sunderland 2-0 on Tuesday, but the game was noteworthy for how one-sided it was despite the relatively low score line.
In fact, the Gunners only scoring twice belied the statistics for the match, which kept the Londoners in the hunt for a Champions League spot. It really shouldn't have been as close as the score indicated.
Imagine Arsenal without Alexis?!
Arsenal attempted 36 total shots in Tuesday's contest at the Emirates, which is the most they’ve attempted in a Premier League match since the start of the 2003-04 campaign. A big reason for the onslaught of attempts was the play of Mesut Ozil, who created the most chances (12) in a Premier League game since Opta started keeping records.
With his helper on Alexis Sanchez's opening goal, Ozil, who had come under some criticism earlier this season for lacklustre play, increased his assist tally to 41 since debuting in the Premier League in Sept. 2013. That's good for tops in the league in that timeframe.
Of course, the one-way traffic meant that Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was extremely busy, and even he saw himself into the record books thanks to some heroics between the posts.
Unfortunately for Pickford and Sunderland, he couldn't keep every shot out of the net. The two goals against were enough to ensure a finish at the bottom of the league for the Black Cats.
