Soccer Betting – Are Arsenal Actually Weaker Without Song & Van Persie?

With Arsenal selling captain Robin Van Persie and midfielder Alex Song to Manchester United and Barcelona respectively, Pinnacle Sports investigated whether this left the Gunners weaker and what it means for Arsenal-betting punters?

Many Arsenal fans are disgruntled at the sale of captain Robin Van Persie to Premier League rivals Manchester United, and then the quick fire departure of dynamic midfielder Alex Song to Barcelona, it is widely thought that Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are now a weaker team.

Pinnacle Sports delved into the stats for the past four Premier League seasons to see how well Arsenal have performed with and without Van Persie and Song - and made some surprising discoveries.

Arsenal Win More Premier League Games without RVP

Arsenal won 50% of matches with RVP in the team, compared to 67% when he wasn't

With Arsenal selling their prized asset and most prolific goal scorer in Van Persie, it would be easy to make the assumption that they would have a higher win percentage when he plays.

In the past four seasons in the Premier League, however, Arsenal won just 50% of matches with Van Persie in the team, compared to an impressive 67% when he wasn't. They also lose 24% of their games with the Dutchman in the side, while that statistic falls to 16% when he's absent.

In comparison, the sale of Alex Song is not seen as such a loss for the Gunners by their club and fans alike – although the stats show that he might be more important than the former captain. With Song in the team, Arsenal won 57% of their games, compared to less than half (47%) when he was absent. Their loss percentage also went up from 21% to 23% without the Cameroonian.

Over the last four Premier League seasons there have only been 12 occasions when both players were absent – Arsenal won 58% and lost just one game.

So what does this mean for punters thinking of betting on Arsenal now they are without Van Persie and Song? Despite losing two key players, the statistics suggest that Arsenal will not be considerably weaker in the 1x2 market.

You can bet on Arsenal with the 1x2 market at Pinnacle Sports to take advantage of the best Premier League odds online.



Could Arsenal Suffer Both Offensively & Defensively without RVP & Song?

With Arsenal seemingly just as good in the 1x2 market without both Van Persie and Song, how are they in the total goal market?

Arsenal scored an average of 1.97 goals each game RVP played, and conceded 1.18. Interestingly, the average goals scored per game increased to 2.01 with defensive midfielder Song in the team, while goals conceded fell to just 1.04 goals. When both players were absent, Arsenal scored just 1.6 but conceded 0.8.

This suggests that for betting Arsenal in the totals market, the Gunners will score less, but also concede less, without the two former players.

Betting on Arsenal's total's market? Remember Pinnacle Sports offer unbeatable total odds online for all Premier League matches.





*Odds subject to change