The stats behind the first 500 goals under Arteta

Kai Havertz’s strike against Dinamo Zagreb was a landmark one for Mikel Arteta, as it was the 500th we’ve netted during his time as our manager.

Those goals have come in just 266 matches, meaning an average of 1.88 have gone in every time Mikel has taken charge of one of our games.

Thanks to our friends at Opta, we’ve crunched to numbers to find out how, when and where those first 500 strikes have gone in:

METHOD

When it comes to how we’ve scored the 500, 216 have come via players’ right feet, including the very first when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted against Bournemouth on Boxing Day in 2019. 191 were left-footed strikes. 68 have been headed in, while six have been scored with other body parts.

34 penalties have been tucked away by 10 different scorers, with Bukayo Saka leading the way with 12 successful conversions, who also scored the latest of our four direct free-kicks, which came against Paris Saint-Germain in October. 452 goals have come inside the box, while 48 have screamed in from outside the area.

As for other set-pieces, 69 have been converted via a corner kick, while another 16 have come from a free-kick situation. On four occasions we’ve managed to score courtesy of a throw-in, while we’ve benefitted from 19 own goals - four of which have come from Tottenham Hotspur players.

COMPETITION

Unsurprisingly the Premier League is where have been netted, with 370 coming in only 194 games, an average of 1.91 - only Manchester City and Liverpool have scored more in the division than us since Mikel's appointment. 78 have come in European competition, split between 46 Europa League goals and 32 bagged in the Champions League during the past couple of seasons since the boss guided us back into it.

33 more have come in the League Cup while 17 FA Cup strikes can be added to the total, 11 of which came during our triumphant campaign of 2019/20 as the Spaniard claimed his first piece of silverware as a manager. He has also lifted the Community Shield twice, with strikes from Aubameyang and Leandro Trossard proving vital.

PLAYERS

Seeing as he was named in Mikel’s first-ever starting line-up, it's also not a shock to see that Saka has scored and assisted the most goals during that time. Our Hale End graduate has fired in 65 times under his current boss, 25 more than his nearest rival Gabriel Martinelli.

Bukayo’s 58 assists top that particular metric as well, with Martin Odegaard second with 30. Three combinations lead the way when it comes to players linking up with each other, with Saka combining with Martinelli, Odegaard and Havertz on 10 occasions each.

 When it comes to nationalities, 153 goals have been bagged by English players, with Brazil second on 90. Having netted goal number one on Mikel’s managerial debut at the Vitality Stadium, Aubameyang’s 38-goal haul puts Gabon in third spot, while France and Norway are next on 36. The only nation to have just one goal scored in their name is the Netherlands, courtesy of Jurrien Timber’s strike against Manchester United last month.

OPPONENTS

Our biggest victims during the boss’ tenure have been West Ham United. We’ve put the ball in the Hammers’ net 27 times in just 11 games under Mikel, which is one more than we’ve netted against Crystal Palace in the same amount of matches. Chelsea and Wolves are the other sides we’ve scored 20 or more against since Mikel took over.

VENUE

273 goals have been scored at Emirates Stadium in 84 games, while 221 have come on our travels. Another six have been scored at Wembley, with Aubameyang’s braces in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City and final against Chelsea adding to our Community Shield total.

West Ham's London Stadium is the ground where we've netted most on the road, 19 times in total, while Selhurst Park has been the scene of 12 goals. Sheffield United's Bramall Lane is the stadium outside of the capital where we have plundered most goals, having netted 11 times there in just three matches, which is the same total as we've managed at Stamford Bridge. Brighton's Amex Stadium, Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium and The Hawthorns - home of West Bromwich Albion - have also seen us hit double figures.

TIMINGS

The earliest goal we’ve never under Mikel was when Martinelli put us 1-0 ahead against Liverpool in October 2022 after just 58 seconds. Saka netted against Brighton two months later after 65 seconds, while Declan Rice’s half-volley against Dinamo last night moved him into third place after netting just 104 seconds into the contest.

The latest goal scored is Aubameyang’s extra-time effort to see off Newcastle United in the FA Cup back in January 2021, which was recorded at 116 minutes and 46 seconds. As for regulation time, Trossard’s last-gasp strike at Wembley to deny Manchester City the Community Shield clocked in at 100 minutes and 19 seconds.

Late drama has occurred very often during Arteta’s tenure, with the 76-90 minute period seeing the most goals, although that does include stoppage and extra-time:

SEASONS

For the third season in a row, we’re averaging over two goals a game, with our three goals last night taking us 69 for the campaign so far from 34 matches.

Last season saw us hit the net 113 times, the most we’d netted in a single season since 2016/17, and we broke our best-ever Premier League total by netting 91 times in the division - three more than our previous best.

Mikel is the fourth-fastest Gunners boss to see 500 goals go in under his watch, behind only Herbert Chapman (257), Tom Whittaker (260) and George Allison (261). For reference, it took his former manager Arsene Wenger 294 matches to hit the landmark,

Mikel also sits just above the Frenchman in terms of goals per game of those he’s followed into our dugout, who have taken charge of at least 100 matches.