While there have been plenty of surprise packages in Europe's top 5 leagues, with the likes of Levante and MGladbach springing to mind to date, some clubs have struggled to find their feet in the 2011/12 season, and would have expected much better starts.
With the international break now upon us WhoScored highlights the sides whose lowly position will be of concern to their fans, coaches and perhaps most importantly, boards. We start, with part 1 of our latest feature, in the Premier League, where 1 candidate stands out after a disappointing campaign so far.
Premier League - Arsenal
While the most disappointing team of the season on paper thus far is bottom club Bolton, who have lost their last 6 matches, the club furthest from their usual standing in a purely negative sense is undoubtedly Arsenal.
7 points from as many games has included 4 defeats and left the Gunners just 2 points off the relegation zone as October begins. A tricky opening schedule has seen Wenger's side face the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and most recently North-London rivals Tottenham, losing all 3.
Failures to Win a Repeat of Last Season
A look at the 5 games they have failed to win compared to their results in the exact fixtures last season brings an interesting outcome. Their opening match saw a bore draw at Newcastle overshadowed by ill-discipline, proving a real shame after last season's game of the campaign saw the same outcome but in far more dramatic fashion. Arsenal took a resounding 4-0 lead before the hosts pulled back and eventually equalised late on through Cheik Tiote.
A 2-0 defeat at home to Liverpool followed, having picked up a point in each of their two 1-1 draws with the Reds last season. An 8-2 humiliation at the hands of United came next, having lost 2-0 in the fixture last season, while their next failing was by far the biggest shock of their results thus far, losing 4-3 to lowly Blackburn in a fixture they won last season 2-1 at Ewood Park.
The last defeat they suffered came at bitter rivals Spurs, dropping a point that they earned at White Hart Lane last season. In conclusion, in the games that Arsenal have failed to win this season, they only won once last season, picking up just 5 extra points from the aforementioned 5 fixtures in 2010/11.
Performance Analysis vs Blackburn
A look at the match stats from the fixture with Blackburn this season and the corresponding match last term may suggest that Arsenal were very unfortunate to end on the losing side. Two own goals in the match certainly didn't help the visitor’s cause, with Blackburn's 4-goal haul coming from just 4 shots on target and 8 in total. In comparison Arsenal mustered 23, with 9 on target. In terms of pass accuracy, the Gunners also excelled with 86% dwarfing Rovers' 72% while they controlled possession with 69%.
When examining the same game from last season, Arsenal's win was far less comprehensive than the performance stats suggest from this time around. While the away side managed 14 shots, Blackburn registered 15, with the hosts tally almost doubling this year's total and Arsenal's tally doing the exact opposite, with almost half of the shots attempted in the win last season. In terms of pass accuracy Wenger's side managed a lesser total than this season's fixture with 81% as well as slightly less possession, with 65%.
Per Shaped Defensive Problems
Per Mertesacker was brought to the club to shore up a backline that has looked weak for years, particularly in the absence of Thomas Vermaelen, but as yet the German has failed to do so. In the 4 league games he has played the tall centre-back has been part of a defence conceding 6 goals, despite keeping 2 clean sheets
His most abject performance was undoubtedly in the defeat to Blackburn, conceding 4 goals and picking up a WhoScored rating of just 5.43. An average rating thus far of 6.39 is not much better and ranks him as the 15th best Arsenal player to have started in the league this season. However, one stat where he does, and has always impressed, is his aerial duel success rate, winning an exceptional 88%.
Other than his obvious aerial dominance, Mertesacker has put in a somewhat limited defensive shift thus far, making just 1 tackle per game. In comparison Thomas Vermaelen averaged 3 per game in his two starts this season highlighting his importance to the side. The Belgian also managed an excellent 4 interceptions per game whereas Mertesacker has registered just 1.3. When it comes to clearances he has made 3.5 per game, which again doesn't stand up to the likes of Vermaelen (9) and Koscielny (5.8).
