Sunday 12 August 2012

To Keep or Not To Keep Part 5: Johan Djourou

Morning all,

It’s quite an exciting day today with Arsenal’s last pre-season friendly before the start of the Premier League. I will have a preview of sorts for you later but just to get the day started I am going to continue with the “To Keep or Not To Keep” series this time focussing on Johan Djourou.

Here we have another player who is much debated as Arsenal fans look for a solution to solving the defensive woes at the club. With the rise of Koscienly last season and the disappearance of Squillaci, for many Djouorou became the man seen as the weakest link in our defence.

Before we have a look at the stats perhaps it is worth taking into consideration a couple of factors that may have contributed to the negativity surrounding Djourou last season.

I believe the biggest contributing factor was the fact that he had a very promising season in 2010-11 so much so that, his injuries coincided with dips in form for the club. He, in the absence of Thomas Vermaelen, came to the fore and was the lynchpin of our defence. Don’t believe me?

Player
Apps
Mins Played
Goals Conceded
Goals Conceded per game
G.C. per 30 Minutes
Djourou
22
1796
15
0.68
0.25
Vermaelen
5
450
6
1.20
0.40
Koscienly
30
2617
36
1.20
0.41
Squillaci
22
1817
28
1.27
0.46
Centre-backs sorted by goals conceded per game 2010-11

As you can see Djourou in this regard certainly had a good season. So in many ways the expectations he set was the instrument of his own demise. Especially when we take into account the second contributing factor of him playing out of position for the majority of his appearances as he was used to cover a full back injury crisis, something he was clearly never comfortable doing.

With those two factors in mind we can now look at how he compared to the other centre backs in the squad last season.

Player
Apps
Mins Played
Goals Conceded
Goals Conceded per game
G.C. per 30 Minutes
Vermaelen
29
2478
25
0.86
0.30
Mertesacker
21
1830
25
1.19
0.41
Koscienly
33
2874
42
1.27
0.44
Djourou
18
1166
21
1.17
0.54
Centre-backs sorted by goals conceded per game 2011-12

Quite a contrast from last season, from being the defender that conceded the least goals per 30 minutes he goes to the defender conceding the most goals per 30 minutes. In fact the goals conceded per minutes on the pitch is almost double Vermaelen and over double the goals conceded per 30 minutes last season.

Player
Apps
Mins Played
Clean Sheets
Games per Clean Sheet
Koscienly
33
2874
11
3.00
Vermaelen
29
2478
9
3.22
Mertesacker
21
1830
6
3.50
Djourou
18
1166
4
4.50
Centre-backs sorted by games per clean sheet 2011-12

Unsurprisingly, Djourou’s “games per clean sheet” is also the longest, taking 4 and a half games per clean sheet which is significantly higher then all those above him. Important to note is that in 18 appearances we only had 4 clean sheets with him playing.

It is therefore surprising given the above two tables that Djourou would be more successful in the tackle than both Vermaelan and Mertesacker. Below is a table sorting the players by tackles per 30 minutes and as you can see he made a good account for himself.

Player
Apps
Mins Played
Tackles
Tackles per game
Tackles per 30 Minutes
Koscienly
33
2874
85
2.58
0.89
Djourou
18
1166
26
1.44
0.67
Vermaelen
29
2478
47
1.62
0.57
Mertesacker
21
1830
17
0.81
0.28
Centre-backs sorted by tackles per 30 minutes 2011-12

This again shows the promise that Djourou shows even in a relatively poor season.

Player
Apps
Mins Played
Interceptions
Interceptions per game
Interceptions per 30 Minutes
Koscienly
33
2874
104
3.15
1.09
Vermaelen
29
2478
70
2.41
0.85
Mertesacker
21
1830
37
1.76
0.61
Djourou
18
1166
15
0.83
0.39
Centre-backs sorted by interceptions per 30 minutes 2011-12

Unfortunately, as you can see the good tackling wasn’t translated into a high interception rate and though this can partly be attributed to the fact that he would have less need to intercept (when compared to a central defender) balls at right back.

Player
Apps
Mins Played
Chances Conceded
Chances Conceded per game
Chances Conceded per 30 Minutes
Vermaelen
29
2478
266
9.17
3.22
Koscienly
33
2874
325
9.85
3.39
Mertesacker
21
1830
210
10.00
3.44
Djourou
18
1166
145
8.06
3.73
Centre-backs sorted by Chances conceded per 30 minutes 2011-12

Again, in terms of chances conceded, Djourou is trailing behind his peers and to anyone that watched him last season; that will come as no surprise. Although Mertesacker actually conceded more chances per game, in terms of time on the pitch, Djourou gave away more chances per 30 minutes.

Player
Apps
Mins Played
Defensive Errors
Defensive Errors per game
Defensive Errors per 30 Minutes
Koscienly
33
2874
3
0.09
0.03
Vermaelen
29
2478
3
0.10
0.04
Djourou
18
1166
2
0.11
0.05
Mertesacker
21
1830
3
0.14
0.05
 Centre-backs sorted by Chances conceded per 30 minutes 2011-12

I was hoping that this statistic would glean some information or provide us with a good indication as to whether he would be good enough but needless to say, the above shows that whilst he is joint bottom, he is pretty much on par with the rest of the players in terms of defensive errors.

So what do all these numbers really mean. They clearly suggest that in spite of some good tackling statistics, he is consistently ranking toward the bottom of the defenders we have. Does that mean he is not good enough and should be sold? Strangely, not necessarily.

He is clearly not good enough to be a automatic starter, that is undeniable, stats or no stats. Just watching him play in recent months tells you that. However by holding him up to those standards distorts opinion because he is essentially a fourth choice centre back and in an ideal scenario his playing time will be limited hoping our main centre backs remain fit.

So in that perspective, as a fourth choice centre back who can come into the centre of defence if injuries dictate so, then he is not a bad choice. As the first table shows, his goals conceded per game in the 2010-11 season indicate he can do a job when required but he not the versatile option who can fill in at full back as Wenger deployed him last season.

It is strange to have four full backs out all at the same time for a prolonged period of time, something I cannot remember happening in my lifetime. (Doesn’t mean it hasn’t.) However with that in mind, and if Djourou’s role is taken into its proper context, we are looking at a fourth choice centre back who can be a useful squad player who as seen in 2010-11, can do a job.

So it is with this logic that I think Djourou is a keeper. I just hope he never has to play right back again! Especially against Manchester United.

I will be back soon with a preview/news update blog later today.

Good day to you all.

GoonerVerse.

(Stats compiled using EPLindex.com – powered by OPTA)

9 comments:

  1. Djourou - SELL SELL SELL
    Actually, no one will buy him, so just give him a way!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I work for Opta so I know Stats are one thing, just watch this guy play and you see the true story. How many times was he bailed out by team mates?, how many times does him play team mates into trouble? How many times does he loose opposing strikers? And how many times does he give away stupid fouls in dangerous areas? He is nothing but an average player. Simple as that. He must be sold. He can play for a midtable team in France, Belgium, Switzerland.... But will not play for a 'big' team. They would not touch him with a barge pole.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, I work for Tesco's, so I know that low prices don't necessarily equate to high quality goods. Djourou had a great 2010-2011 season, and everyone was saying what a brilliant defender he was. Subsequently, in the 2011-2012 season he found that his chances were limited, and he was played out of position. Cue a lot of people saying he is rubbish. As usual these people need to have a bit of perspective before jumping to such conclusions. Totally agree with the findings of the article. He is a decent 4th choice back-up who never grumbles about playing time but still has drive to break back into the first team. Besides, I doubt there are many world class defenders who would be willing to sit on the bench. Definitely keep, great squad player to have. Jake from Brizzel :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HaHa! great response.. He is definately a good squad player.

      Delete
    2. He is rubbish. That's why you work in Tesco, too thick to get a good job!

      Delete
    3. I was joking about Tesco, I have an Msc in carbon management. Your rubbish. jake from the brizzle

      Delete
  4. Realistically Djourou is the 4th choice central defender behind Vermaelen, Koscielny and Mertesacker. I would rather sell Djourou and bring in a younger left sided centerback (praying for Sakho)with Miquel and Bartley promoted.

    Gibbs Vermaelen Koscielny Sagna
    Santos Sakho Mertesacker Jenkinson
    Miquel Bartley

    ReplyDelete
  5. there are some problems with your argument which make it unfair to draw these conclusions about djourou. firstly, he was involved in the 8-2 united game and although partly responsible for these goals, circumstances at the time make it ridiculous to statistically holod this game against him or anyone for the rest of the season. Secondly he was played at right back for many parts of the season, and he was clearly uncomfortable there, it is not his position. Therefore these games should not really be recognised either (imagine mertesackers performance at right back). and so making these conclusions on a purely statistical level is not appropriate. His level did drop i would agree, but this could be partly explained no run of games at centreback for him, or various other reasons. i in fact think he is a talented young centre back, and should definitely be held on to. the four centre backs we have give us strength in depth and should see us fine at that position for the season

    ReplyDelete
  6. JD was very poor throughout last season - like Flappy the season before he just looked shaky most of the time. This put everyone on edge defenders, fans etc. Miguel imo is much more composed and ready for promotion.

    ReplyDelete