Exasperated Arsene Wenger does not have all the answers when it comes to turning possession into goals

Against Manchester United on 2 December, 33 shots yielded one Arsenal goal. Against West Ham United on Wednesday, they had 22 and did not score once. Arsenal are facing one of the oldest conundrums in the game, how to turn possession into goals, and an exasperated Arsene Wenger admitted at his Friday morning press conference he does not have all the answers.

What is so frustrating for Arsenal is that in their recent form they have shown themselves to be more creative than they have been for years. “At the moment there is a difference between the points we get, and the domination we have in the game,” Wenger said.

It might sound like sour grapes about luck but the data is on Wenger’s side: Arsenal’s chance creation has notably improved this year, although only when he plays a full-strength team, including Alexandre Lacazette up front.

This season Arsenal are averaging 17.82 shots per game according to Opta, easily their best number this decade, miles clear of last season’s 14.89. The chances are of good quality too, and Arsenal’s 6.5 shots on target per game is also their best of this decade, again much better than last year’s 5.3. And yet despite that the ball is not ending up in the back of the net enough: their shot conversion rate of 9.9 is their worst of the decade, the first time it has dropped into single figures.

There is a fine line between ‘efficiency’ and luck but Arsenal are certainly unfortunate in how few goals they are scoring. Wenger admitted that is “playing on the minds” of his players, and that they need to “get it out of the system”.

All this too after signing a £50million penalty-box striker in Alexandre Lacazette this summer, a man whose sharpness should have solved exactly this problem. He has eight goals already so cannot be blamed too much.

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But then what is the problem? “Not quite clinical enough, yes,” Wenger admitted. “It’s difficult to explain. Do the teams defend better? You could say no, because we create more chances than anybody else. Are the chances of the same quality? I don’t know. There is no objective reason to have a verdict on that.

“Is it confidence? Is it the fact that the guys think we have absolutely to score? It’s difficult to know. But we have the chances, the quality of our game is there. But it’s true that at the moment, we cannot show it up with points.”

When he was discussing Wednesday’s game at the London Stadium, Wenger pointed to the fact that this is only going to be a more pertinent issue. In modern football, the smaller teams are increasingly defensive, and increasingly good at it. “It was difficult to make runs behind, because they played with nine players in their final third,” Wenger said.

“It’s a modern problem now. What has changed? West Ham, for example, they ran 105km [on average per game] until now. At half-time they were at 56km, so I thought they would die. In the second half they made 58km. They made 114km against us, where usually their average is 105km. That means these teams don’t die any more.”

Wenger believes that modern fans are more relaxed about seeing their teams defend, and happy to get behind it. “First of all the crowds accepts it,” he said with some bemusement. “They start with the idea that if it’s a 0-0 it’s a good result. Every tackle they make the crowd goes ‘wahhhh’. You would say as long as you don’t score the first goal you’re in a position where you have to take a gamble. It is a modern problem.”

This is how so much modern football plays out: the small team parks the bus, the big team has to find a way through. The idea of the open even game has been warped by the uneven distribution of wealth. The poorer teams have caught up, improving their fitness, defensive organisation and counter-attacking. Now the rich teams have to get back in front again.

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“What is interesting in the game, you have to find solutions to make it attractive,” Wenger said. He did not blame the bus parkers, but he was not thrilled with them either. “Ideally you want both teams to have a go and play. If we find a solution and score, they will play.”

Arsenal, it must be said, create more good chances against a deep narrow defence than anyone other than Manchester City. They are better at it than Manchester United, Liverpool or Tottenham, according to advanced statistical analysis. So what is the secret? “Speed of passing. Co-ordinated movement. The incisive movement. And as well the dribbling. And calm in finishing.”

Ultimately it is the duty of Arsenal and the other big-sixers to find a solution. It is their own wealth that has caused this problem in the first place. “We have to create a situation that makes the game attractive,” Wenger said. “And we have to think that we play well enough, on our side, to make the game attractive. I love to think that is our responsibility.”