Comparing Emile Smith Rowe and Andreas Pereira

Following my statistical look at how clinical the team is last week, I thought it would be wise to delve into the stats displayed by our new starboy Emile Smith Rowe and how he’s progressing compared to the man whose position he took, Andreas Pereira.

The stats

Following Pereira’s positional shift, it could be anticipated that he’d be more involved in the defensive side of the game, however it’s actually Smith Rowe who’s far ahead on the tackling front, with nine tackles to Pereira’s three. Further to this, Smith Rowe has a 78% success rate with tackles compared to Pereira’s 33%, giving the Brazilian just one successful tackle. Pereira has engaged in more duels than Smith Rowe (39 compared to 32) however Smith Rowe edges the success on this front with 50% compared to Pereira’s 49%. ESR has also been superior in winning the ball back this season, with four interceptions compared to Pereira’s one.

In terms of the attacking side of the game, Smith Rowe has contributed two goals and one assist in comparison to Pereira’s zero contributions. Andreas has attempted 197 passes in comparison to Smith Rowe’s 169, however Smith Rowe has a 90% success rate compared to Pereira’s 74%, in addition to this Emile Smith Rowe has a superior shot accuracy of 50% compared to Pereira’s 29%.

The solution

Although it’s seemingly very out of the ordinary for Marco Silva to drop Andreas Pereira, that proposition may be on the cards due to his performance levels. With Sasa Lukic’s stellar start to the season (196 passes, 93% pass accuracy and five interceptions), many fans believe it’s time to move Lukic back into the eight and Sander Berge into the six. Berge should be able to provide the defensive stability that Pereira doesn’t as well as passing ability and potential attacking contributions to supplement Lukic’s passing ability. Although this may draw problems including who takes set pieces, the stats suggest that this move could be necessary – if only to spark Pereira back into life to earn his place back in the team.

Despite playing about 60 minutes in each game he’s featured in, Emile Smith Rowe has displayed impressive stats across the board and that should only continue if he’s managed and supported well. The link-up with his former Arsenal teammates has helped the squad chemistry and we can hopefully look forward to seeing even more improvements in our new starboy.