WHZ Stats: Fabianski can play big role for West Ham in clash v Arsenal on Sunday
West Ham fans don’t need to be told how good Lukasz Fabianski has been since the goalkeeper moved to East London in 2018.
The 35-year-old joined in a £7million deal from Swansea City to replace Joe Hart in goals and the Hammers haven’t had to contemplate changing goalkeepers since.
He’s started every league match he’s been available for this term and has kept 23 clean sheets in 91 appearances across all competitions for the Irons.
Fabianski’s saved some of his stronger performances until recently though with the Poland international proving himself as a fantastic last-ditch option at the back.
West Ham’s defence, on the whole, has improved drastically under David Moyes leadership with Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop putting in some tremendous displays this season.
But they cannot be relied upon all the time and opposition attackers do manage to find themselves with opportunities to score.
Fabianski, though, tends to be a very reliable goalkeeper when those opportunities to occur.
According to stats by Wyscout, Fabianski has averaged 2.58 saves per 90 minutes of Premier League football this season. Out of the 72 saves he’s made, 47.2 per cent have called upon his sharp reflexes to keep shots out.
Fabianski has conceded goals at a rate of 1.07 per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, which is marginally lower than his xCG (expected conceded goals) of 1.1.
Compared to previous seasons at West Ham, it’s pretty clear that Fabianski is having to do less than usual. He’s facing fewer shots and isn’t having to make as many saves.
However, despite the difference in shots against and saves made per 90 minutes of Premier League football in his first two seasons at the London Stadium, in this current one you can see in the chart below that his xCG isn’t as low in comparison.
Last month, when West Ham won 3-0 against Sheffield United, Fabianski gave a good account of what he can do for the club.
The ex-Arsenal goalkeeper made five saves, three of them with reflexes. He was expected to concede 1.04 goals in that game but stood form and helped the Irons keep a clean sheet.
He was expected to concede 1.99 goals on that day, pulling off a superb save to deny Trezeguet in the process.
Fabianski had to cover his near post but also be mindful of a pass into Trezeguet, which would have left the left-hand side of his goal exposed.
Trezeguet ended up shooting towards Fabianski’s near post as the Hammers goalkeeper was moving across in the opposite direction.
However, the Polish ace manged to get his hands up to push the shot away and help the Irons see out a win over Dean Smith’s side.
Arsenal are up next for West Ham when the two sides meet at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Fabianski can prove to be vital in that match.
Arsenal have seen an upturn in their results as of late but remain one of the most wasteful teams in the Premier League, according to stats by Wyscout.
Mikel Arteta’s side have an xG of 42.43 this season yet have scored just 37 times in the Premier League.
Perhaps as a relief to Fabianski, Arsenal rank 17th in the league for shot accuracy, with a shot on target percentage of 33.8 per cent. Only West Brom, Fulham and Brighton have worse.
West Ham lost to Arsenal earlier in the season and will want to show they can beat some of the division’s bigger clubs after recent defeats to Manchester City and Manchester United.
If the Hammers want to qualify for Europe, they need to beat struggling sides like Arteta’s and Fabianski will hopefully prove massive this weekend.
In other West Ham news, Frank McAvennie says Pablo Fornals has a new lease of life at the club.