Arsenal and Chelsea put on one of the best matches of the early Premier League seasons. It lived up to the hype going into it, there was high quality play, incredible athleticism, a good bit of dislike between the teams and in the end three points to the better team.
I am always a bit nervous coming into these big rivalry matches. Not only are they generally the toughest opponents of the season but they weight that they can carry for everyone’s mental well being. If you lose it can really put everything into a dark mood, online spaces turn toxic and the world is about to end but if you win, you feel like you are floating on air.
I have felt that all weekend long and I am reveling in it.
Let’s break it down.
Arsenal vs Chelsea: The Graphics
Arsenal vs Chelsea: The Debrief
16 - Shots for Arsenal, 2nd most for Arsenal, most that Chelsea have allowed this season
9 - Shots on target for Arsenal, most for Arsenal, most that Chelsea have allowed this season
1.98 - Expected goals for Arsenal, 2nd most for Arsenal, most that Chelsea have allowed this season
48 - Touches in the box for Arsenal, most for Arsenal, most that Chelsea have allowed this season
2.42 - Yards per second of attacking speed for Arsenal against Chelsea, the quickest Arsenal have advanced up the field this season
35.8% - The share of Arsenal’s touches that were in the attacking third vs Chelsea
Things didn’t start perfectly for Arsenal in this match. There is no way that they came in with the intention to allow a second minute goal but the reaction to that set back was perfect.
They regained their composure and started to put a strangle hold on the match afterwards. Arsenal played some of their best attacking football in that first half with flowing moves and combination play. On another day this could have been a romp but I will be glad to settle for the two goals scored and the three points.
I am not going to give him a full section here but I wanted to give a shout out to Christos Tzolis. He had a tough outing against Aston Villa but bounced back putting in a great performance here against Chelsea.
I was impressed with the way that Arsenal were able to exert pressure while still keeping a dangerous Chelsea mostly at bay. Coming into this match, this was the blueprint for Chelsea’s early success, score early and then turn the game into a transition track meet where they felt confident that they can out create you.
For the most part Arsenal did not let the game turn into that and they maintained the attacking advantage. It wasn’t flawless given the quality of Chelsea’s attacking players but overall it was damn good. They had a couple of dangerous moves but Arsenal made enough plays defensively to cut it out or apply enough pressure that their execution was off.
When you look at the attacking numbers for Chelsea in this match you really see just how little they had in the way of threat here.
26.8 - The average distance for the shots that Chelsea took in this match
0.03 - Chelsea’s average shot quality against Arsenal in this match. They were averaging 0.16 per shot previously.
2 - Shots that were rated as 5% or better chances, with 0 getting a rating over 7%.
0 - Big Chances vs Arsenal, they had 10 total in the two matches coming into this match.
28 - Touches in the box vs Arsenal, they were averaging 36 per match before this.
19.7% - The percentage of Chelsea final third touches that were in the box vs Arsenal, this is down from 31.4% before this match
Chelsea came in thinking that they were set up to make a statement but left realizing that they still have quite a gap to close to the truly elite teams in the world.
£60 million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again
3 - Shots (2nd on Arsenal, tied 2nd in the match)
0.19 - Expected goals
1 - Goal
3 - Key passes (passes that led directly to a shot) (3rd on Arsenal, 3rd in the match)
0.23 - Expected goals of the shots he assisted
5 - Shot creating actions (the two actions leading up to a shot) (tied 2nd on Arsenal, tied 2nd in the match)
1.03 - Expected goals of the shots his shot creating actions led to (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
6 - Buildup actions (touches in a shot move, not counting the shot or the pass that set it up)
1.10 - Expected goals buildup (the xG of shot moves he joined, excluding the shot and the assist) (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
28 - Pass attempts, 19 passes completed for 67.9% pass completion percentage with a 108.2% pass efficiency compared to expected passing
10 - Penalty area touches (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
7 - Shot zone touches (touches in the central area in front of goal) (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
34 - Passes received
7 - Progressive passes received (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
8 - Final third entry passes received (2nd on Arsenal, 3rd in the match)
9 - Passes received inside the penalty area (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
3 - Crosses received (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
6 - Passes received in the shot zone (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
12 - Duels contested
8 - Duels won (tied 2nd on Arsenal, tied 3rd in the match)
Havertz in this match was everywhere and doing a bit of everything. It was close to the ideal match from him, contributing all over, a few moments of frustration, but overall brilliant.
That basically describes him as a striker for Arsenal. Here are his overall numbers for the matches that he has started in the Premier League up top.
People are reluctant to give him the “World Class” tag but he is probably deserving of it for how well he plays as a striker, contributing along so many different facets of the game.
A Captain’s performance from Martin Ødegaard
2 - Shots, good for 0.57 expected goals, and 1 goal scored
56 - Pass attempts (2nd on Arsenal, 2nd in the match), 48 passes completed for 85.7% pass completion percentage with a 106.5% pass efficiency compared to expected passing
8 - Progressive passes completed (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
4 - Shots assisted (tied 1st on Arsenal, tied 1st in the match)
1.03 - Expected assists (the expected goals value of the shots he set up) (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
8 - Shot creating actions (the two actions leading up to a shot) (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
5 - Passes completed into the shot zone (the central area in front of goal) (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
11 - Deep completions (passes completed within 20 yards of goal) (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
8 - Passes completed into the penalty area (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
9 - Buildup actions (touches in a shot move, not counting the shot or the pass that set it up) (1st on Arsenal, 1st in the match)
76.9% - His expected goals chain as a share of the teams expected goals while he was on the pitch
7 - Duels contested
5 - Duels won
After going down early, Arsenal needed someone to take control and dictate the response and that is exactly what Arsenal got in this match from their Captain. He has been a lightening rod of opinions over the last few years but he has been able to tune that noise out, and has put in some fantastic performances to start the season. He looks healthy and at his best again, when that is the case there are few better than him.
It is only 3 matches into the new season but he already has double the goals , 65% of the xG, 27% of the total shots taken, 25% of his total shots on target from last season.
I hope that this continues.
Dominance vs Chelsea
18 - Matches under Mikel Arteta vs Chelsea
12 - Wins against Chelsea under Mikel Arteta
2.22 - Points per game average against Chelsea under Mikel Arteta
35 - Goals scored against Chelsea under Mikel Arteta
+16 - Goal difference against Chelsea under Mikel Arteta (+0.89 per match)
I hate Chelsea with a passion and it makes me so happy to see Arsenal come in and flip the script on the dominance that they once held over Arsenal. Mikel Arteta loves to beat this team.
84 point pace vs Chelsea =]