Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1: tactical analysis

Chelsea and Arsenal could not be separated in a derby that left the teams on 19 points each, after 11 games of the Premier League season. Enzo Maresca’s Blues sit third in the table, above their London rivals on goal difference, with both clubs now nine points behind the early pacesetters, Liverpool.

That gap is more of a disappointment for an Arsenal side who harbour genuine aspirations of winning the title. Struggling for form in recent weeks, it was Mikel Arteta’s team who created the better chances in this game. Chelsea, meanwhile, would surely be happy with a top-four place next May, given their travails in recent times. But regardless of targets for the season, both teams probably deserved to take something from this game.

Indeed, both Chelsea and Arsenal had good opportunities to take the lead before the break. Arsenal came closest, when Kai Havertz – who scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final – had a strike ruled out for offside on 34 minutes. Gabriel Martinelli then fired Arsenal in front, on the hour, converting an assist from the returning Martin Ødegaard, as the Gunners searched for a first win in five games. Chelsea’s response, however, was swift; 10 minutes later, Pedro Neto ran on to an Enzo Fernández pass and struck from outside the box to equalise.

Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches have highlighted the key tactical points, from a hard-fought game at Stamford Bridge…

How the managers saw it

“The performance was good,” said Enzo Maresca of his Chelsea team. “We played the way we wanted to play, both on the ball and off the ball. The game for some moments was open and anything could have happened for either side, but 100 per cent we deserved the point.”

“After doing the most difficult thing – scoring the first goal – [I am] very disappointed with how we conceded,” reflected Arteta. “[It was] nowhere near the standards… and the moment you allow that space and time to any of their players, with the quality they have, you’re going to get punished.”

Beating Arsenal’s 4-2-4/4-4-2

Against Arsenal’s 4-2-4 defensive shape, Chelsea performed what has become their usual back-three conversion under Maresca, with Malo Gusto joining the midfield from right-back. Nicolas Jackson’s dropping helped to further overload central areas, as Chelsea started well. Cole Palmer’s initial widening to the left (below) helped him to receive freely, well away from both Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka, who focused on staying narrow. From there, Palmer found Neto to attack Ben White, or switched out to Noni Madueke, with the home team pinning Arsenal back early on.

Arsenal then adapted their mid-block to a much flatter second line, with Saka and Martinelli positioned deeper in a 4-4-2. This reduced any inside-channel passes into the hosts’ number 10s, with Palmer in particular no longer able to receive by widening. Partey tracked Palmer much closer, with Declan Rice providing similar cover in the spaces around Gusto. Chelsea then struggled to connect via their higher midfield players, which stalled their momentum. When Ødegaard staggered his positioning, and Havertz locked the play one way, Arsenal set useful traps in midfield to help regain the ball (below).

Arsenal’s improved block helped secure possession more often. In possession, Partey dropped in to the back line, as William Saliba and Gabriel widened to work around Chelsea’s front-line pair. In midfield, Ødegaard and Rice operated as two number eights, supporting Havertz in the central spaces. Jurriën Timber joined Martinelli wide left, often hovering underneath. On their right, White was much more penetrative with his movements, often looking to overlap when Saka drove inside. If Saka moved inwards off the ball, White simply ran beyond (below). The Arsenal right-back’s forward running proved useful for the visitors, especially with Marc Cucurella defending so well against Saka.

Wide threats

Both teams continued to have a significant defensive presence in the middle, with many players performing screening roles. This meant that playing around, into wide areas, was key in the second period. For Chelsea, Cucurella moved higher to support and threaten inside White, which gave more space for Neto to receive along the touchline (below).

Yet despite Neto frequently receiving in this position, and White being on a yellow card, the Chelsea attacker could have attacked directly more often. When he did attack White on the angle, his crosses proved threatening. And with Palmer drifting slightly deeper, any time that Neto drove White back, Palmer had more space to influence the game. Neto did score the equaliser, but Chelsea should have worked better-quality chances in the second half, considering the situations they created in good areas.

Arsenal’s wide threat in the second half often came via Ødegaard, who took up useful wide-right positions in support of White and Saka. This full-back/winger pair continued to work off each other, fed by Ødegaard’s clinical forward passing. Arteta was forced to bring on Mikel Merino for the injured Rice on 71 minutes, and with his first touch the Spanish midfielder almost scored from a dangerous Saka cross.

Minutes later, with Chelsea recovering bodies back to limit White and Saka, an inswinging cross from Ødegaard created another chance for Arsenal to retake the lead. With Timber locking the edge of the penalty area, and Leandro Trossard (on for Martinelli) attacking the back post, Merino crashed the box (below). This time he met Ødegaard’s lofted cross with a header, which Havertz narrowly failed to divert before it was saved by Robert Sánchez. 

Arsenal’s overlapping threats continued late into the game, and they created enough chances to secure three points. Havertz began to drift wide – possibly out of frustration rather than as a tactical solution – which further added to Arsenal’s right-side combinations. Ødegaard continued to orchestrate their combinations and remained a threat, with Gabriel Jesus – on for the injured Saka – providing crosses after progressing beyond, especially when White moved inside. Trossard continued to attack the back post (below), with either Timber or Merino providing a late run from the edge of the box. In the 87th minute, it was Merino who met a Jesus cross at the near post. His effort was parried by Sánchez, though, and Trossard fired the rebound over with the goal at his mercy.

Arsenal created another chance to win, with the final kick of the game. This time it came from the left, with a Saliba ball across the six-yard box. Neither Trossard nor Havertz could get the final touch on another dangerous wide attack, however, and the points were shared.

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