Chelsea are coming to the Emirates with seven league goals, five conceded and Morgan Rogers already involved in four of them. Arsenal have six points, two clean sheets and have allowed one shot on target in the league.
That contrast is the match.
Xabi Alonso has inherited a Chelsea squad capable of playing the patient football associated with his Leverkusen side, but the first two league games have been much less polite. Chelsea scored after 32 seconds at Fulham and were 3-0 up against Brighton after 32 minutes. Brighton then dragged the match back to 3-2 and Chelsea eventually won 4-3. Alonso’s side had only 26 per cent of the ball that day. They can build. They can also run.
Arteta has already picked out the early goals as a problem. He is right to. Arsenal’s first task on Sunday is to deny Chelsea the version of the game they have enjoyed so far, where one early break opens the pitch and Rogers, Cole Palmer and João Pedro can attack defenders before the block is set.
That front three is awkward because none of them has to stay where the team sheet puts him. João Pedro drops towards midfield. Palmer wants the right inside channel. Rogers can carry from the left and keep going through contact. If Arsenal’s defenders start passing those players between themselves rather than owning the next action, Chelsea will create the half-second they need.
The absence of William Saliba matters for that reason. Arsenal have defended superbly without him, but Coventry and Aston Villa did not repeatedly put three elite receivers between midfield and the back line. Whether Cristhian Mosquera is passed fit or Ezri Konsa starts, Arsenal’s right side will be asked to defend Rogers in spaces Saliba normally erases with recovery speed.
The interesting weakness is at the other end of Chelsea’s shape.
Alonso likes a back three with wing-backs high and two attacking midfielders inside. The structure can become a narrow column through the centre before the ball is switched wide. It also leaves a difficult question when possession is lost. If both wing-backs have advanced and the inside forwards are ahead of the ball, the wide centre-backs have a lot of grass to protect.
That is where Arsenal should be braver than they were for long periods at Villa Park.
Gerry G – Goonerviews
