José Mourinho is criticised for being too defensive, while Arsène Wenger’s big-match team selection is often too adventurous – but there was something of a role reversal at Stamford Bridge.

While Mourinho opted for his more attacking formation – a 4-2-3-1 with four attacking players joined by Cesc Fábregas from deeper – Wenger’s 4-1-4-1 indicated Arsenal would play more defensively.

That caution extended to Arsenal’s overall play. During last season’s 6-0 defeat in this fixture, Arsenal threw their full-backs forward immediately and were repeatedly ripped apart on the counter-attack, but this time they played with more patience. The full-backs were deeper, the midfield was more structured, and this was a scrappy, slow-burning contest with few goalscoring chances.

The key feature of Chelsea’s victory was the movement of the two wide players. With Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla pushing up to shut down Fábregas and Nemanja Matic, plus Mathieu Flamini drawn towards Oscar, pockets of space opened up for André Schürrle and Eden Hazard to drift into. Both popped up in different positions throughout the first half, first receiving the ball towards the flanks, but then finding room between the lines. The more Chelsea had possession, the more Hazard and Schürrle had license to vacate their wide positions.

Kieran Gibbs coped well with Schürrle, but on the opposite flank Arsenal had significant problems with Hazard. Calum Chambers was booked midway through the first half for a clumsy challenge on the Belgian near the touchline, but Hazard’s key contribution came from a more central role. As Chelsea built play down the right, Hazard darted inside from the left when recognising there was space between the lines, received a pass from Fábregas, then drove past Flamini and Chambers, and drew a foul from Laurent Koscielny. Hazard converted the spot-kick with typical confidence.

Both managers changed formation after 69 minutes. Wenger introduced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Cazorla, meaning Mesut Ozil could move inside into his favoured No10 position. Unfortunately for the German, his ex-Real Madrid manager Mourinho was busy bringing on John Obi Mikel to sit alongside Matic and protect that central zone.

Chelsea shut down the game effectively, while offering a threat on the break too. Another Hazard run nearly forced Flamini into an own goal, while Fábregas moved forward to link midfield and attack. His superb lofted through-ball for Diego Costa helped clinch the victory, but Hazard’s unpredictable movement and tricky dribbling had put Chelsea in control.