Analysis: Arsenal

Unai Emery set his Arsenal team up in a 4-4-2 diamond, with Granit Xhaka the single pivot and Aaron Ramsey in the number 10 position behind Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Hector Bellerin provided width on the right, which saw Willian drop back to limit access into him. From here, Mateo Kovacic stepped forward on to Arsenal’s right centre-back – Sokratis Papastathopoulos – but this left Lucas Torreira free to advance forward from the right of the Arsenal diamond.

With Jorginho and N’Golo Kante wary of the combined threat of Ramsey and Matteo Guendouzi, and the forward movements of Lacazette keeping both David Luiz and Marcos Alonso busy, Torreira soon became Arsenal’s most consistently free attacking outlet. Sead Kolasinac also moved high on the Arsenal left, with Guendouzi dropping into the false full-back role – but with Cesar Azpilicueta less attack-minded than Alonso, Chelsea remained more compact on that flank. It was no surprise when Arsenal’s opener came from the right, then – Lacazette controlled Bellerin’s ball neatly before turning and hammering past Kepa at the near post.

With Chelsea starting to dominate possession, Ramsey pushed right on to playmaker Jorginho. While this gave the visitors more chance of playing round the Arsenal mid-block, it also gave the hosts a third runner high up the pitch, meaning they could launch quick and direct counter-attacks. Despite this, Arsenal’s second – scored by Laurent Koscielny, off his shoulder, shortly before half-time – actually came from a set-piece.

In the second half, Chelsea’s higher starting positions interrupted Arsenal’s previously short build and forced goalkeeper Bernd Leno to kick more long balls his front men failed to win. The more Arsenal tried to play through or around Chelsea’s higher press, the more men the visitors committed to the press, with Jorginho in particular moving very high. The only real chance the hosts engineered in the second half came from poor build-up from Chelsea, as both teams struggled against the committed high press.

Out of possession, Arsenal remained in their 4-4-2 diamond mid-block. Ramsey stepped on to Jorginho wherever possible, while Xhaka blocked off access into the feet of Eden Hazard. Guendouzi and Torreira were responsible for the movements of Kante and Kovacic.

Arsenal’s back line was occupied by the narrow structure of Chelsea’s front three, which naturally left spaces in the wide areas for the visitors to exploit with direct balls in behind for runners. Quick and direct movements from both Pedro and Willian gave a clear warning of what Chelsea can offer, but Arsenal’s central compactness was outstanding. And, without a central player to attack crosses, Chelsea’s attack was largely ineffective in such a tightly congested space.

The Gunners did become horizontally stretched in the second half, as Chelsea’s wide men – rather than the full-backs – provided the width. Although the visitors looked threatening, with Willian in particular proving a menace, Arsenal held on for three huge points in the battle for fourth place.