Chelsea: A tactical analysis from the humiliating loss at Arsenal

Chelsea suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of Arsenal, easily the worst defeat of the Frank Lampard era, here’s how the game breaks down tactically.

There goes my prediction into the trash can. Chelsea—after a return to winning ways against West Ham a few days prior—succumbed to a struggling Arsenal team, which was on a seven-game winless streak in the Premier League prior. Here’s a brief tactical analysis of what really went down at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday night.

For the first 10 or so minutes, Arsenal was easily the better team. The Gunners were pressing high up the pitch very efficiently, covering up all spaces in the flanks so there was not a lot of options for Chelsea’s defenders. Kurt Zouma in particular had problems in dealing with the press, giving up possession a couple of times in the contest’s opening moments. After that, the Blues did get the control back to an extent and looked somewhat decent on the ball. But, the problem was, there wasn’t enough movement aside from that of Mason Mount. The offense looked stagnant, except for whenever Christian Pulisic got the ball, but more on him later.

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When Arsenal attacked, a lot of the volume came from the left. Reece James had some difficulties in dealing with Kiernan Tierney’s dangerous runs throughout the game. That’s what happened before the first goal: James had trouble keeping up with Tierney and gave away a controversial penalty. Now, whether it was a penalty or not (it wasn’t) is a different topic. The fact of the matter is: Tierney beat him and he still went in for the challenge, which was very risky. Obviously, that resulted in the penalty, and Arsenal scored.

The second goal was another set-piece and this time it was from the right side. Bukayo Saka got the ball and drifted inward, getting fouled by N’Golo Kante in the process to put the free kick in play. Most of Arsenal’s attack was from the wings, and the Gunners utilized the space between Chelsea’s wingers and fullbacks really well as there was no midfielder helping Kante out defensively in the flanks. He was constantly being forced to cover a lot of ground, with so much space waiting to be exploited.

In setting up the third goal, Hector Bellerin made a deep run down the right side, which no one closed down. Emile Smith Rowe got the ball and passed it to Saka, who made a dashing run into the box and still, no one closed him down. Not Kante, who was tracking his run the whole time during that sequence, nor Thiago Silva, who was up against him when he received the ball. The whole move started when Arsenal beat Chelsea’s uninspired and beatable press. It was bizarre in every way possible—poor defending all around.

There was no one, in particular, that was having a great game at the end of the first half. One player that was doing well, but didn’t see much of the ball, was Christian Pulisic. He made a couple of really, really good runs into the box and the edge of the area, dribbling past a couple of Arsenal players. He always tried to create something out of nothing up against that tight Arsenal defense. The problem? He didn’t see much of the ball. He only had 43 touches, most of which were in the second half on the left flank, when his influence had waned down a little as the team looked to have already accepted defeat by then.

Pulisic dribbled past Arsenal players seven times, which was something the Blues would’ve loved to see more of. It was the highest number of dribbles completed by any player on the pitch. He had three key passes and seven shot-creating actions, all in 43 touches. He was at least top two in stat leaders for the game (the other one was Mason Mount, who also had a comparatively decent game). He did his best to lead the team to a comeback, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Another problem for the Blues under Lampard has been their frequent struggle while attempting to break down low blocks. When Arsenal’s press didn’t work, the Gunners dealt with Chelsea by staying behind and letting the Blues have the majority of possession. They were always looking to pounce on the right opportunity and they didn’t give Chelsea a lot of space—that was crucial.

Chelsea’s press wasn’t working, and so it struggled to break down Arsenal’s surges forward, which also meant that it couldn’t win the ball to start counterattacks—something Lampard’s side is very good at. Combine those struggles with a bucket load of space that was left for Kante to cover, and it is a recipe for disaster. Even with the somewhat improved second half, with Callum Hudson-Odoi—who assisted Tammy Abraham’s goal on a great cross—replacing Timo Werner and Jorginho replacing Mateo Kovacic, Chelsea didn’t have a lot to show for it. The Blues scored a goal, but there was little to no intensity. The team looked defeated, and the press was distorted.

One more thing I noticed from the second half was the lack of structure in the team. There was a sequence where all of Mount, Jorginho and Kante were near the Arsenal box with literally no one covering for them in the midfield. Thankfully, they weren’t punished. In general, Arsenal created chances, but didn’t have the finishing touch sometimes. The scoreline could’ve been a lot worse.

Abraham pulled one back late on, and a spike in intensity was evident. Mount won a penalty, which could’ve made for a brilliant ending had it gone in. Spoiler alert: it didn’t, Jorginho missed his second of the season, and the Blues lost their third game in four.

Chelsea’s focus now turns to Aston Villa at home as the Blues look to bounce back.