Chelsea drew 1-1 with London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday evening.
In a heated, tense match that saw Moises Caicedo sent off in the 38th minute, Chelsea did well to frustrate Arsenal and hit the tired-looking Gunners on the counter.
Trevoh Chalobah scored early on in the second half, before Mikel Merino, playing as a false nine, cancelled the goal out with a header of his own.
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Feisty first half
One of Mikel Arteta’s biggest achievements has been transforming Arsenal from the ‘soft’ team they were before by purposefully signing physically imposing players.
They are incredible from set-pieces because of their physicality throughout the team. Chelsea matched this, and in Moises Caicedo’s case, you could accuse him of being a tad overzealous.
The Ecuadorian was deservedly sent off after a studs-high tackle on Merino.
But it was representative of a game in the first half that was chock full of fouls, cards and stoppages. There was always the danger of a red card happening, as the first 45 minutes alone saw six cards handed out.
Chelsea matched Arsenal in terms of being physical in the duels, and it meant that there was never a rhythm to the game until Caicedo’s sending off, when the Blues were forced to drop deeper.
Chelsea match Arsenal 3v3
This season, Arsenal have dropped three or four players in the middle of the pitch who aren’t playing in midfield, to try and dominate that area and create space elsewhere.
It helps to have Merino up front as a false nine to do this because the Spaniard is used to playing as a central midfielder.
For instance, against Bayern Munich, Merino would drop into the middle of the pitch, followed by defender Jonathan Tah. As he would drag him out of position, it created space up front.
Arteta tried to use a similar tactic against Chelsea, but Enzo Maresca had a plan for this in response.
Chelsea frequently matched Arsenal man for man in the middle of the pitch, so whenever Eberechi Eze, Merino or Jurrien Timber would attempt to get on the ball, they were swiftly followed by a Chelsea shirt, be it Reece James, Enzo Fernandez or Trevoh Chalobah stepping out of defence. Arsenal didn’t help themselves by misplacing a lot of passes.
Chelsea’s discipline to keep this up after the red card was admirable, and though they conceded, Maresca’s side showed that they can be tactically astute when down to 10 men, and they needed to be as it was the fourth league game this season where they picked up a red card.
Reece James fills midfield void
Reece James has had his fair share of struggles with injuries. Particularly in the last two seasons, where he needed surgery.
Ahead of the World Cup this summer, James is in the form of his life. The Cobham graduate was all over the pitch, be it through tackling, creating chances or breaking up play.
It’s salient that one of the league’s best midfielders was sent off and James filled the void.
His statistics and heat map show how busy a game James had: two chances created, one big chance created, five aerial duels won and dangerous with his passing in the final third too.
For a long time, the conundrum for Chelsea was how to make the most out of an Enzo Fernandes and Moises Caicedo pivot. James’s ability to play as well as he has in the pivot — also running the show against Barcelona in midweek — means Maresca can use Enzo Fernandez in a ‘free role’, taking away his defensive responsibilities.
Chelsea’s block frustrates Arsenal
Arteta tinkered with his team as he tried to make the most of the numerical superiority.
Martin Odegaard, Viktor Gyokeres and Myles Lewis-Skelly all came on as Arsenal attempted to push more men up the pitch.
For some of the Gunners’ attacks in the second half, the full-backs joined the wingers to push Chelsea’s defensive line back, but bar crosses from Bukayo Saka, Arsenal were quite blunt.
Chelsea still threatened from transitions after the red card in what has been a good week for Maresca’s side. While Arsenal remain the team to beat in the league and are five points clear at the top, there will be a quiet frustration that they didn’t make more of playing against 10 men for so long.