We cast our eye over some of the figures from yesterday’s defeat at Arsenal, with Chelsea’s second-half improvement clear but ultimately too little, too late…
Gunners come out firing
Although both sides had seven first-half shots, five of Arsenal’s were inside the box compared to two of ours. They created two big chances, and scored with both of their shots on target before the break.
Arsenal’s front four spent 13.6 per cent of the first half in possession. That was close to a third of their total time on the ball (47 per cent), and underlines the threat they posed in the attacking part of the pitch.
In contrast, our front three were on the ball 8.2 per cent of the time in the first half. That figure rose to 13.1 per cent after the interval, indicative of our improvement.
Better after the break
In the second half, we had more ball possession (70 per cent to 53 per cent), more shots (12 to seven), more shots on target (three to zero), and more shots inside the box (nine to two) than we mustered before the break.
We won twice as many corners, and completed more accurate passes (292 to 214) at a better completion rate (88 per cent to 80 per cent) as well.
Our 27 attempted crosses were nearly four times higher than the same figure in the first half (seven).
Still, creating good chances remained a problem until Tammy Abraham’s 85th-minute goal from one of those crosses. That was our first attempt on target in the entire game. We managed two more, including Jorginho’s saved penalty, in the closing stages.
Overall, Arsenal won 16 tackles to our 10, with their pressure from the front highlighted by the eight successful challenges made between Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and subs Nicolas Pepe and Joe Willock.
Bright Hudson-Odoi impact
Callum Hudson-Odoi was brought on at half-time for his first league minutes since the win at Newcastle, and he was probably our liveliest attacker as we sought an unlikely comeback.
The winger was successful with two take-ons out of four attempted, and his six crosses included the assist for Abraham’s eighth goal in all competitions.
That was one of two key passes Hudson-Odoi made. Overall, he enjoyed a 93 per cent pass completion rate.