Chelsea’s second loss under Graham Potter, and our fifth of the season overall, came on Sunday lunchtime at Stamford Bridge when the Gunners won 1-0 courtesy of a close-range finish from Gabriel Magalhaes.

It was one of just three shots on target in the game, two for the visitors and one for the Blues, and reflected a stop-start contest in which chance creation was at a premium.

• German opponents drawn in Champions League last-16

• Chelsea Women vs Spurs at the Bridge: Get your tickets now

• Frustrated Chalobah looking for response

Aided by their Brazilian defender poking in Bukayo Saka’s inswinging corner from the goal-line, Mikel Arteta’s side finished with a higher expected goals tally. For Chelsea, a score of 0.3 was our lowest xG of the season.

The result also ends a 21-game run of Premier League home matches in which Chelsea have scored, the best such streak since 2017.

Pushed back

The Blues were suffocated by Arsenal’s organised and relentless pressing game, which forced us back and pinned us into our own half for much of the afternoon. Our 264 completed passes contrasted with the visitors’ 371 and our passing accuracy was also lower than usual with a 73 per cent completion rate.

That meant our front players did not have the opportunity to impact the game. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had eight touches in 64 minutes, while the supporting trio of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling accounted for three shots and one successful dribble between them.

Our average positions graphic also shows a team restricted in width and depth, with Sterling ultimately unable to expose the attacking instincts of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Keeping the score down

Potter conceded after the full-time whistle that Arsenal were deserving of the three points and the margin of victory could have been greater were it not for the defensive efforts of the home side. Cesar Azpilicueta won a game-high four aerial duels, made the same number of clearances and a further two successful interceptions.

Meanwhile, Edouard Mendy kept the Gunners out with one significant save from Gabriel Jesus, though he would have been disappointed that Arsenal scored from the resulting set-piece to inflict our first home defeat since losing to the same opponents back in April.

The chance to bounce back comes quickly with Carabao Cup action at Manchester City on Wednesday. We have a good recent record at this stage of that competition, having progressed past the third round in the previous 11 seasons.