What Arsenal must do in order to beat Chelsea

Mikel Arteta has a significant job on his hands to turn this current slump around as Arsenal prepare for the daunting task of taking on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Using the opposition’s standing in the table as source of reassurance has proved ill-advised over the last three games. In the cases of Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton all the teams were comfortably safe in the division and weren’t in the best of form.

Arsenal lost all three games.

Therefore, looking at Chelsea and seeing them as a side without much to play for in the Premier League as they occupy the no-man’s land of being neither under threat of dropping out of the top four or challenging for the title won’t do the visitors any favours.

Chelsea vs Arsenal: Mikel Arteta’s side must take the lead in their Premier League match if they are to stand any chance of securing the victory

Chelsea are third in the table for a reason. They’ve scored only eight fewer goals than Manchester City and have conceded only three more. Thomas Tuchel’s Blues are a top side.

In order to leave Stamford Bridge with three points in the bag it will require absolute focus, determination, precise tactical execution and everyone finding their top level. This much goes without saying.

Yet there is another aspect that Arsenal have to nail if they are to stand any chance of victory in this match: they must to score first.

Boasting a dreadful record of losing 11 of the 13 league matches this season where they have trailed, winning on only one such occasion where Alexandre Lacazette’s wayward shot against Wolves deflected its way into the net in added time, is a damning statistic for Arsenal to hold onto.

Digging deeper, that win over Wolves was the first time during Arteta’s tenure where Arsenal had come from behind at half-time to win. This team, for all its endearing characteristics, is incapable of successfully overturning a deficit.

There is no definitive answer to explain why this is. Might it be the inexperience of the young group? Does it come down to how wasteful in front of goal the side is not just when behind but overall?

By contrast, Manchester United, who have also trailed on 13 occasions, have won nine points compared to the Gunners’ four. Tottenham and West Ham, who’ve been behind on 17 occasions respectively, have both mustered up a league-high 14 points from losing positions.

Against Chelsea it’s never easy to win, let alone doing so from an inferior game state. But the metrics this season do stress the importance of going in front as on the 21 occasions Arsenal have taken the lead in the Premier League this campaign they’ve gone on to win 17 times.

How this team manages games when they’re in front, whether that be the famous Rob Holding 5-2-3 shape or starving the opposition of the ball, is commendable. But there is a huge disparity in the statistics and in a game of this magnitude for a team in this position, never before has being in front been so important.

Doing so won’t wrap victory up, but it undoubtedly helps.