Arsenal break two years unwanted record against Chelsea

Arsenal broke a two-year-old streak that had been haunting them following the 2-2 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The Gunners found themselves trailing after a contentious handball decision involving William Saliba, which led to a Cole Palmer penalty goal. The task became even more daunting as Mykhailo Mudryk’s wayward cross caught David Raya off-guard, resulting in an early second-half goal for Chelsea.

However, Arsenal’s resilience shone through as they made a dramatic comeback with less than 15 minutes left on the clock. Declan Rice, in his second goal of the season, capitalised on a poor pass from Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez to cut the deficit before substitute Leandro Trossard secured the equaliser late in the game to salvage a point for the Gunners in what had been a challenging evening in west London.

Arsenal break two years unwanted record against Chelsea

Before the late-game excitement, Arsenal had offered little in terms of attacking prowess throughout the entire first half. Mikel Arteta was overseeing his 143rd Premier League game in charge, but he had witnessed his side attempt fewer first-half shots (just two) only on six occasions. The Gunners had also had fewer first-half touches in the opposition box (three) on just five previous occasions. Additionally, their first-half expected goals (xG) total of 0.12 ranked as their eighth lowest in the 143 league games under Arteta.

Arsenal had maintained a solid away record in the Premier League all season, winning their first three away matches. Palmer’s goal marked the first goal Arsenal had conceded away from home this season, ending a streak of 335 minutes in away games without conceding, dating back to the end of the 2022-23 season.

Opta statistics revealed that the draw at Stamford Bridge brought an end to Arsenal’s run of eight Premier League away games in which they had trailed by two or more goals—a streak that had persisted since March 2021 when they drew 3-3 against West Ham. Prior to this draw, they had lost all eight of those matches.

After Leandro Trossard’s game-saving equaliser, Arsenal substitutes have contributed five goals and three assists in nine Premier League matches this season. Only Newcastle and Brighton had witnessed more goal involvements from their substitutes in the Premier League this season (both nine) than Arsenal’s eight. Brighton are the only team to have provided more goals (seven) than Arsenal’s five.

Notably, Trossard became the first player in Arsenal’s history to score his first three Premier League goals as a substitute.

However, Arsenal goalkeeper Raya had a less fortunate day, conceding all seven penalties he had faced in the Premier League—six out of six for Brentford and one out of one for Arsenal. The only keeper with a similar record was David Marshall, who faced nine penalties in the competition and conceded every time.