%20rotate(-8.06)%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22336.19%20136.81%20330.16%2094.25%20326.06%2071.19%20326.44%2071.13%20335.22%2093.54%20352.29%20134.52%20373.95%20131.46%20362.7%2052.01%20350.02%2053.8%20356.05%2096.36%20360.15%20119.42%20359.77%20119.48%20350.99%2097.08%20333.91%2056.09%20312.25%2059.15%20323.51%20138.6%20336.19%20136.81%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22402.91%2059.3%20412.36%20126.02%20427.17%20123.92%20417.72%2057.21%20431.59%2055.24%20429.79%2042.51%20387.23%2048.53%20389.04%2061.27%20402.91%2059.3%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22463.51%20118.77%20458.69%2084.71%20474.68%2082.44%20479.51%20116.5%20494.36%20114.4%20483.11%2034.95%20468.26%2037.06%20472.96%2070.25%20456.96%2072.52%20452.26%2039.32%20437.4%2041.43%20448.65%20120.88%20463.51%20118.77%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22540.5%20107.87%20538.77%2095.68%20518.91%2098.49%20515.77%2076.29%20535.63%2073.47%20533.93%2061.5%20514.07%2064.32%20511.11%2043.42%20530.98%2040.61%20529.25%2028.42%20494.53%2033.34%20505.78%20112.78%20540.5%20107.87%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22299.03%20155.17%20301.29%20171.58%20542.78%20138.39%20540.5%20121.97%20299.03%20155.17%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Last weekend, Arsenal were given a pretty tough battle by Chelsea. However, the London rivals did not give us a challenge like Napoli did.
Napoli posed Arsenal's greatest threat of the season so far. They were defensively organised, and they maintained a great shape throughout the entirety of the match. For a lot of the game, Arsenal were greeted by eleven players behind the ball - a tactic the Gunners can obviously respect.
The Italian side was almost impossible to break down. They went into the game knowing what they wanted to do, and that was to prevent Arsenal from scoring. It was a goal they almost achieved.
Throughout the match, Napoli registered a mere 0.21 expected goals (xG). They flurried forward when they could, but they were shut out by Arsenal's defensive regimen. Arsenal, on the other hand, registered a whopping 4.31 xG.
Napoli (0.21) 0-1 (4.31) Arsenal
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) September 9, 2026
It could have easily been four or five goals for Arsenal, but Napoli limited them to just one. It was a challenge to score on the night, and the goal came from a world-class Martin Ødegaard goal.
Napoli gave Arsenal a greater challenge than Chelsea
The difference between Napoli and Chelsea is that the Italian side was genuinely hard to break down. Chelsea, on the other hand, broke down like a sugar cube in tea.
We've learned a lot about this Chelsea team so far. What we've learned is that they cannot compete with Arsenal for the title playing the way they do. They simply let in too many goals, and that is not sustainable for any team.
Watching them play gives me memories of watching Arsenal under Unai Emery. Sure, it was more exciting than watching a Mikel Arteta team, but I was never sure we'd win. I've always been sure under Arteta.
When Morgan Rogers scored, nobody was fazed. Fair enough; it was a great goal, but nobody was convinced Chelsea would win the match.
Genuinely, I don’t remember being fazed one bit by Rogers’ goal https://t.co/FwPNVlHYFZ
— Pain In The Arsenal (@PainInThArsenal) September 8, 2026
The truth is that Chelsea conceding a goal is an absolute guarantee at this point. Arsenal was still far more likely to outscore the visitors, and that's what they did.
Arsenal beating Napoli means they can beat an array of different teams. Over the past two games, they've faced an offensive team and a defensive team, and they came out the better team in both.
The biggest compliment to Arteta is that he's not a one-trick pony, but fans knew this anyway.
Add us as a preferred source on Google