Mikel Arteta embraces Enzo Maresca before Arsenal defeated Chelsea.
Mikel Arteta embraces Enzo Maresca before Arsenal defeated Chelsea.
Eyebrows were raised and confirmation was swiftly sought when Mikel Arteta hailed his Arsenal players for silencing what he said is the Premier League best attack in open play “by a mile.”
Chelsea were leaving the Emirates after one meaningful shot and just eight touches in the Gunners’ penalty area when Arteta insisted he had “a lot of data” to back the theory up.
“They can open you up, they can run in transition, they have individual quality, any player in the defensive line can throw you in behind, they can combine on both sides, on weak sides and they are missing some big players as well at the moment,” Arteta said.
And while Chelsea supporters grow increasingly fed up with Enzo Maresca’s style of play, the expected numbers suggest that Arteta was at least partially right - across the season Chelsea’s attack ranks just behind runaway leaders Liverpool.
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Chelsea have an expected goals figure of 55.9 for the season so far, bettered only by the Reds' 65, with an expected assists total of 42.9 - again, behind just Liverpool's 47.2.
But the key difference is that while Arne Slot ’s team are overperforming those guide figures (they have 69 goals and 51 assists), Chelsea are slightly underperforming with 52 and 40. Only West Ham, Bournemouth, Southampton and Crystal Palace (on an astonishing -10.1) are tracking worse than the expected figures.
Chelsea are also the only club with two players inside the top 10 for big chances missed so far this season - third-placed Nicolas Jackson with 15 and joint-seventh Cole Palmer on 13.
Enzo Maresca looks on during Chelsea visit to Arsenal.
Enzo Maresca looks on during Chelsea visit to Arsenal.
The absence of both against Arsenal was a massive factor behind the team’s meek performance and Palmer’s dip in form has been the leading factor behind a run of only four league wins in 13 games that has turned them from title contenders to clinging on to a Champions League spot.
And a deeper dive shows that six of their 10 league games since the turn of the year have produced below average expected figures and included awful returns of 0.5 against Brighton last month plus 0.4 at the Emirates.
So while Arteta was right that the season-long data suggests Chelsea are an attacking force, their strong start is masking the recent reality.
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