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#4 Chelsea's midfield dominated proceedings
Chelsea had 63% possession and 891 touches on the ball. They attempted 719 passes with 89% accuracy. Arsenal had 605 touches on the ball and attempted 427 passes with 82% accuracy.
Right from the start, Kante and Jorginho seemed to be on the same wavelength. Those two were ably supported by Barkley, who had one of his better games. The Chelsea midfield showed greater intent in the game. Kante was fabulous as usual, joining in the attack as well as helping out in retrieving the ball. The arrival of Jorginho seems to have freed up the Frenchman.
Chelsea pressed better, closed down the opponents with great urgency and on most occasions, won back the ball almost immediately. This is an aspect of Sarri Ball, Maurizio Sarri’s tactics, and the Chelsea midfield seems to have been tutored well into the details of Sarri’s philosophy.
Most of all, Arsenal’s two-man pivot of Guendouzi and Xhaka was dominated by the midfield trio of Chelsea. Ozil should have dropped down more to help out his midfield, but the German does not have that aspect to his game, which is something Emery must ponder upon.
