#2 Chelsea are a better-drilled team than Arsenal
In terms of individual personnel, Arsenal are a match for Chelsea in almost every position. In fact, the Gunners have one of the strongest squads in the Premier League in terms of individual quality. The problem for them is that the whole is never greater than the sum of the individual parts. Chelsea, on the other hand, are the exact opposite of Arsenal in that their whole is greater than the sum of individual parts.
Much of this is down to the philosophy of the managers. While Wenger eschews structure and organisation to allow players – especially creative players – freedom and independence to make their own decisions, Conte, like most modern managers, places emphasis on structure, organisation and repetition on the training ground. Wenger allows his players to play unburdened by rigid instructions and this often leads to chaotic games.
While this works against most teams, when Arsenal come up against well-drilled teams like Chelsea they look clueless. As we saw in the Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea went 1-0 up early and then picked off Arsenal on the counter-attack. On the back of a memorable Premier League triumph, even Arsenal’s switch to a back three should not pose much of a problem for Conte’s men.
