2018-19 is the first season in English football’s long history in which both Arsenal and Chelsea have started the season with brand new permanent managers (they came close in 1996 with Ruud Gullit and a hopeful Stewart Houston in situ, before Arsene Wenger was brought in from Japan) so this weekend’s game at the Emirates is a rare chance to review the impact the new men, Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri, have made at their respective clubs at an equal point.
The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge was one of the most entertaining-yet-flawed games of the season, with end to end football in the first 45 minutes before Arsenal unsuccessfully attempted to shut up shop in the second half. Chelsea went on to briefly join in with Liverpool and Manchester City’s title race but now seem set to battle with Arsenal and Manchester United for the final Champions League qualifying spot, the Big Three of the 2000s now fighting over a reduced bone.
"…he's come from *******JAPAN******" pic.twitter.com/5FyCfK7gPJ
— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) April 20, 2018
Impact
After defeat to Chelsea in August, Arsenal embarked on a curious 22 game unbeaten run that never seemed particularly maintainable and took in such varied opponents as Blackpool, Vorskla Poltava and Tottenham Hotspur. The 4-2 win against Spurs is Emery’s biggest statement so far amid a series of false dawns, like Mesut Ozil’s goal-and-an-assist-captain’s-performance against Leicester in October. “I think he [Ozil] can play every match with his commitment and his quality,” Emery said afterwards. Instead the German has yet to score or assist in the Premier League since and has not featured for Arsenal since Boxing Day.
Frank Clark didn’t have much left, but he did have the best unbeaten start to a Premier League managerial career (11 games) until Maurizio Sarri strolled along and extended it to 12. The 13th match, though, saw Chelsea seriously bested by Tottenham at Wembley and it has all been a bit more inconsistent since then, although they are a point ahead of where they were a year ago under Antonio Conte.
Approach
Sarri was brought to Chelsea largely to evolve their style from the trophy-winning yet functional Conte-era. Passes per game has gone up from 560 to 599, average possession is up from 55% to 66%, while shots on target has gone down from 5.8 per game to 5.4. Last season Chelsea had the fewest sequences of 10 or more open play passes in the Big Six, but this season they are only narrowly behind Manchester City. The changes Sarri has demanded from his players is obvious, he will hope the benefits will follow.
Arsenal head into the game with Chelsea having conceded more goals than one of the sides in the relegation zone (Newcastle) and that lack of defensive stability is the issue that is hampering Unai Emery most. Only Fulham have kept fewer clean sheets than Arsenal and only three goalkeepers in Premier League history have kept fewer shutouts in their first 15 games than Bernd Leno. If Chelsea score more than once then it will be Arsenal’s worst defensive record at this stage since the 1976-77 season, a campaign, interestingly, that saw Liverpool win the title by one point from Manchester City.
Special Move
Few managers in Premier League history have been as enamoured as Unai Emery with the baby boomer generation’s only real contribution to society: the substitution. He has chosen to use all three of his subs in every league game so far and 19 of the 66 changes have either come before or at half-time. Arsenal did not lead at half-time in the Premier League until December 22, so you can see why the early switch became Emery’s go-to move, although by definition it does not suggest a stable environment.
One of Maurizio Sarri’s early victories came off the field when his distribution corporal from Napoli, Jorginho, chose Chelsea over Manchester City. The naturalised Italian brought his boots and an operating system from Naples and people sat up and noticed when he made 180 passes in Chelsea’s game against West Ham in September, the most ever recorded by a single player in a Premier League game. The game, though, ended 0-0 and were Chelsea’s first dropped points of the season. Sometimes you just need goals.
10 years ago this weekend Stoke made 172 passes vs Liverpool. Today Jorginho made 180 by himself vs West Ham.
Both matches ended 0-0. Stop making passes, start scoring goals.
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) September 23, 2018
Verdict
If Arsenal are a club coming to terms with leaving the realm of a long-term manager, Chelsea are in the reverse position, and are having to show some patience. Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte all won their Premier League in their first season with the club, while they reached the 2008 Champions League final and won the Champions League in 2012 under interim managers. A club that have thrived on highly effective quick fixes are looking to future with the signing of Christian Pulisic and their ongoing efforts to retain Callum Hudson-Odoi. Arsenal’s transfer policy, in contrast, is unclear and, like much of 2018-19 so far, their solace will have to be short-term escapism, which a home win against Chelsea would certainly provide.
