@Chealsea’s next five games:

Leeds (H)
Hull City (H)
Brentford (A)
Bournemouth (H)
Everton (A)

🚨 @Arsenal_london vs Chelsea | GW3

🔴 What happened after the early goal?
🔴 Shadows of 22/23
🔵 Alonso’s tactical intentions

A MEGA tactical VIDEO thread.

@Chealsea
were able to score from a set piece after just 1:17, putting them ahead at the Emirates and creating the exact scenario we saw against Fulham and Brighton: Arsenal conceding early, then having to chase the game.

That’s not usually @Arsenal_london’s script.

They don’t often fall behind early, and they’re not usually forced to come from behind to win. So today, I want to break down exactly what happened: the intentions of both teams, how Arsenal responded after conceding, what Alonso was trying to create—and what he expected from Arteta.

We’ll start with Arsenal in possession: the problems they created for Chelsea, where those problems came from, and how Arsenal repeatedly found ways to manipulate Chelsea’s defensive structure.

Arsenal in a 3-1 progression. @Chealsea 4-4-2 medium block. White drops to attract Rogers. Ødegaard-Calafiori rotate: White pins Rogers, Ødegaard pins James, Calafiori pins Fofana. Fofana steps out → space opens between Lacroix & Hato for Havertz after White’s pass.

Final third. @Chealsea’s 4-4-2 low block is overloaded on the right. Ødegaard occupies the inside lane as MLS finds a sharp vertical pass. Saka moves outside-in, dragging Hato with him and opening the whole flank for White. Simple rotations, perfect timing.

Alonso has watched Emery enough. Mastering this takes years. @Chealsea’s 4-4-2 sat at 16.3m, without pressure at all. Neto dropped into a 5-man line. James-Lavia stayed deep. Havertz-White-Saka rotated. Calafiori received inside. Palmer’s awareness poor. Ødegaard-Saka found the gap. Numbers without control.

@Chealsea drop into a 5-4-1. Rice misses the diagonal. White drops to receive. 5v5 on the right. Unai Emery effect: recycle to move the block. 10 seconds later, it’s 4v3.

Watch James. His defensive behaviour is questionable—man-focused, but disconnected from the rest of the structure. A habit left from Maresca’s man-oriented principles?

Chelsea press in a 4-4-2. @Arsenal_london build with 4+1, including Raya. Ødegaard & MLS stretch James-Lavia, opening Rice. Palmer’s role is unclear—he doesn’t close the space to Rice, leaving @Chealsea’s midfield exposed. Chelsea then drop into a medium block. Ødegaard pins James, Saka pins Hato. Fofana can’t steps out to Ødegaard , opening space. Rice decision could be better. Havertz also needed more awareness.

@Chealsea
press high M2M. After Gabriel finds Tzolis, @Arsenal_london split the pitch: 4 inside the sequence , 5 outside. Havertz goes wide, Saka between the defenders, White attacks the half-space. You understand what I’m pointing at here, right?

Calafiori could have a book written on his movement, spatial awareness & understanding of freedom. Arteta gives him freedom—and he uses it positively. You could make a case he’s the best LB in the world. Easy.

btw , Excellent counterpress from Havertz.

Calafiori joins Gabriel & Konsa in the first line. Rice takes White’s position, Havertz occupies the half-space. Saka’s movement is huge: Hato follows, freeing White, while Fofana is still scanning Havertz. Bruno G in MLS’ position could play the right-footed diagonal into Saka 1v1 or White’s huge space. Then comes the Beckham switch.

Calafiori gets the pass wrong and @Chealsea transition. But watch Konsa: Arteta keeps insists him for moments like this. Last man. Delay. Rogers takes a heavy touch. Konsa executes the English tackle perfectly.

Yesterday I said I loved Arteta wanting to play Alonso’s game. Not yet. Chelsea transition? Arsenal transition. Chelsea faster. Arsenal faster. Last season, this likely ends with Arsenal stopping, everyone recovering their positions. Here, it ends with a shot on Martínez.

Out of possession. Now we see what @Chealsea are trying to do, and how Arsenal respond using the same principles they’ve relied on for the last five years.

M2M press. Gabriel follows Palmer into the first third, leaving a 2v2 in @Arsenal_london’s last line. Rice is responsible for the long ball. Turnover.

Big gap between Rogers & Palmer. Ødegaard receives comfortably, forcing @Chealsea back into a medium block. Now watch Zubimendi. Where does the “CDM” move? Freedom. Huge collective understanding. Starter or rotation, you’re coming in to keep the machine running.

I noticed this whenever @Chealsea rarely built short from a goal kick or in open play.

Gabriel steps outside the line with Palmer. Calafiori tracks Neto, Konsa tracks João Pedro, Rice tracks Rogers. Tzolis loses it—and this is exactly what Alonso wants. Chaos, trusting his quality to create something from nothing. Gabriel handles Neto well.

Tzolis → MLS → Tzolis → Ødegaard.

Now stop. 3v2. Ødegaard had to carry the ball here, forcing one defender out of the play. The situation becomes much easier. Instead, the one-touch pass to Havertz kills the whole attack.

@Chealsea progress in a 3-2-5. James drops into the first line with Lacroix & Fofana.

Why does Palmer drop beside Lavia from high to low? To make him harder to track and face the game for those deadly passes.

Acheampong in the right pocket, Neto wide. Hato & Rogers rotate: one wide, one in the pocket, while João Pedro sometimes drifts left.

I’ve seen people say Chelsea are well coached. That’s the contradiction for me. A team can have a clear structure and still be poorly coached if that structure consistently puts players in positions that don’t maximise them.

Two of the five are CBs: Hato & Acheampong. Palmer underneath while Acheampong stays high makes little sense to me. Chelsea have the quality to create danger, but if your structure consistently puts your best players in worse positions, that isn’t good coaching. It’s the contradiction.

Xabi Alonso will hold his pre-Leeds United [h] press conference from 1.30pm [UK] this afternoon

🚨🔵 Xabi Alonso on the @Arsenal_london defeat:

"With time, you have a deeper analysis and you can settle the emotions after the game. Until now, all the games have told us things, we have learned from them. We have talked, we have shared our feelings, our sensations in the game. Our main focus is now tomorrow."

On if Palestra and Caicedo ready:

"Not yet. They're still not ready to go. It's not the moment to take too early of a risk. We'll go game by game with them, but it's too early."

Xabi Alonso says Levi Colwill is OK for tomorrow.

On his first impressions of Barco:

"He's a competitor. He is a fighter, he's very good with the ball, he's very open to adapt quickly but he's intelligent. When you have this mentality and this intelligence, it's easier for him to adapt."

On being frustrating to not have Palestra:

"Especially for him. He came with huge energy and huge desire to enjoy the Premier League. He had a very good pre-season and then a few days before the game vs Fulham, he picked up an injury. We will need him for sure because he has a great potential and lots of good qualities."

On if Estevao is unhappy:

"No, Este is ready. He's training well. The other day, he had a good impact and a good chance. With Este, I count on him 100% because of his potential because he's so young. The season is going to be long."

On if he has spoken to Estevao:

"Private conversations should remain private. The season is going to be long. The players have the desire and the hunger to improve. Este is part of the group - he has a very good attitude and mentality to prepare for every game."

On if Moises Caicedo is back for Hull:

"Potentially, yes, but we will have to wait. Thursday or Friday we will know more."

On the process:

"It's going to be a long process but we need to be assessing where things are going. We need to be demanding as well. We need to improve. For sure, we want to have as many clean sheets as possible but the competition is hard. We are taking steps."

On if Henderson and Emegha are ready to play:

"No, not yet. How far? Ask me on Friday."

On if @Chealsea need to get meaner:

"We want to compete. I don't know about 'meaner', or whatever, but we need to compete in order to win games. It comes in the football way and the spirit and mentality way."

On Leeds game:

"We are expecting a very intense game, very tough, with lots of duels, but we need to cope with that and find solutions." 🔥⚔️

That’s all from Xabi Alonso for now…