According to The Athletic, despite Chelsea's loss to Arsenal, Xabi Alonso's proactive style of play shows signs that the team is overcoming its inferiority complex.

A loss is still a loss, but when facing champions, how you lose matters just as much.

Chelsea has lost to Arsenal with a combined score of 11-2 across their last four Premier League visits to Emirates Stadium.

This record includes a visit in May 2023, when interim manager Frank Lampard's team fell behind 3-0 by the 34th minute. It includes April 2024, when Mauricio Pochettino's successor demanded his players prove they were more than just "PalmerFC", resulting in a crushing 5-0 defeat. There was a 1-0 loss in March 2025, where Maresca's team was overly cautious. And a 2-1 defeat in which Rosenior's team was twice undone by set pieces before a red card for Pedro Neto extinguished any comeback hopes.

The second leg of last season's League Cup semifinal falls outside this losing streak. That match, played in February, saw Rosenior's team arrive at Emirates with an aggregate deficit of 3-2, initially deploying five defenders to protect their promotion hopes before introducing Palmer and Estêvão in the 60th minute. The setup was pragmatic, but it was also a direct acknowledgment of Arsenal's superior quality.

On Sunday, Xabi Alonso's team showed greater ambition, even as Arsenal proved stronger than ever. Arteta's side have crowned themselves Premier League champions, and even without the injured Saliba, their defense carries almost unstoppable momentum this season.

Chelsea had beaten Fulham and Brighton with attacking intensity. From this perspective, Alonso's decision to field three attackers who aggressively pressed Arsenal was natural, and it aligns with the broader football philosophy he wants to build.

Any team can be caught out by set pieces, as Chelsea's early goal demonstrated. Arsenal were surprised by Morgan Rogers's finish in the 77th second, a somewhat fortuitous rebound. But this would not have happened if the visitors had not pushed six players into Arsenal's box to contest a free kick, leaving Rogers and Palmer, their two most clinical finishers, waiting outside.

Xabi Alonso said in his post-match press conference: "We did not want to sit deep from the first minute, wait for long balls, or let the game drag on. We wanted to be proactive, to be protagonists, to press sometimes higher, sometimes drop a bit, while maintaining good possession. We did many things right."

Chelsea spent long periods defending in the first half. After Rogers's goal, Arsenal quickly advanced, constantly creating fierce attacks through open play and set pieces. Havertz's equalizer seemed almost inevitable, but even after the score became 1-1, Alonso's team maintained its attacking intent, and the game settled into a tightly contested balance.

Martínez played a ball over Konsa to Rogers, who exchanged a one-two with João Pedro, quickly shifted to his right foot, and fired a shot that sailed just wide of David Raya's far post. Lavia forced an Arsenal mistake near midfield, James passed to João Pedro, who attempted a shot from 45 yards. In first-half stoppage time, Pedro Neto carried the ball on a rapid counterattack, cut in from the right, and struck the post.

During this period, Arsenal also had numerous attacking opportunities, particularly through their fluid positional rotations on the right flank, which continuously exploited weaknesses on Chelsea's left side. Wesley Fofana may have been Chelsea's best defender, but against the alternating presence of Ødegaard, Saka, and Ben White in crossing positions, he was constantly pulled out of position.

Chelsea occasionally showed surprising fragility when not in possession. Although Ødegaard's winning goal was set up by a brilliant dummy from Havertz, the buildup to the attack was too straightforward for a match of this caliber. Lavia was drawn out of position, and James, not a natural defensive midfielder, failed to identify the danger in time.

Such lapses might have previously triggered a complete Arsenal collapse, or at least caused the opposition to lose all control. But Chelsea did not crumble; they continued to press and search for an equalizer, nearly finding one in the closing stages. A dangerous curling shot from substitute Estêvão forced Raya into a world-class save.

Chelsea had 13 shots on Sunday, a total only matched once by a visiting Premier League team at Emirates last season. Many of these shots lacked genuine threat, and the team's xG for the entire match was 0.39, their lowest since Rosenior's team's previous visit to Brighton in April. But creating high-quality chances against Arsenal is nearly impossible; what opponents often can demonstrate is attacking ambition.

Xabi Alonso added: "We need to do better, we need to learn from them, because this is the highest level. When playing at the highest level, we want to be more effective and precise in all phases of the game. But this is where we are now, and this is our third match in this new phase at Chelsea. I'm pleased with the fighting spirit and attitude of the players."

This fighting spirit was evident throughout the tense London derby. Lavia marked White tightly. João Pedro and Myles Lewis-Skelly exchanged words directly. Rogers also told Rice what he thought of a reckless challenge in the second half.

Many older Chelsea supporters remember when the team regularly dominated Arsenal. In the Arteta era, this dynamic has completely reversed. One of Alonso's primary objectives on Sunday was to break the inferiority complex that has seemingly taken hold of too many players.

At Emirates Stadium, positive signs have emerged on this front. Chelsea still have a long road ahead in their Premier League title pursuit, but losing in this manner at least offers some reassurance: Alonso and his players are moving in the right direction.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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