Boxing Day Showdown: How Arsenal Can Beat Chelsea — Pundit

By Daily sports on December 26, 2020

A pundit has outlined what Arsenal must do to beat Chelsea in today’s Boxing Day Premier League showdown.

To make that happen, Mikel Arteta must get his players to end their poor recent first-half performances, Adrian Clarke said in a game preview on premierleague.com, the official website of the Premier League. Please read on . . .

Mikel Arteta has a number of issues to resolve at Arsenal but getting them to start matches better will be among his main priorities ahead of facing Chelsea.

Since the beginning of the season Arsenal have scored only five first-half goals.

Alexandre Lacazette was their last player to score in the opening 45 minutes, in a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on 28 September.

Of the three players who have scored for Arsenal before half-time, Lacazette is the only one whose effort did not come from a set-piece or a penalty.

Arsenal have gone into the break ahead only once this season, on the opening weekend at Fulham.

Another sluggish start on Boxing Day and they will be punished by Chelsea, who are strong finishers, scoring 20 second-half goals, the most in the division.

Improve going forward

Arsenal must also sharpen up their finishing and improve their creativity.

They are ranked 16th for chances created and have spurned too many of the few opportunities they have mustered.

Arsenal have actually made the same number of key passes from open play, 93, as Southampton, and three more than Tottenham Hotspur.

And their 14 big chances created are one more than Leicester City. But they have lacked the potency of those at the top.

Arsenal's shot-conversion rate stands at a low 10.9 per cent, with all of the current top six exceeding 21 per cent.

Defender Gabriel, with 25 per cent, and Lacazette, with 21.4 per cent, are the only Arsenal players to match that ratio as individuals.

It is no coincidence the leading six sides all boast the strongest conversion rates in the Premier League.

Back to basics

With confidence low, Arteta has plenty to ponder ahead of Saturday’s demanding test.

Arsenal may adopt a more back-to-basics approach and play with a higher intensity to try to unsettle Chelsea.

In this fixture last season Arsenal took the lead after 13 minutes.

Although Chelsea came back to win 2-1 in that match, Arteta will be hoping his side can make a similarly fast start again.

•PHOTO: Will Arsenal players celebrate today?

Source Daily sports

Posted December 26, 2020


 

You may also like...
Southampton’s Austin charged for gesture at Man City...

Atletico Increase LaLiga Lead With Victory At Villarreal...

Messi’s 'Camp Nou could be closed'

Abubakar Lawal’s Goal Not Enough To Salvage Point...

‘Iwobi silver lining in Everton sky’

Nadal breaks McEnroe’s 34-year record in Madrid but...

 

Latest News CAF awards: Ajibade, Nnadozie, Edo Queens bag nominations Lagos SWAN, PAACC Hold SWAN Day At Golfview Hotels, Ikeja Crisis looms as Eagles’ form raises AFCON, W’Cup concerns Ex-Nigerian Super Falcons player handcuffed, children assaulted as police storm Anambra Football Academy Sports NFF, teammates console Nwabali on father’s death Abia Govt hails Nigeria Olympic Committee over staging an admin course in Umuahia Libya deliver Eagles 2025 AFCON ticket Eagles battle Cheetahs for 2025 AFCON ticket Yellow Greens gear up for T20 W’Cup qualifiers Tyson tips Fury to beat Joshua Sadiq absent as 22 Eagles train in Abidjan Eagles’ striking trio hot for Cheetahs, Amavubi clashes

 

Most Read Rangers International going, going . . . (55,164 views) Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (46,307 views) Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (44,370 views) Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (44,015 views) Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (43,948 views) Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (43,904 views) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (43,742 views) NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (43,311 views) Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (42,366 views) Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (41,054 views) Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (39,506 views) John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (38,931 views)

 

Phone numbers

Tel: +234(0)8066020976
+234(0)8055068145
+234(0)7013416146
+234(0)8094272884

Email addresses

info@dailysportsng.com
support@dailysportsng.com
publisher@dailysportsng.com

Office address

No 3, Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja Lagos.
Website: www.dailysportsng.com

Social Media