Forget Odegaard and Havertz, 31-touch Arsenal star was the key man in Chelsea victory
Arsenal produced an exceptional performance to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, keeping Mikel Arteta's side's 100% record in the Premier League this season alive.
The Gunners fell behind within the opening two minutes at the Emirates, courtesy of Morgan Rogers' precise volley from the edge of the box. However, Arteta's side responded brilliantly, dominating the next hour or so with relentless waves of attack.
Kai Havertz's long-range effort drew Arsenal level before Martin Odegaard's sensationally worked goal established a lead for the home team. In typical Arteta fashion, the North Londoners saw the game out with ease, securing all three points.
The two goalscorers have rightly grabbed the headlines for their outstanding contributions, but a different player was arguably the pivotal figure in Arsenal's victory.
So much of Arsenal's dangerous attacking play followed a similar pattern on Sunday. Evidently, Arteta's approach was to overload the right-hand side with intricate passing patterns before quickly switching the ball to the opposite flank to Christos Tzolis and Riccardo Calafiori.
There were times when Odegaard, Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Declan Rice, and Myles Lewis-Skelly were all crowding the right side of the pitch and passing the ball amongst each other. They'd patiently play the ball around in triangles before unlocking the Chelsea backline by getting someone in on the overlap.
This approach worked, but it largely worked because of how much Arsenal were then able to exploit the space created on the opposing side. Calafiori, who was involved in numerous dangerous moves in the first half, was the key to this.
The Italian became the extra man in Arsenal's attack, popping up in a variety of bizarre positions to create danger. His willingness to roam into these positions is what made the difference, with Chelsea struggling to cope with his elusive movement.
He may have managed a fairly modest 31 touches before being substituted in the 67th minute, but it was his off-ball role which created the unpredictability and chaos in the final third which led to Arsenal's dominance.
He was unfortunate to have a goal ruled out when Ezri Konsa was narrowly offside, while his marauding bursts forward could easily have led to a goal contribution.
Calafiori has enjoyed an exceptional start to this season, and his importance to Arteta's team remains somewhat understated. Without his free-spirited final third movement, Arsenal would boast significantly less fluidity in their attack.
It's imperative to the Gunners' fortunes this season that they keep their maverick Italian fit for the entirety of the season.
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