Arsenal's steel wall

The match at the Emirates this weekend will be a showdown between the most solid defense in the Premier League and the attack that is scoring the most goals in the league. Arsenal has not conceded a goal after 2 rounds, while Chelsea has scored 7 goals.

Arsenal is not the only team to keep a clean sheet in both opening matches of the season as Hull City also has a similar record. However, unlike Hull, Arsenal almost did not need goalkeeper David Raya to save. The Spanish goalkeeper only faced one shot on target, from Jack Rudoni's header.

The Gunners' defensive record continues to extend their impressive form from last season. Since the beginning of the 2025-2026 season, they have had 20 matches out of a total of 40 Premier League matches for the opponent to create an expected goal difference (xG) below 0.50. The first 2 matches of this season are also among them.

No team has more matches reaching this milestone than Arsenal. Liverpool is second with 8 matches, while Manchester City only has 2 times. Chelsea has also done the same 4 times.

These statistics partly explain the regret of "Gunners" fans when they could not add another attacking star in the summer transfer window of 2026. However, defensive strength is still an important foundation to help them maintain their competitiveness in the top group.

Notably, Arsenal is almost not affected by the absence of William Saliba and Jurrien Timber in the early stages of the season. These are two important factors in the defense last season, but Mikel Arteta's team still maintains solidity thanks to the depth of the squad.

Arsenal has invested heavily to prepare for such cases. Ezri Konsa has only played 11 minutes, while Cristhian Mosquera is playing well alongside Gabriel. Ben White can also take on the right-back position when needed.

Arsenal's midfield is strengthened by Bruno Guimaraes, bringing strength and certainty to the team. However, like Konsa, the Brazilian midfielder still needs more time to integrate into Arteta's system.

The most important point in Arsenal's defensive ability still lies in the tactical foundation that Arteta built. Before the new season started, the quartet White, Mosquera, Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori had never started a Premier League match together. However, the personnel change did not make Arsenal's defensive system lose stability.

These numbers provide a basis for The Gunners to be optimistic in the Premier League title race. However, Chelsea will be the most difficult test from the beginning of the season as The Blues possess a high-performance attack with 7 goals after 2 rounds.

That's very simple. The message was clear from the first day. If you think differently, I don't think you should be here. You have to go somewhere else" - Arteta replied when asked about how to maintain the winning goal for the whole team.