Few strikers make the Arsenal central defender duo struggle this season like Joao Pedro in his most recent appearance at the Emirates. Although Chelsea failed in the Carabao Cup that day, the 24-year-old striker's performance still left a strong mark. And he will return to Arsenal's home ground this weekend with the ambition to recreate that.
In the match at the Carabao Cup, Joao Pedro continuously pulled Saliba and Gabriel off their positions, taking advantage of his physique and strength to keep the ball back to the goal. He connected his playing style, moved wide, earned twice as many fouls as any other player and became an important attacking point for Chelsea.
What is missing when that is a goal. But recently, goals are no longer a problem. Joao Pedro has scored 7 goals in the last 9 matches for Chelsea. Only Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal has scored more goals than him in the Premier League since the beginning of the year.
This explosion coincided with the time Liam Rosenior took over. He even affirmed that Joao Pedro could become one of the best strikers in the world. From 8 goals in the first 30 matches of the season, he has scored 7 goals in just 9 recent matches. That is a clear leap forward.
The goal against Burnley is his 11th goal in the Premier League this season - achieved even though he is no longer the penalty taker like when he was at Brighton. Notably, his number of non-penalty goals has more than doubled compared to any previous season in the top division. Only Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo scored more goals than Joao Pedro in the Premier League this season.
Under Rosenior, Joao Pedro was almost fixed in the center forward position, instead of rotating between number 9 and number 10 as before. He rarely participated in the biên areas and his own half, instead focusing on being present in the opponent's penalty area. His shots increased almost double, and most of the chances came from close range - more effective than elaborate handling.
Not counting penalties, his average xG index per shot increased from 0.12 at Brighton to 0.21 at Chelsea - proving that the quality of chances has improved significantly.
Rosenior also asked the Brazilian striker to increase the intensity of pressing and runs behind the defense. Joao Pedro responded with clear dynamism both when having the ball and not having the ball.
With Chelsea, hopefully they have finally found a center forward who can approach the numbers that Diego Costa once achieved - the latest to score 20 goals in the Premier League in a season for the club. Although Joao Pedro is still far from that milestone, he can completely surpass Nicolas Jackson's record of 14 goals or Tammy Abraham's of 15 goals in recent seasons.
In the immediate future, the challenge named Emirates is waiting. And that will be another opportunity for Joao Pedro to continue to assert himself in front of one of the best central defender pairs in the league.
