Chelsea have a worse defensive record than Arsenal | OneFootball

Much has been said about the shots Arsenal have allowed this season with Bernd Leno being called to make more saves than the Derby County side that’s widely regarded as the worst the Premier League has ever seen but did you know Chelsea have an even worse defence?

Arsenal have conceded eight league goals this season and a full 50% have come from a set-piece. Yep, that’s right, Arsenal have only conceded four goals from open play but they have conceded three penalties in five games and also given a goal away to a set-piece.

Still, eight goals conceded in only five games, no matter how they happen, is nothing to be proud of.

In terms of goals conceded, Arsenal are 13th this season, behind the likes of Leicester, Villa, Palace, Sheffield United, Southampton, Burnley, Everton and West Ham, all of whom have found a way to be better defensively than Unai Emery’s men.

That being said, for all that Frank Lampard is hailed regularly by large sections of the British press, Chelsea are second bottom having conceded 11. Only Norwich have let in more.

Still, I guess conceding chances is worse than conceding goals, eh?

Of course, I’m not trying to distract from the shi*t show that is Arsenal trying to defend, a bad situation that has somehow been made worse. I’m simply mulling over how these things are viewed and how much of a role the media narrative plays in how we talk about them.

If you were left to your own devices as an Arsenal fan, you might think that Chelsea are a vastly superior team to Arsenal this season, but the truth is both sit on the same points with the same goal difference, only they have an even worse defence than us.

Then you have this sort of nonsense…

I mean yes, Chelsea are giving youth a chance. This year. Finally.

Arsenal, United and even Spurs have been doing it for as long as there has been the Premier League.

With an English media favourite at the helm, don’t expect anything to change any time soon…