Mikel Arteta is proving to be Chelsea’s kryptonite, matching Jose Mourinho’s number of wins against Arsenal despite managing fewer games.
Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday was a statement performance, with the Gunners coming from behind to remind the Premier League why they’re the reigning champions of the competition.
But Mikel Arteta getting the better of Chelsea is no surprise at this point, as he has a fantastic record against the west London side.
Jose Mourinho’s record against Arsenal has long been talked about as one of the best in football. The Real Madrid boss has won 12 of his 23 matches managing against the Gunners, losing just three.
Yet Arteta can now boast a similar record, winning 12 of 18 matches against Chelsea and losing just two. Arteta has also drawn fewer matches against Chelsea than Mourinho has against Arsenal (four versus eight).
Focusing specifically on games between Arsenal and Chelsea (and thus excluding Mourinho’s matches in charge of Manchester United or Spurs), Arteta still arguably has the edge.
Mourinho’s Chelsea won eight, drew six, and lost once against Arsenal. Arteta’s Arsenal have won 12, drawn four, and lost two against Chelsea. So Arteta has one additional defeat, but fewer draws and four more wins.
If we only count Arteta’s first 15 games with Arsenal against Chelsea, to match Mourinho’s 15 games with Chelsea against Arsenal, Arteta has nine wins to Mourinho’s eight.
Mourinho does have the advantage in one category, having once gone 13 games against Arsenal without a defeat. Arteta can’t quite match that, but Sunday’s game took him to an unbeaten run of 12 matches. If he can avoid defeat one more time, he’ll share that record as well.
Mourinho will get the chance to add another win to his record later this season, managing Real Madrid against Arsenal in the Champions League. The two teams are set to meet at the Emirates Stadium on December 9th.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s next match against Arsenal is pencilled in for March 13th, 2027. But that could change, with both teams still in the two domestic cups.
Arsenal won’t play Chelsea in Europe, as Chelsea don’t have any European football this season.
But perhaps playing one game a week will help Chelsea’s energy levels up against an Arsenal team who have at least eight Champions League games to play between now and March. Potentially more.
Xabi Alonso’s side certainly need some sort of advantage to help them overturn more than five years of draws and defeats to the Gunners.
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