How Chelsea's defensive duo kept Arsenal at bay

John Terry and Gary Cahill

John Terry and Gary Cahill are quickly gaining a reputation as Mourinho’s no. 1 centre-back duo this season, and Monday’s performance against Arsenal was simply further testament of that fact. The two central defenders were part of a key plan from “the Special One” not to give Arsenal any space in attack and deny their key striker — Olivier Giroud — any room to operate.

Part of the reason why Giroud has been so effective at the start of the season for Arsenal is his ability to hurt opponents with both his back and front to goal.

What that means is that when his back is to goal (i.e. he is facing his own midfield), Giroud is capable of supplying a lovely flick pass, glancing header or even shifting the ball out to wide areas. That often pulls the centre-back from his position and creates space for other attackers to run into, which is what the likes of Wilshere, Ozil and Ramsey have done so far this year.Yet with his front to goal, Giroud is also as effective — if not more than when his back is to goal. The Frenchman possesses a deceptively good first touch and instinctively knows what run to make and at what time to make it. So often this season Giroud has scored what look like simple tap-ins, and that’s because of his swift movement to the near or far post. The Gunners’ talisman makes it look like a simple goal because of the good work he’s done in the build-up.

For Chelsea, they knew this multi-pronged threat that Giroud provides, and Mourinho used his central duo of Cahill and Terry to shut him down. They always kept him between them, and that allowed them to protect the space both ahead, and behind, of Giroud. What that did was not only eliminate his threat when he was facing the goal, but also when he was facing away from it.

The example below from the match footage shows this to be the case.

Cahill and Terry keep Giroud between them and are therefore ready to snaffle up whatever ball might come into him — in front or behind. When the pass does eventually come in, Terry is there to win possession back for the Blues and clear it from the back.

Squawka’s match stats show just how key the role played by both Cahill and Terry were in the Blues’ defense: winning possession, clearing the ball but also playing it out from their own end. They made 16 of the club’s 40 clearances between them, and also chalked up seven successful headed duels — which is certainly important against an aerially imposing player like Giroud (who managed to win just three of his 10 attempted headed duels on the night).

On both the left and right sides of the field, Cahill and Terry were composed with their passing inside their own half and rarely turned over possession when playing anything other than long ball.

Their Individual Passing Maps below show this to be the case, and further confirm why they remain the first choice for Mourinho in must-win games for the London club this year.