Every Arsenal match of 2026/27, all competitions. Every match gets a full animated analysis.
Tap a highlighted match to open its analysis. The dashed card at the end is the next match's preview.
Leeds arrive fifth and unbeaten, with the one pressing idea that has hurt Arsenal this season.
Arsenal win 70% · draw 19% · Leeds win 11%. Expected goals 2.07 – 0.69.
Arsenal have created 15.67 xG and scored 16 in 8 games. Opponents: 5.74 xG, 6 goals. In the league, 12 points from 5 games against 10.0 expected.
| # | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 5 | +8 | 15 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 5 | +4 | 12 |
| 3 | Brighton | 5 | +11 | 10 |
| 4 | Brentford | 5 | +6 | 9 |
| 5 | Leeds | 5 | +4 | 9 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 5 | +3 | 9 |
Bars: expected goals (xG) created. Rings: actual goals. ■ Arsenal ■ Opponent
Solid: actual goals. Dashed: xG. Arsenal in the team colour, opponents in the contrast colour.
Expected points: the points the chances deserved, from each Premier League match's xG.
| Date | Comp | Opponent | Score | xG | W / D / L from the chances | Verdict | Pre-match model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug | CS | Man City | 3–0 | 2.19–0.77 | 70% / 18% / 12% | Deserved | – |
| 21 Aug | PL | Coventry | 3–0 | 1.88–0.20 | 79% / 18% / 3% | Deserved | – |
| 31 Aug | PL | Aston Villa | 1–0 | 1.04–0.33 | 53% / 35% / 12% | Deserved | – |
| 6 Sep | PL | Chelsea | 2–1 | 2.05–0.39 | 77% / 17% / 6% | Deserved | – |
| 9 Sep | UCL | Napoli | 1–0 | 4.05–0.22 | 97% / 3% / 1% | Deserved | – |
| 12 Sep | PL | Sunderland | 2–0 | 1.88–1.80 | 41% / 22% / 38% | Fortunate | – |
| 15 Sep | EFL | Ipswich | 4–2 | 0.95–0.72 | 39% / 34% / 27% | Fortunate | – |
| 19 Sep | PL | Brighton | 0–3 | 1.63–1.31 | 45% / 24% / 31% | Unlucky | – |
“W / D / L from the chances” replays each match with the same xG using a Poisson model. Sunderland's figure includes two penalties. Pre-match predictions start with the Leeds match.
Take the season in order. Against City, Coventry, Villa, Chelsea and Napoli, opponents either sat off or defended zonally, and Arsenal's left-side mechanism (Calafiori inside, Tzolis wide, Havertz drifting) produced chance after chance. Then at Sunderland a hybrid man-to-man press squeezed the attack until it ran almost entirely through Ødegaard. Arsenal escaped with a penalty save and a 23-yard strike. A week later Brighton ran the full man-to-man version, and Arsenal had no answer.
The underlying numbers barely moved. Arsenal have out-created every opponent on xG this season: 15.67 created against 5.74 conceded in eight games. What changed was whether the opponent pressed player-for-player, and whether Arsenal had anyone who made that press dangerous for the team doing it.
That is a squad-building consequence. Martinelli, Trossard and Jesus left; Guimarães, Tzolis and Konsa arrived. The team is more controlled and less vertical. Against a zonal block that's an upgrade. Against man-marking, it removes the player who punishes a high line by sprinting behind it. Arsenal still have that type (Madueke, Gyökeres as a target for long balls, Dowman as a dribbler), but none of them started at Brighton.
Brighton's man-to-man press ends Arsenal's seven-game winning start.
3 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column → Arsenal · Carabao Cup · 15 SepIpswich 2–4 ArsenalA 16-year-old scores twice as a rotated Arsenal side press its way into round four.
6 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column → Arsenal · Premier League · 12 SepSunderland 0–2 ArsenalA penalty save and a 23-yard strike, two minutes apart, win a proper scrap.
3 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column → Arsenal · Champions League · 9 SepNapoli 0–1 Arsenal26 shots, 4.05 xG and one goal: Ødegaard's strike is the only reward for total dominance in Naples.
1 goal animated · tactic breakdown · column → Arsenal · Premier League · 6 SepArsenal 2–1 ChelseaBehind after 77 seconds, Arsenal answer with the best football of their season so far.
3 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column → Arsenal · Premier League · 31 AugAston Villa 0–1 ArsenalVilla don't manage a single shot on target. One Calafiori run behind the high line is enough.
1 goal animated · tactic breakdown · column → Arsenal · Premier League · 21 AugArsenal 3–0 CoventryThe champions open with total control: Coventry don't touch the ball in Arsenal's box before half-time.
3 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column → Arsenal · Community Shield · 16 AugArsenal 3–0 Man CityA 23-second opener and two Tzolis assists: Arsenal overrun Maresca's City to start the season.
3 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →Every diagram plays on a loop like a short GIF: the dots are players moving, the white ball travels with the play, and lines trace where the ball and the runners went. Goal diagrams show the scoring team attacking up the page. Use Pause to freeze any moment. Diagrams are reconstructions from match reports and analysis, not tracking data, so positions are approximate.
Facts (line-ups, minutes, stats, quotes) are cross-checked across at least two outlets where possible. xG sources are named in the notes above and in each match. Tactical claims are credited to the outlet that made them. YouTube analyses are linked, not transcribed. Everything under Column is our own analysis.