Can Arsenal's defence win them the title and break Chelsea's record?

Football writer Adrian Clarke takes a closer look at Arsenal's impressive defence after the first seven Matchweeks.

Team analysis: Arsenal

Arsenal are rightly considered the best defensive side in European football right now, having conceded just three goals in their opening 10 matches in all competitions – and just once from open play.

The Gunners have tightened up enormously since looking unusually shaky out of possession away to Manchester United on the opening weekend

They proved extremely hard to break down in testing away games at Liverpool and Newcastle United, giving up less than one Expected Goal (xG) in each of their last six Premier League matches

Given the calibre of opposition faced, Arsenal's calmness and off the ball resilience was outstanding.

And in clean-sheet victories at home to Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, Mikel Arteta’s men had to deal with just two shots on target in total.

Arsenal's Expected Goals Against (xGA) 25/26

Arsenal are also remarkably good at preventing matches from escalating.

Usually in control of their emotions, even when setbacks occur, they have not conceded more than twice in a match since beating Luton Town 4-3 on 5 December 2023.

Watch Luton 3-4 Arsenal highlights

This season, Arsenal are yet to concede more than once, with Liverpool and Manchester City already shipping two goals on several occasions (Liverpool doing so four times, and twice for City).

This pattern of solidity has been in place since the start of 2023/24.

During that period, Arsenal have amassed far more clean sheets than their chief title rivals, limiting opponents to a maximum of two goals far more regularly.

Arsenal goals conceded compared to title rivals since 23/24

Scroll across to see the full table on mobile

Quality in defence

Goalkeeper David Raya deserves plenty of credit.

The agile Spaniard may not be super busy, but he currently boasts the best save percentage of all top-flight 'keepers, with 88.33 per cent.

In the full-back positions, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori are also in tremendous form.

Right-back Timber is dominating opposition wingers, making 25 tackles so far this season, the second-highest number among defenders.

Most tackles by defenders 25/26

Left-back Calafiori has been excellent too, nullifying the threat of dangerous players like Jarrod Bowen, Mohamed Salah and Phil Foden.

The use of two full-backs who would class defending as one of their key strengths has clearly had a positive impact on the team.

William Saliba’s formidable partnership alongside Gabriel Magalhaes is another factor - despite only being on the pitch together for 65 per cent of Premier League minutes this season.

When Saliba and Gabriel have played alongside one another in 2025, Arsenal have let in just FIVE goals from open play.

Astonishingly, the Gunners have not conceded away from home in open play with Gabriel and Saliba together since Bryan Mbeumo scored for Brentford on New Year’s Day.

When you compare Arsenal's 2025 record in this department with last season’s title-winning centre backs, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, you can see what an impression Gabriel and Saliba make when they are both fit and available.

Arsenal's centre-backs compared to Liverpool's in 2025

Why are Arsenal so hard to score against?

The current leaders make very few mistakes in defensive areas.

Arsenal have conceded just one shot from a high turnover in 2025/26, the lowest figure, with six the current average per team across the Premier League.

We also do not see many lapses in concentration that prove costly.

Since the beginning of last season, Chelsea and Man Utd have each made 16 clear errors that led to goals, with Man City racking up 11.

As shown below, Arsenal have made just a solitary mistake that led directly to conceding during the same timeframe.

Fewest errors leading to goals since 24/25

Arteta drills his team to work extremely hard as a collective, and has unrelentingly high standards.

They press well and show aggression in their duels, protecting their back four and goalkeeper with enthusiasm.

The PPDA metric (passes per defensive action), which shows the number of opposition passes the pressing team allow before making a defensive action to win the ball back, is an accurate gauge of how difficult teams are to play against, and Arsenal are at the top end of the scale.

The lower a side’s PPDA, the more aggressively they press.

Passes per defensive action (PPDA) 25/26

Getting into Arsenal's penalty area to create good opportunities is proving to be an arduous task for opponents.

The Gunners deal with significantly fewer touches inside their own box than anyone else.

Touches allowed by opponents in own box 25/26

Protecting the 'second six-yard box'

The corridor between a goalkeeper's six-yard box and the penalty spot is an optimal place for goals to be scored and Arsenal shield that area superbly.  

As shown of this graphic below, very few chances created against them have been of a high xG value, with a handful of passes or crosses entering their box from advanced wide areas.

Corners from the right and long straight passes have caused the most issues.

Chances created against Arsenal

There is a visible contrast between the shots Arsenal have faced with those of Liverpool and Man City.

You see a lot more darker colours on the map below (higher xG value) especially for Arne Slot’s side, who have had to do more defending between the six yard area and penalty spot.

Both teams have also allowed more passes to be played into the penalty area from positions in the final 15 yards of the pitch.

Chances created against Liverpool

Chances created against Manchester City

Preventing teams from getting into those areas is something Arsenal are strong at and it is why they have faced only 10 headed efforts, the fewest in the competition.

Do defences win titles?

Conceding 0.428 goals per game, Arsenal are on course to challenge Chelsea’s longstanding record of just 15 goals conceded, back in 2004/05.

At the current rate, Arsenal will let in 16, but whether that is an achievable feat remains to be seen.

That exceptional defensive record from Jose Mourinho’s champions 20 years ago is rightly viewed as a milestone that may never be bettered.

Five of the last eight title winners have conceded the fewest goals, but in the last two campaigns, Arsenal did have the best record when finishing second.

This time around they have plenty of wriggle room to better the average tallies among recent champions.

Their Expected Goals Against (xGA) numbers are also way ahead of what they would typically need to be for a title winning side.

How Arsenal's defence compares to previous PL winners

Recent history suggests that finishing as the top scorers is actually more important if you want to end the season as champions.

Seven of the last eight winners have been the most prolific goalscorers.

So, to end their run of three consecutive runners-up finishes, Arsenal must target being the best at both ends of the pitch.