Havertz's Movement Makes Arsenal's Right Side More Dangerous

Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-1, and Havertz's movement became the key to their sustained pressure on the right side. Both his equalizer from the edge of the penalty area in the first half and his assist for Odegaard's winning goal came from the same movement pattern.

Continuous overload on the right side

At the start of the match, Havertz positioned himself between Chelsea's Lacroix and left center-back Fofana in their back three. Calafiori moved inside from the left-back position to attack the spaces between the defensive lines. Havertz knew Fofana had to pay attention to Calafiori, so when Konsa passed the ball to Ben White, he made a run forward from behind Fofana. The timing left Lacroix unable to shift across and cover, allowing Arsenal to win a threatening free kick.

In another attack, Havertz moved out to the touchline while Saka moved inside, forcing Fofana and left wing-back Hato to switch positions. When the ball was moved to Calafiori, Havertz moved inside again and positioned himself on Fofana's blind side. Hato pressed the pass from Calafiori to Havertz, while Saka attacked the space behind Hato. Havertz's touch before going to ground helped Odegaard play the ball through to Saka, who forced a save with his shot.

The details of the equalizer's movement

The equalizer in the 25th minute also came from right-side coordination. Rice played the ball wide to Saka, and Havertz ran into the space behind Hato. When Saka laid the ball back to Ben White, Havertz maintained his position, while Fofana hesitated between following his man and dropping back. The Chelsea left center-back only moved two steps inward, and Arsenal quickly exploited the gap. Ben White passed to Rice, who played a first-time ball to Havertz. Havertz made a slight jump to the left to stay onside, then beat Fofana at the edge of the penalty area to score.

Havertz continued drifting toward the right side, repeatedly pulling apart the left side of Chelsea's defense and preventing Fofana and Hato from establishing stable positions. This type of movement did not only appear this season; he had similar tendencies in previous seasons, and he has consistently operated on the right side during the opening stages of the 2026-27 season. Even though Alonso's team understood this threat, Havertz's timing of movement and his chemistry with his right-sided teammates still made it difficult for Chelsea to stop him.