There's nothing surprising about the differences in playing styles evident in Arsenal and Chelsea this season. Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger are almost polar opposites in many respects; if anything, their only similarity is their shared dogma towards their respective philosophies.

A mercenary who builds a team quickly, Mourinho guides his client to the elite of Europe and then moves on. Wenger - a 'specialist in failure' - definitely holds little of the Mourinho package charisma, and is set on winning in his mould and style:

"The truth is the best system is the one that suits the players you have... The style of play has to reflect the personality of it’s manager because you cannot go against your own beliefs, that’s why every manager has his own strengths."

That explanation, given to Geoff Shreeves last year, explains why he persists so stubbornly with building his team in an elegant passing manner. He's determined to win on his terms.

While both being outstanding man-managers, those principles translate quite crudely into different playing styles, even though both set up in a 4-2-3-1.

Full Backs

Starting from the bottom, you'll find that Mourinho demands less of his full backs than a majority of managers. Once leading a game, Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta will seldom cross the half way line. You will very rarely see them make darting runs to the byline in the way that Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna once did.

If Santi Cazorla or Mesut Ozil start wide left for Arsenal they'll normally cut inside, meaning their full backs provide width and help cause overloads. Chelsea, on the other hand, seek to do this rarely, and if you watch them play - particularly at the small Stamford Bridge, they are always incredibly narrow and compact both in and out of possession.

Ramsey and Fabregas

Nemanja Matic is perhaps the finest holding midfielder in the world at the moment - so regardless of style of play, his impact is always going to be greater than the ageing Mathieu Flamini or Mikel Arteta. But either way, both teams always set out with a designated holder - Wenger, despite his attacking desires, always has one man sitting in front of their back four.

The key difference relates to the roles of Aaron Ramsey and Cesc Fabregas, who both operate between their respective no.10 and holding positions. Ramsey, burdened with the expectation of matching his goal scoring heroics of last season, seems compelled to make constant runs into the box. Fabregas, while occasionally breaking forward, prefers to sit deeper and spray balls to the players in front of him.

The key implications of this relate strongly to Arsenal's vulnerability from opposition counters: if Ramsey surges forward with Arsenal's full backs they leave Flamini, Per Mertesacker (and whoever partners him) horrifically exposed. When you next see Arsenal, watch how they can have no midfield at all in passages of play, caused when Ramsey is left up the pitch and Flamini stuck down it. Rooney's game winning goal last month in United's 2-1 win at the Emirates epitomises that. The opposite has to be said of Chelsea. They arguably lost their first game of the season because they were finally caught out on the break by Moussa Sissoko's run, which setup Pappis Cisse's second. Matic was absent on that occasion, unsurprisingly.

Pressing

Excessive, hyperactive pressing - Chelsea arguably do it better than any other team in Europe. The work rate of Oscar is remarkable, a modern day introverted no.10. Willian was hand picked over Juan Mata for the same reason - watch his acceleration over five yards, shocking his opponents in possession and helping to win the ball back high up the pitch. Diego Costa, despite his remarkable goal-scoring ability, made Atletico Madrid what they were last season because of the amount of work he did off the ball while also scoring goals.

The remaining player is Eden Hazard, who is allowed a bit more creative freedom than the rest of them (37% of Chelsea's touches and 23% of their shots comes from their left, as opposed to 31% and 10% on their right), but even he has been publicly criticised by Mourinho for failing to adhere to his strict defensive duties.

Arsenal don't conform to anything nearly as extreme. Wenger often chooses to pick three passing playmakers across his attacking players, looking for possession, patience and style, with the belief that they'll eventually break down what they're up against. They press high too, but they lack the physicality and dynamism of Mourinho's ilk.

There's one saving grace for Arsenal fans at the moment. They've yet to see Mesut Ozil at his best who, when he eventually finds that form, will re-define what Wenger is working towards. On a technical level, there is little between the teams. On a physical level, Chelsea are significantly better. It is that balance that Wenger's team lacks.

Chelsea are a complete package, ready to win the league. If Wenger can incorporate some of those physical features into his technically adept base, Arsenal will definitely challenge in years to come.

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