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Arsenal conceded on Sunday. Yes, that really happened.

After shutting out Coventry City and Aston Villa, the Premier League champions finally saw their defence breached by Chelsea in the second minute of the London derby.

The position of Morgan Rogers’ volley mattered almost as much as the fact that it beat Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

Rogers was stationed inside the 'D' when the ball dropped for him after the Gunners failed to clear a set-piece situation. It was the only effort from a sensible range that Chelsea produced, apart from attempts coming from within the width of the six-yard box.

Beating a goalkeeper of Raya’s class from wider angles is never straightforward. Pedro Neto managed to find room on the right but struck the post. Estevao forced the best save of the game. There was little wrong with either attempt, apart from the degree of difficulty involved from the outset.

Arsenal restricted the Blues to a total xG of 0.39, five shots on target and zero big chances. Villa’s shot map had looked similar too; Mikel Arteta’s side are suffocating opponents and already collecting the rewards.

That defensive resilience is a powerful reason for optimism at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal are chasing their first successive league titles since the 1930s.

Chelsea, unlike Coventry and Villa who were relatively manageable early-season opponents for different reasons, are viewed as possible title contenders. So too are Community Shield opponents Manchester City.

The champions let in only 27 goals in the Premier League in 2025/26, the lowest figure in the division. They allowed 89 shots on target; no other side averaged fewer than three per match.

And which team had the lowest percentage of opposition shots on target last season? Arsenal. That reflects both the quality of chances they concede and the presence of Raya, who remains the best insurance policy in the league.

They have carried that on into 2026/27. Arsenal’s opponents are averaging two shots on target per game, and the Gunners are already profiting from a clear readiness to funnel sides into low-percentage efforts before relying on Raya to deal with the rest.

Ezri Konsa has come in alongside Gabriel to patrol the centre, with William Saliba expected to return from injury later on. Their main task is to secure Arsenal’s central defence and reduce the quality of the attempts their goalkeeper has to face.

Declan Rice’s contribution without the ball also deserves attention, especially as Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori – Arsenal’s first goalscorer in Sunday’s win over Chelsea – continue balancing their defensive responsibilities with the attacking demands that come with playing as inverted full-backs.

In FourFourTwo’s view, Arsenal are building from a very solid base as they attempt to defend the title.

If they can sustain anything close to last season’s consistency in preventing big chances, they will have every opportunity to still be calling themselves Premier League champions at this point next year.