Ben Chilwell missed the second half of last season with a serious knee injury and, despite being eased back into the team during the early stages of 2022/23, endured another frustrating spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring problem suffered in November. However, he has featured in every Premier League game for Chelsea since returning at the start of February.

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Oleksandr Zinchenko has had more luck with injuries, despite missing the best part of two months due to knee and calf injuries in quick succession early in the season, meaning he has played an extra 755 minutes of Premier League football this season. Given that he has only completed the full 90 minutes in eight of his 25 appearances for Arsenal in the competition, though, there are still some remarkable similarities with Chilwell, as well as some marked differences, despite the Ukrainian’s expected statistical advantage from that additional playing time.

Origin story

Chilwell and Zinchenko came to their current roles via different routes, with the England international operating as a full-back or a wing-back throughout his career, since breaking into the Leicester City senior team as a teenager, while the Arsenal man started out as an attacking central midfield player before shifting to left-back while at Manchester City.

Despite now playing very similar roles, that difference in background is apparent. It seems clear that Zinchenko relies on his passing game more than his athleticism at full-back, having completed approaching three times as many passes, with 1,413 this season to Chilwell’s 585. Given that their accuracy percentage is fairly similar (88 per cent to 84 per cent), it is a notable difference, even taking into account Zinchenko’s more minutes on the pitch.

The Ukrainian has also beaten an opponent with a dribble just over double the number of times, 15 to seven, and the passing accuracy swings more in his favour when accounting for only those in the attacking third of the pitch, with 84 per cent for Zinchenko and 72 per cent for Chilwell.

Headline figures

Any suggestion in those numbers that Zinchenko has the upper hand when it comes to attacking contribution is misleading, though, as Chilwell has the edge in several of the statistics.

Although Zinchenko has more shots on target (seven to three) and a slightly better accuracy percentage in finishing (35 per cent on target to 23 per cent), it is actually Chilwell who has the more goals. His brilliant volley at former club Leicester last month, combined with the opener against West Ham United earlier in the season, gives him one more than his Arsenal opponent.

It is a similar story when it comes to creating opportunities for team-mates. Chilwell’s 19 key passes is two more than Zinchenko has managed and, when you include the penalty scored at Everton on the opening day following a foul on Ben – incidentally our No.21 has been on the receiving end of nearly twice as many fouls as the Ukrainian (20 to 11) – his three Premier League assists in 2022/23 are also one more than the Gunner.

Strong in the tackle

The defensive statistics are pretty similar between the two players, especially when adjusted for the minutes played, as Chilwell just edges it with successful tackles (1.2 to 0.7), clearances (1.4 to 1.2) and interceptions (1.2 to 0.9) per 90 minutes of action.

However, where the Chelsea man races clear is in his remarkable success rate in tackles, winning possession with an impressive 81 per cent of his attempts. For context, Zinchenko has done so with 43 per cent of his own tackles, while it is the highest percentage of any Premier League defender this season, and third overall among outfield players.