After returning to the Premier League from Serie A this summer and being presented with the second Chelsea debut of his career, Romelu Lukaku described his own performance against Arsenal as 'dominant' over the weekend.
The Belgian striker scored the opening goal of the match in a 2-0 win for the Blues, but his impact on proceedings from the beginning was arguably more impressive than his ability to find the net.
Lukaku governed Arsenal's defensive line throughout, with Pablo Mari, in particular, struggling to cope after the 28-year-old seemed to target him ahead of his centre-back partner, Rob Holding.
The Belgium international offered an avenue into the final third on a regular basis, largely due to his ability to receive passes under pressure while holding off opponents with his strength.
Speaking after the contest, Thomas Tuchel said: "He's a very smart guy. He gives something different to our game that we did not have. To protect balls up front and to play very direct balls into the last line."
Those direct passes usually involved Lukaku pinning Mari before encouraging his teammate to feed passes into his feet, as shown below, with Mason Mount able to find him before he took a shot.
His goal against the Gunners was accelerated by a pass into his feet much like the situation pictured above, with Lukaku then feeding Reece James out wide, who delivered a cross back to his new teammate to beat the goalkeeper.
He received a total of 17 progressive passes against Arsenal, with a progressive pass defined as a completed pass that moves the ball towards the opponent's goal at least 10 yards from its furthest point in the last six passes or a completed pass into the penalty box.
Lukaku's 17 progressive passes received was the most over the course of the weekend, and it was enough to place him behind only seven players for the season as a whole, even though each of the players above him also featured in the opening round of fixtures.
Sadio Mane ranks top on 22 followed by Mohamed Salah on 21 and Adama Traore on 20, which captures Lukaku's remarkable figure of 17 in a single match against strong opponents.
He will be challenged next week if his plan is to perform in a similar manner, as he's likely to be up against Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip for Liverpool, but his qualities could be valuable for Chelsea as they chase the Premier League title.
