Match report – Participant scores – Arteta response – Video
9 video games to go. 9 stomach-churning, heart-wrenching, arse-clenching video games to go.
Arsenal restored the 5 level lead on the high of the desk with a 2-1 win over Chelsea yesterday, however did it in a approach to exert most influence on our coronary heart charges and blood strain. I’m not complaining, simply sharing my expertise of a sport that was in a method as tight as you’d count on, however in one other much less snug than it in all probability ought to have been.
The workforce was as anticipated, Eberechi Eze persevering with in midfield with no signal of Martin Odegaard on the bench, however Kai Havertz was match to take his place there. The begin to the sport was cagey, Arsenal coming to phrases with an uncommon deployment of Cole Palmer on the left (principally), and Chelsea had a very good likelihood when a free kick deflected into the trail of Mamadou Sarr however he couldn’t type his ft out and put it large.
After that, I feel we acquired to grips with them, and took the lead by way of a nook. Bukayo Saka’s supply to the again put up was wonderful, Gabriel’s run and header again throughout was completely timed, and William Saliba’s shut vary header flicked in off Sarr. For all of the inevitable ‘Oh god one other set-piece aim from Arsenal’ stuff, not sufficient is alleged for the constant high quality of our deliveries and the dedication and decisiveness of the gamers who get on the top of them. They might to not be to your style, and I feel all of us favor extra stunning targets, however we’re very, superb at this and it’s not an accident or right down to some type of random chaos.
I feel we must always have executed extra after that aim. There have been a few moments when Eze’s first contact let him down after we acquired the ball to him in harmful areas, and a few moments when Viktor Gyokeres discovered Chelsea’s defenders a lot much less accommodating than those he confronted final weekend. With Robert Sanchez wobbly of their aim, it was a bit irritating we couldn’t construct on the lead.
Late within the first half, I believed we had been fairly fortunate to not have conceded a penalty when Declan Rice, within the technique of very clearly holding his counterpart as a nook was delivered, raised an elbow and directed the ball in the direction of our aim. David Raya, below unbelievable strain from the scrum of pink and blue shirts round him, made an excellent save, but when that had occurred up the opposite finish, I’d have been very sad we weren’t awarded a spot kick. From the ensuing nook although, the scores had been degree, Piero Hincapie flicking a header into his personal web, and simply earlier than the break was a painful time to concede.
There was one other Chelsea penalty shout as they started the second half properly, this time I don’t assume merited one as Raya punched the ball off the highest of Joao Pedro’s head, however I didn’t very similar to the opening phases of the second interval. Once more although, we labored our method again into it. Gabriel Martinelli got here on for Leandro Trossard who I believed did fairly a very good job of knitting issues collectively in tight areas, however his closing motion or cross was uniformly terrible all day. Not fairly blowing cold and hot, extra like lukewarm and freezing.
There was frustration was twice Raya was impeded when attempting to play it out shortly, and the referee stopped the sport every time when he might have performed benefit after which doled out the requisite yellow playing cards. Within the 66th minute, an Arsenal free kick of their half led to a nook which Rice delivered with high quality once more, Sanchez got here for and acquired nowhere close to and Jurrien Timber was there to nod residence from shut vary to make it 2-1. Once more, high quality of supply was key, however so too Timber’s need.
To high it off, Chelsea then had a participant despatched off. I had missed Neto’s first reserving, so when he tried to hack Martinelli down however the Arsenal winger continued down the wing, I used to be very annoyed when the referee as soon as once more blew his whistle reasonably than play benefit. Nonetheless, the second yellow was a beautiful shock, and certainly from right here, we might see this one out comfortably.
Arsenal: “Maintain my beer!”
For the second time this season in opposition to 10 man Chelsea within the Premier League, we struggled. We couldn’t discover the composure to only hold the ball, play the sport at our personal tempo, and kill it as a contest. For a workforce famed for its management earlier within the season, it was onerous to observe. Rice needed to come off with an issue, so Christian Norgaard got here on with all his expertise and calm, and performed 2 passes in 20 minutes. That’s not an indictment of him as a lot because the workforce, however it tells a narrative.
After the pink card, Arsenal had 35% possession, made simply 56 passes to Chelsea’s 115, and in the end had Raya to thank for the three factors. Eze did drive Sanchez into an honest save, however it was the opposite Spaniard whose significance to this workforce was paramount as soon as once more. A fingertip cease from a Garnacho cross with simply a few minutes of harm time to play helped guarantee this sport didn’t finish with the type of sucker punch that will, after some latest lapses of an analogous nature, have created ripples of uncertainty for the remainder of the season.
Chelsea did have the ball at the back of the web after Raya had made two extra excellent stops however the flag was rightly up for offside regardless of Gary Neville on Sky attempting to create drama along with his interminable ‘ooourrrggh’ noises and insistence the Chelsea participant was in a authorized place. Replays confirmed he was miles off. However the closing whistle went, Arsenal took all three factors, and my coronary heart began beating once more.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta referenced the interval after they’d the pink card, saying:
We should always have managed that state of affairs higher, however we will discuss that tomorrow!
They need to discuss it, as a result of it’s primary stuff. There was a second after we had the ball on the again with 93 minutes on the clock, and Gabriel might have simply performed it outdoors to Hincapie, who might play it again to him or up the road to maintain recycling possession, however as a substitute he tried a Hollywood cross to Havertz and gave the ball again to them. It was from there they normal a second in our field which Gabriel blocked and in the end that offside likelihood, and there was simply no want to offer them that.
And on this being an ‘ugly win’, Arteta mentioned:
It’s not ugly. It’s important to play the sport that’s there so that you can play, and in opposition to Chelsea, you understand precisely the sport that you just’re going to play. For me, it’s a fantastic sport to play as a result of they’ve a lot high quality, and it’s important to adapt a lot to what they do, they usually must do the identical in opposition to us. So the margins are very, very small, and the duels on the finish resolve these sorts of video games. Hopefully we will play many high video games like this.
I feel it’s pretty regular that because the variety of remaining fixtures dwindle, the best way we expertise them will, in circumstances like this, turn into increasingly fraught. The margin for error evaporates, so we all know how important each level is. It’s additionally truthful to say that our expertise as Arsenal followers is, if not distinctive, definitely heightened by our personal ambitions/fears.
We weren’t the one title challenger to win a really tight sport by a one aim margin this weekend. By way of a unique prism, Man Metropolis’s 1-0 win over Leeds may be seen as ‘inevitable’, a mark of potential champions win and so forth. It’s onerous for us to see that win over Chelsea as related, however it might simply be introduced that method. The flip facet is that each Arsenal and Metropolis discovered it onerous work in opposition to powerful opposition, and we had sufficient to beat that. Their win was not simple, nor was ours. That is the Premier League.
I additionally assume that how we expertise video games like this as followers and the way the gamers will really feel are, fortunately, very completely different. For me it was an ordeal, once more one thing to endure, whereas for them it was a hard-fought victory based mostly on their dedication and high quality and energy in opposition to an excellent workforce who gave us loads of tactical issues. I’d fear about sure features of the efficiency, they’ll be pondering ‘That’s one other 3 factors within the bag, onto the subsequent one’.
And ultimately, at this level of the season, for all of the evaluation of how we received, the one that basically issues is that we received. Can we play higher? I feel so. However I’d swap efficiency degree for factors each weekend between now and Could, with out hesitation. Each sport is a studying expertise, and it’s important to take a look at what you possibly can enhance, however we had a job to do yesterday which was to ‘simply win’, and that’s what we did. Now, we flip our consideration to Brighton on Wednesday as a result of that now issues much more than yesterday.
Okay, I’ll depart it there this morning. Stand by for an Arsecast Additional, as all the time. We’ve already put out the decision for questions on BlueSky @gunnerblog.bsky.social and @arseblog.com. So fireplace away utilizing the hashtag #arsecastextra – or in the event you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, depart your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server. The pod must be out round noon.
For now, have a very good one.
