Five things we learnt from Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea
Stalemate at the Emirates. Disappointment for everyone associated with Arsenal, as surely the club’s faint title hopes have now gone with the result, but not for the lack of trying. No surprises from Chelsea, who sat deep in their own half determined to stifle our attack. It was the expected approach, as a point was more than enough for Mourinho’s men to stay on course for the title.
As for our lads, the gunners looked to take the game to Chelsea, but were always going to find it difficult against a disciplined ten men behind the ball. On the bright side, United have lost and Arsenal have a game in hand on City. The side are on course for a first top two finish for ten years and a possible defense of the FA Cup. Bitterly disappointed, but a fair bit to play for in the end. Have a look at the five things we learnt from today’s match.
One of the very few bright spots from today was the play of Hector Bellerin. He was absolutely outstanding against the likes of Hazard and Oscar and Azpilicueta down the flank. To be fair, he didn’t have an awful lot to do with Chelsea sitting deep, but on the few occasions he was needed, he used his blistering pace to snuff out the danger.
One talking point from today was the fact that the limited amount of attacking success we managed came from wide areas. Chelsea sat deep and compacted the middle of the park, so the times we were able to spring Monreal and Bellerin out wide for crosses, we managed to open them a bit. We need to trust that aspect of our game more often, especially in matches like this.
Thierry Henry recently gave Francis Coquelin the nicknames of “Columbo” and “the Policeman,” and he did another fine protective job today. I thought he played well today, breaking up the play in the middle of the park and getting in some important stops.
There has been much clamor surrounding Arsenal’s needs in the summer transfer window, with many suggesting that Chelsea’s Petr Cech should be brought in. While I’m not particularly sold on replacing Ospina, I think his error today could have cost us dearly. We were fortunate not have conceded a penalty, and If Cech or someone of that class does become available, I say it’s worth a shout.
I think today showed that there was no real need for the club to bring Fabregas back. Our midfield corps shut him down brilliantly I thought, and I’m not convinced he would have added anything to the side. Wenger spoke about the undue congestion his signing would have brought, and I think the boss has a point. With Ozil, Santi, and Ramsey in the middle of the park and the likes of Wilshere and Rosicky in reserve, we have more than enough in those positions. Cesc was largely ineffective today, and much of that was due to our midfielders.