Was it a fair result? I know many fans might not agree with me but in my opinion it was.
A game of 2 halves, a game we didn’t deserve to be down by 2 goals despite the fact that Chelsea were the better team in the first part of this game. Yes, Arsenal were below par but we went behind to a very dodgy penalty decision which Cole Palmer stepped up and scored and a fluky goal made it 2-0. There is no question it was meant to be a cross that Mudryk inevitably scored against a team he really wanted to join in the summer.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli started together for the first time this season. Like most of our team they were ineffective for the early part of the encounter. Declan Rice summed it up afterwards: “I think the first half is probably the worst we’ve played all season, in terms of our sloppiness. Not doing things in our structure, not doing things how we’ve worked on them all week.”
The man in the middle did not help by allowing Chelsea players to get away with some fierce tackling. I just could not understand how Cucaracha was allowed wrestle and kick Saka without a yellow card until 70th minute. Also, Cole Palmer was a bit fortune to be still on the pitch to score the opening goal after an awful foul on Gabriel Jesus.
We were a bit better after Arteta made changes, with Jorginho, Jesus, Odegaard, and Martinelli making way for Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Trossard and Havertz. Still, we needed a break to get back into the game. It came from their goalkeeper error when Sanchez misplaced a pass and Declan Rice caught Gallagher napping and unleashed a wicked curling shot into an vacant Chelsea net from 35+ meters. What a goal to get back in it!
Two of the substitutes were involved in our second goal when Havertz fed Saka, who had a bit more freedom after Cucaracha received his well-deserved yellow card. England international delivered a wonderful cross to the back post where Trossard magically appeared and finished it with the outside his right boot. A lovely goal, worthy of a point away from home.
Afterwards, Arteta was pleased with the character of his side but not happy with the performance:
“What went wrong is the start of the game. I think we didn’t play with enough purpose with the ball and clarity and we were just moving the ball without really having the intention to threaten them, and that’s a really dangerous thing to do against teams like Chelsea.
Then we didn’t win enough duels and in tight areas when we had them, they escaped from that and they attacked open spaces and they are really dangerous things to do. So credit to them as well because they are top side, full of top players and you have to acknowledge that.
If you cannot win, you don’t have to lose the game”
Arsenal remain unbeaten in the Premier League.
