Arsenal responded to a winless streak of four games in the Premier League with an impressive 3-1 victory over a languishing Chelsea, who were spearheaded by a familiar face.
As the Gunners have done to several teams this season, the visitors were out of the game before they even got a chance to impose themselves. A fast start saw Mikel Arteta’s side race into a three-nil lead as the Blues struggled to get a foothold in the game.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was virtually non-existent and Arsenal successfully stopped Chelsea from playing their expected counter-attacking game. Overall, it was a very good night for the Gunners.
3 positives and negatives as Arsenal ease past Chelsea 3-1
Arsenal ended a four-game winless run. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Positive #1: A much-needed victory
Given not just our recent results, but the nature of those results and their implications on the title race, a victory in this match was vital if the season was to end on a high. Chelsea are one of our fiercest rivals and in terrible form at this current moment in time, and the players took full advantage of the opportunity to boost the morale at the club.
The three points saw us climb back above Manchester City in the Premier League table before they beat West Ham 3-0 on Wednesday night.
Negative #1: Lack of ruthlessness
To some this may seem harsh given we were three goals to the good in the first half, however, we failed to build on that lead in the second period. Chelsea were there for the taking, and we had a real opportunity to send a statement to City with a huge win.
After surrendering two 2-0 leads in recent weeks, the players and manager know first-hand that a comfortable lead does not always equate to three points, and when you have the chance to put the game beyond any doubt, you must take it.
Perhaps our shift to preserving our lead was somewhat understandable given our recent form, however, I would have liked to have seen us push for the fourth, and perhaps even fifth goal a little harder.
Continued on the next slide…
Arteta heaped praise</a> on the 23-year-old after the match:</p>
<blockquote><p>“He looked ready, he looked fresh, he looked really determined. He’s been getting better and better every single day, not only in training but his interaction and his language. He’s more settled and he’s a player that I really like, that’s why I signed him.</p>
<p>“He has the potential at his age to be great and he had a big task against the players he had to face today, and I think he didn’t really well.”</p></blockquote>
<p>The only question I would pose is this: if Arteta had such little faith in Holding that he felt the need to start a potentially controversial centre-back pairing of two left-footers in this game, then why wait until the title is no longer in our hands to do so?</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Gabriel Magalhaes injury</h2>
<p>A massive worry from the game was the injury that Gabriel sustained. Equally as worrying as the injury itself, was the fact that the same issue had forced him to the ground three times before he eventually left the field. The Brazilian has been fantastic this season, in my opinion even better than Saliba, and if we were to lose the defender whilst the Frenchman is still out, our defence would become far, far weaker.</p>
<p>In his <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/03/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-ease-past-chelsea-3-1/"https://www.arsenal.com/news/arteta-win-kiwior-odegaard-and-title-race">post-match press conference</a>, Arteta admitted he was “a bit concerned” as Gabriel is not the type of player to retire early from a match unless he absolutely has to. If we are to have any chance of catching Manchester City, then we will need the 25-year-old back at the heart of our defence as soon as possible.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/03/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-ease-past-chelsea-3-1/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134110" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/03/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-ease-past-chelsea-3-1/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1487130960-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487130960-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487130960-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487130960-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1487130960-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal will attempt to push City until the end. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Positive #3: Still in the title race</h2>
<p>Of course, none of us expect to be crowned Premier League champions at the end of the season given the current circumstances, but we must do everything we can to stay in the race. The only thing more frustrating than conceding the initiative to the Sky Blues will be if they unexpectedly slip up between now and the end of the season and we are not there to take advantage of it. After all, they are not machines (we don’t think), and this is still football so anything can happen.</p>
<p>The <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/03/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-ease-past-chelsea-3-1/"https://www.arsenal.com/news/xhaka-we-owed-our-supporters-reaction">words of Granit Xhaka</a> after the match certainly suggest that is what the players intend on doing:</p>
<blockquote><p>“As a team, we put in a good effort today after the four games we didn’t win, and I think we needed the three points. It was very important.</p>
<p>“We needed a reaction for the fans, for ourselves as well to come back with confidence and hopefully we can continue like this for the next four games.”</p></blockquote>
<h2>Negative #3: No clean sheet</h2>
<p>Another game, another goal conceded. Starting with our draw at Anfield, we have shipped 12 goals in just five games, keeping a worryingly low amount of clean sheets in that time – none.</p>
<p>Chelsea are toothless in attack, and in truth, did very little to trouble our defence all game, but that only makes the fact we were unable to keep them out all the more frustrating. There is, of course, the Saliba factor, however, defending encompasses the entire team, and as a collective unit, we must defend with far more rigour.</p>
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<p>Ultimately, Chelsea scoring did very little to change the game, but that will not always be the case.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
