Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Not exactly the beautiful game

Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video

Typically you hear soccer known as the gorgeous recreation. Yesterday was fairly the alternative. I assumed this was a fairly ugly recreation all advised, one we would have some regrets over given we performed so lengthy towards 10 males, however when the ultimate whistle blew at 1-1, I used to be simply glad it was over greater than anything.

It was that method as a result of Chelsea made it that method, and since Arsenal have been a great distance from their greatest. A key ingredient was, for me, the absence of each William Saliba and Gabriel on the coronary heart of the defence. It’s no slight on Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie who acquitted themselves pretty effectively, and needed to take care of being on yellow playing cards for some length, however I feel lacking two gamers of that presence allowed Chelsea’s plan to rattle us bodily work higher than it will have in any other case.

Three minutes in Marc Cucurella escaped a reserving for a foul that ought to have been yellow based mostly on all the pieces else we noticed, however he escaped as a result of it was early. Then, after Martin Zubimendi had been booked for a foul, the referee allowed Moises Caicedo to simply push Mikel Merino over in entrance of him with out sanction. It set the tone for what was to comply with, not simply from the Chelsea midfielder however from the sport as a complete.

When it was 11 v 11, I feel they have been the higher aspect from an attacking perspective. They didn’t produce a lot in the best way of finish product, however they made the extra of their possession. We wanted Declan Rice to provide a superb problem in our field to disclaim Pedro Neto, Estavao missed an excellent probability to attain, and a mistake from Hincapie offered them an opportunity which they couldn’t benefit from and we bought it clear.

Caicedo, in the meantime, was charging round along with his temperature excessive. Within the twenty fifth minute he shoved Eberechi Eze over at full velocity, utilizing two arms, and once more bought away with out a reserving. Ten minutes later and he was off. His problem on Mikel Merino was late, excessive, cowardly, and harmful, and he knew it – therefore his pathetic makes an attempt to make it appear to be he’d been damage too. His writhing round on the bottom was as embarrassing because it will get. As per protocol, as VAR was checking, Anthony Taylor issued a yellow which was then overturned and a purple issued after the on-field evaluation.

The temerity Caicedo needed to stand there and say ‘Who, me?!’ was unbelievable. Merino is fortunate he wasn’t critically damage there, and paid tribute to his ‘cell ankles‘ afterwards, but it surely’s a purple all day lengthy. The Chelsea man has earlier too (right here, and right here) so this isn’t an remoted incident. He does it at full velocity, it’s deliberate, and it’s about time he was reined in by officers. Yesterday, his luck ran out.

By half-time although, Arsenal had 4 gamers on yellows, three of them within the again 4, therefore the choice to interchange Riccardo Calafiori with Myles Lewis-Skelly on the break. I’m positive the conversations within the dressing room with him have been about protecting a clear slate, however he additionally went into the ebook early within the second interval with a careless foul within the opposition half.

By that point we have been 1-0 down after extra play-acting from Joao Pedro noticed Chelsea awarded a free kick that, for me a minimum of, was something however. He got here off second greatest in an aerial problem with Hincapie who had been booked for catching Trevor Chalobah along with his arm in an aerial problem late within the first 45 minutes. This was about Chelsea, as Mikel Arteta stated afterwards, targetting gamers who have been on yellow, however from there they bought a nook and it was Chalobah who flicked in a header to make it 1-0.

Arteta made modifications, placing on Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke for Zubimendi and Gabriel Martinelli, and inside a few minutes we have been degree. Saka roasted Cucurella, put in a superb cross and Merino was there to go dwelling to make it 1-1. It remained a fairly horrible recreation although. Chelsea sat deep, as you’ll with 10 males, and we simply couldn’t discover any form of rhythm in our recreation.

Partially that was right down to how tetchy and scrappy all of it was, however I additionally suppose we simply had a type of days the place we have been beneath par collectively and individually. Viktor Gyokeres got here on and touched the ball twice in 20 minutes, and whereas it’s good to have him, Odegaard, Madueke and so forth again and obtainable, we’re additionally taking a look at gamers who’re fairly rusty to various levels as a result of they’ve spent a lot of the season sidelined.

There was a great save from Sanchez to disclaim Merino a second, and a yellow for Gyokeres as he slid in for the rebound and caught the keeper within the course of. However actually, that was about it. We appeared a bit jaded after what has been an extended, troublesome week, and by way of the general efficiency, it’s most likely one of many worst we’ve put in to date this season. The massive remorse, in fact, is that we couldn’t benefit from taking part in towards 10 males for thus lengthy, and that can clearly be an enormous a part of how this recreation is mentioned.

I completely get that, and there’s no workforce I’d like to see us turnover greater than Chelsea to be fairly sincere, however I feel the context of the final couple of video games has to play an element. I am going again to the absences at centre-half and I’m satisfied we win this if the principle two begin, and I’d even go as far as to say if Saliba had performed we’d have a special form of power after they had Caicedo despatched off. We additionally misplaced Leandro Trossard who has come up clutch in large video games just lately, with neither Martinelli or latterly Madueke giving us something near his output from the left-hand aspect.

Afterwards, Mikel Arteta stated:

It’s been an enormous week, beginning with the derby, with how emotional and the intention we needed to win it, then to play Bayern Munich three days later. We misplaced gamers in these video games and at present, for instance, we needed to play a partnership we hadn’t performed earlier than in a extremely troublesome match. The captain remains to be not right here [100%]the No. 9 remains to be not right here, Kai remains to be not right here, and we misplaced Leo in midweek as effectively. However the workforce needed to react to that, and general it’s been a extremely optimistic week, as a result of the problem has been immense, however I’ve this flavour that at present we must always’ve received the sport, and we haven’t. That’s a studying level for me.

That is a type of the place, if went again to final Sunday, and somebody supplied you two wins and a draw from the three video games you’d probably have taken that, no matter how these outcomes have been distributed. So, I don’t really feel too downcast about yesterday actually, regardless of the very fact we didn’t benefit from the purple. This can be a workforce that has given us two sensible performances within the final week, successful the derby then beating Bayern, and we’re not immune from an off-day. Perhaps the truth that on an such a day, with rather a lot to take care of earlier than and through the recreation, we come away from a troublesome away fixture within the Premier League with some extent might be construed as a optimistic consequence.

I truthfully don’t suppose this was a nasty level in any respect. We didn’t play effectively, we might simply have been drawn into the form of aggression Chelsea provoked, retaliated and ended up down a person ourselves, so I feel we managed that facet of issues effectively, even when it got here on the expense of the efficiency for some gamers. Which brings me to my closing phrase and it’s for Declan Rice who, whereas not as eye-catching as in midweek, was nonetheless important yesterday. He performed plenty of this recreation between an inexperienced central defensive duo, taking plenty of the stress off them – particularly after they have been each within the ebook. I do suppose it hindered him going ahead a bit, however as I discussed, that’s the slight sacrifice to the better good for managing a troublesome state of affairs for Mosquera and Hincapie. In the long run, this level may effectively turn into price rather a lot.

Proper, I’ll depart it there this morning. We’ll have an Arsecast Further for you afterward, we’re recording round 11am. We’ve already put out the decision for questions on BlueSky @gunnerblog.bsky.social and @arseblog.com with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or for those who’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 midday.

For now, have a great one.