In the never-ending twists and turns of the premier league, Chelsea took on Arsenal looking to end the run of two straight home defeats (Brentford and Real Madrid) but the North London outfit had other plans.
Arsenal had lost two games on the bounce putting their top four hopes on ice until after Spurs’ recent blip against Brighton, a side that had previously defeated their North London neighbours.
The game at the Bridge took the style of a basketball game in the opening 45 minutes as both sides took turns to attack each other and a comedy of errors soon took center stage as a show was displayed by both teams looking to get on the front foot at every opportunity.
The gunners took the lead courtesy an Eddie Nketiah strike after a quarter of an hour before Chelsea responded through Timo Werner via a deflected effort. Not long after, Arsenal went back in front after a neat finish from Smith Rowe at the edge of the box but Chelsea once again fought back with Azpilicueta getting on the end of a Mason Mount’s cross. The Englishman registering an assist on his 100th premier league appearance.
The second half of the London derby looked more like a football game with the introduction of Thiago Silva bringing some what of a calming presence to the Chelsea back line before a mix up at the back involving Malang Sarr who came into the side for Rudiger making a mess of a basic clearance allowing Eddie Nketiah to pounce on the loose ball before toe-poking the ball past Mendy in the goal to put the Gunners ahead by three goals to two.
Chelsea reacted to the goal once again but this time failed to put the ball into the Gunners net with clear-cut chances hard to come by for the blues.
The game was finally wrapped up after Azpilicueta was adjudged to have pulled Saka down in the area in the 91st minute before the Arsenal talisman stepped up and sent Mendy the wrong way to give Arsenal a deserved three point to take home to North London.
Here are 5 lessons learned as Arsenal win another game at the Bridge;
Tuchel’s Changes
On the rolling out of the lineup for the game, many Chelsea fans and enthusiasts would have been left in utter shock to see how many crucial names were left out by Thomas Tuchel. The excuse of fatigue for the players left out would be understandable but the players that came in for the rested players did little to justify their inclusion.
Thomas Tuchel is a coach revered for how well he prepares his team for matches and his selections are often based on performances of the players either in games or training.
Here against Arsenal, it would be hard to not blame Tuchel for some of the rustiness showed by players brought in.
Malang Sarr was one huge culprit and one can only imagine what would have been if Rudiger was on the pitch of play. TT is human after all!
Mendy’s poor form
It is customary of experts to often judge goalkeepers by the number of clean sheets their side records but it is fair to say that stat is as a result of how well such team plays without exposing their goalkeeper to shots from the opposition.
Since leading Senegal to the World Cup, Mendy has conceded 13 goals in 6 matches with some coming as a result of his poor form rather than the brilliance of such strikes.
The mistake in the game at the Bridge against Madrid seems to have rocked his confidence on the ball even more and he’s become more of a target for opponents to press when in possession. The third goal here against Arsenal was a straightforward toe-poke towards the center of the goal and on an average day, Mendy would and should have saved from the Arsenal striker.
Werner’s incredible turnaround
A man that seemed to be on his way out of the club, Timo Werner has fought his way back into reckoning after a string of impressive performances.
The German attacker was a major shining light for the blues with his movement and direct style of play causing problems for the Arsenal defence and his goal wasn’t his highlight but a brilliant piece of play dribbling past four Arsenal players when surrounded in the middle of the park to send the ball over to the right hand side.
Werner’s work rate was also a huge positive with the former Leipzig man often seen tracking back to help out in defence. With the season a few weeks away from its conclusion, it’s safe to say that, Timo Werner is back to form!
Leaky Defence
It might be too early to say but Chelsea’s once “water-tight” defence has become leaky in recent matches. Like previously mentioned, the team has conceded 13 goals in 6 matches since the international break and such amount of goals recorded is far from what Chelsea use to be recognized with.
The problem of conceding cheap goals is also evident in this Chelsea side with “giveaway” goals coming in games against Brentford and Madrid before tonight against Arsenal from a mix of poor giveaways of possession in the middle of the park, to a moment of loss of concentration in the back-line (Goalkeeper inclusive).
If Chelsea are to end the season on a good note, the cheap concession of goals has to stop with the defensive solidity of the early season returning.
Mason Mount’s effectiveness
Since moving into a more central role, Mason Mount has found his form and that is no coincidence.
Mount has always stated his desire to play as a number “10” and Chelsea are finally reaping the fruit of Tuchel’s decision to play the Englishman in a more central role.
Since the switch, Mount has recorded at least one goal involvement with two goals and an assist in the game against Southampton before following that up with a goal and another assist against Madrid at the Bernabeu before a Wembley goal to send Chelsea into the final and here an assist for the second Chelsea goal.
With this new found form, Mason is sure to have a valid argument on the position he plays going forward.
Man of the Match: Timo Werner 10/10.
Chelsea return to action on Sunday to take another London side in West Ham 2pm UK time.
