Match report – Participant scores – Arteta response – Video
Generally you hear soccer known as the gorgeous sport. Yesterday was fairly the alternative. I assumed this was a fairly ugly sport all advised, one we’d 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 the rest.
It was that means as a result of Chelsea made it that means, and since Arsenal had been a good distance from their finest. 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 properly, and needed to take care of being on yellow playing cards for some period, however I believe lacking two gamers of that presence allowed Chelsea’s plan to rattle us bodily work higher than it might have in any other case.
Three minutes in Marc Cucurella escaped a reserving for a foul that ought to have been yellow primarily based on every little thing 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 only 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 believe they had been the higher facet from an attacking perspective. They didn’t produce a lot in the way in which of finish product, however they made the extra of their possession. We wanted Declan Rice to supply a wonderful problem in our field to disclaim Pedro Neto, Estavao missed a wonderful probability to attain, and a mistake from Hincapie introduced them an opportunity which they couldn’t take advantage of and we obtained 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 obtained 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 seem like 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 crimson issued after the on-field overview.
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 crimson 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 switch Riccardo Calafiori with Myles Lewis-Skelly on the break. I’m certain the conversations within the dressing room with him had been about protecting a clear slate, however he additionally went into the e-book early within the second interval with a careless foul within the opposition half.
By that point we had been 1-0 down after extra play-acting from Joao Pedro noticed Chelsea awarded a free kick that, for me no less than, was something however. He got here off second finest 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 mentioned afterwards, targetting gamers who had been on yellow, however from there they obtained a nook and it was Chalobah who flicked in a header to make it 1-0.
Arteta made adjustments, placing on Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke for Zubimendi and Gabriel Martinelli, and inside a few minutes we had been stage. Saka roasted Cucurella, put in a wonderful cross and Merino was there to go house to make it 1-1. It remained a fairly horrible sport although. Chelsea sat deep, as you’ll with 10 males, and we simply couldn’t discover any type of rhythm in our sport.
Partly 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 had been under 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 many others again and obtainable, we’re additionally gamers who’re fairly rusty to various levels as a result of they’ve spent a lot of the season sidelined.
There was a superb 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 a protracted, tough week, and by way of the general efficiency, it’s in all probability one of many worst we’ve put in thus far this season. The massive remorse, in fact, is that we couldn’t take advantage of taking part in towards 10 males for thus lengthy, and that can clearly be a giant a part of how this sport is mentioned.
I completely get that, and there’s no crew I’d like to see us turnover greater than Chelsea to be fairly trustworthy, however I believe the context of the final couple of video games has to play a component. I’m 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 unique type of power once they had Caicedo despatched off. We additionally misplaced Leandro Trossard who has come up clutch in huge video games just lately, with neither Martinelli or latterly Madueke giving us something near his output from the left-hand facet.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta mentioned:
It’s been a giant 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 right this moment, for instance, we needed to play a partnership we hadn’t performed earlier than in a very tough 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 properly. However the crew needed to react to that, and total it’s been a very constructive week, as a result of the issue has been immense, however I’ve this flavour that right this moment we should always’ve gained 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 provided you two wins and a draw from the three video games you’d probably have taken that, no matter how these outcomes had been distributed. So, I don’t really feel too downcast about yesterday actually, regardless of the very fact we didn’t make the most of the crimson. This can be a crew 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 throughout the sport, we come away from a tough away fixture within the Premier League with a degree might be construed as a constructive consequence.
I actually don’t suppose this was a foul level in any respect. We didn’t play properly, we may simply have been drawn into the type of aggression Chelsea provoked, retaliated and ended up down a person ourselves, so I believe we managed that side of issues properly, even when it got here on the expense of the efficiency for some gamers. Which brings me to my remaining phrase and it’s for Declan Rice who, whereas not as eye-catching as in midweek, was nonetheless important yesterday. He performed quite a lot of this sport between an inexperienced central defensive duo, taking quite a lot of the stress off them – particularly once they had been each within the e-book. I do suppose it hindered him going ahead a bit, however as I discussed, that’s the slight sacrifice to the larger good for managing a tough situation for Mosquera and Hincapie. Ultimately, this level may properly change into value rather a lot.
Proper, I’ll go away 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 if you happen to’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, go away your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server. The pod ought to be out round midday.
For now, have a superb one.
