Arsenal reignited their top four push with a stunning 4-2 victory away at the Bus Stop thanks to an unexpected brace from Eddie Nketiah, a fine finish from Emile Smith Rowe, and a stoppage time penalty from Bukayo Saka. The Gunners came into this game having lost their last three in the league leaving their champions league hopes hanging in the balance but despite some early mistakes, Mikel Arteta’s youthful side held out for a hugely impressive win at the home of the European champions.
Arteta made several changes to the side whIch limped to defeat at Southampton on Saturday, with Rob Holding coming in for Cedric and Ben White forced to fill in at right back. Elneny was given a rare start in midfield in favour of Lokonga, and Smith Rowe came in for Martinelli. Chelsea also had a couple of key players missing; both Rudiger and Kovacic were injured in their FA Cup semi-final win over Palace meaning Malang Sarr and Ruben Loftus-Cheek both got rare starts.
Arsenal began the game nervously, as you might expect from a side whIch had lost their last three games to mid-table sides. Chelsea had the lion’s share of possession and had a couple of half chances with Lukaku, who seemed to be doing his best impression of a lamppost, dragging an effort wide from the edge of the box and Marcos Alonso had an effort deflected wide from a corner. But it was Arsenal who found the breakthrough on thirteen minutes against the run of play as Tavares hoofed the ball upfield towards Nketiah to chase down Christensen, whose weak back pass allowed Eddie to pounce as he got to the ball ahead of Sarr and slotted the ball clinically past Mendy into the bottom corner. Nketiah was of course in Chelsea’s academy before being released in 2015 when he was quickly snapped up by Arsenal. The south Londoner showed Chelsea what they were missing as he peeled away to celebrate in front of the reduced Chelsea crowd. He looked like he enjoyed that one.
The away fans were having a blast with taunts of “Just like the old days, there’s nobody here”. Due to Roman Abramovic being mates with everyone’s favourite autocrat, they had been sanctioned and only season ticket holders and away fans were permitted entry. However, Chelsea quickly found a response. Nketiah conceded possession with his back to goal and Timo Werner latched onto the ball and saw his tame shot deflected in by Granit Xhaka. Perhaps Aaron Ramsdale could’ve done better but in fairness he was unsighted by three Arsenal players. All things considered, it was a poor goal to concede especially so soon after taking the lead.
But just ten minutes later, the Gunners restored their lead! And what a goal it was. Chelsea lost possession in our box, as the ball bobbled around precariously and the much-maligned Xhaka took a risk as he opted to play the ball out himself, brilliantly nutmegging Alonso before playing a lovely pass to Odegaard who was again given the captain’s armband. The Norwegian worked it to Saka who drove forward before feeding our number eight again to play yet another delicious ball to ESR who took it first time on the run, arrowing the ball into the far corner for his tenth premier league goal of the campaign. The Croydon De Bruyne has now scored against half the premier league this season.
You would think that after previously surrendering the lead so quickly Arsenal would be sensible and attempt to play it safe until the break but of course we don’t do sensible here at Arsenal. Just five minutes later, the Blues were level again. And again, it was all very avoidable. Ben White lost possession on our right-hand side and Mason Mount curled in a delicious cross to Azpilicueta who nipped in ahead of Tavares to poke the ball home. There were some appeals for a foul on White, but it would’ve been harsh to rule it out despite how hilarious it would’ve been. 2-2. We continued to attack and Nketiah had a snapshot from outside the box that curled just wide and then the referee blew for half time. It had been a pulsating first half with both sides abandoning the concept of defending it seemed.
Chelsea brought on Thiago Silva for Christensen who had been run ragged by our front three in the first half. Would the presence of the Brazilian keep the Gunners out? Thankfully for Arsenal the answer was “No!” Despite Chelsea dominating the early stages of the second half, they struggled to create. On 57 minutes Tavares intercepted the ball on halfway. He drove forward and fed Nketiah who attempted to turn away from Silva, but he got a foot in as the ball bounced into the area off Sarr and back to Nketiah, then back off Silva again, then back to Nketiah who poked the ball past Mendy into the net. Arsenal were ahead for a third time, and it was 3-2! The away fans went crazy behind the goal, as did Arteta and his staff on the touchline. The goal was fortunate but deserved.
Now, could Arsenal stay ahead this time? Chelsea continued to dominate. Tuchel took off £100milion lamppost Lukaku for £80 million twig, Havertz. Chelsea pressed, Reece James pinging a cross into the box, Ramsdale cut it out, a Chelsea player got a shot off but Gabriel who had his best game for a while, made an excellent block. Other than that Chelsea created little. Mason Mount then went full Ryan Shawcross/Matt Taylor/Dan Smith on Saka, the ref only gave him a yellow as Mason Mount plays for England. Unfortunately, the fact that Saka also plays for England doesn’t seem to get him much protection from referees. He does commit the deadly sin of playing for Dirty Arsenal I suppose. Arteta brought on Martinelli and Cedric as we looked to close the game out. We had a couple of half chances on the break with Martinelli, and then on 89 minutes Cedric put a ball in the box and Saka was pulled down every which way by the rat faced Azpilicueta and Jonathon Moss had no option but to point to the spot. The Spaniard protested his innocence and there was a bit of a scuffle before the penalty was taken, probably tactical to put us off. It didn’t. Saka confidently took the ball and put it on the spot. It was his first penalty since the final of the European championships in the summer, so it was a huge moment. In fact, it was the first penalty he’d taken in a competitive game for Arsenal. But he stepped up and sent Mendy the wrong way slamming the ball into the bottom corner. Cue more wild celebrations behind the goal. Limbs, as the kids say. Arteta then brought on Lacazette for the final seconds, probably for a laugh, and the game was won.
Back-to-back wins at the Bridge and our run of three defeats was over in some style. We are now level on points with the Scum with six games remaining. We now have another huge game against the Mancs on Saturday lunchtime where an Arsenal win would send us three points clear in fourth for a few hours at least and would likely end United’s already slim top four chances. But a crucial win for the Arsenal against the ownerless Chavs and just like the old days, Arsenal battered Chelsea and there was nobody there.
COYG
Easy pickins.
Euro champs to chumps in the blink of an eye.
Eddie displayed considerably better reflexes than the 37 year old Silva, whose pinball skills must be on the wane. An aging spectator like me couldn’t hope to describe all those bounces on the way to Eddie’s last touch, certainly not without benefit of slow-motion so I’m glad your younger eyes were available to document them, 21CG. :). And you’re quite right to credit Gabriel for that goal saving block. Thanks for a highly enjoyable report.
Chavs certainly got what they deserved.
Another fine report 21st Century Gooner. It’s been said before, but football’s a funny old game isn’t it. We have been pony for the last three games. Chelsea thrashed Southampton 6-0, we lost last weekend against them, then we go and do that last night. It was a joyous night. We all want this team to do well and the fans like this team and this manager. What a night to be a Gooner. That third goal was a thing of utter beauty. The away fans, again, were magnificent. Can we keep this up against United, West Ham and Spurs? Who knows. But last night was glorious.
Thanks 21CG, an amusing report of a great night to be a gooner. Enjoyed that one a lot and especially Saka sticking away his penalty after rat face’s stupidity. Great goal from ESR too.
1 word for the ill-begotten “Champions of Europe”:
Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha
That would be 7 words I suppose, to be numerologically exact.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Or 14. They’re multiplying 🫢
Cheers 21CG. It is sooo much easier to read match reports after a glorious away win at the Bus Stop in Fulham.
Now I wonder what Sunday has in store. Shit trip great win? Great day out and great win?
It’s about keeping the spirit now and doing even less defensive mistakes. I’ll settle for three points and a nearly as enjoyable time as last time.
Great piece 21CG. It was a delight to re-experience that match reading the key moments that you highlight. A great watch and a great read.
Eddie was a revelation. Who’da thunk that a pacy centre forward could trouble pedestrian defenders? That forgotten man, Elneny complemented Xhaka brilliantly. We just need our defenders to recover their early Spring poise.
The race is on again.
Onward.
21CG- a sardonic and amusing report that sums up the game very well . Thankyou . As C100 says there is no rhyme and reason to results like that but it took a great effort of will to accomplish it .
I agree with the various comments on Nketiah and Elneny they improved the side significantly. Rob Hokding struggled at first but got more solid and as I said last night Xhaka played one of his best games for us .
One slight concern is Ramsdale. He is poor on crosses and makes a lot of handling errors . I hope he gets his mojo back
I’m interested in Cynic’s take on the game because he made some interesting points ahead of the game . I agree with him that trying to play two number 10s gets chaotic. Last night ESR played wider in a Martinelli type role and his goal showed the value of timing your entry into the penalty area.It was a classy finish. When you hit a ball like that you have much more control.Odegaard’s chance creation stats are extraordinary but throw Auba’s and particularly Laca’s goalscoring efforts into sharp relief .
I haven’t seen enough of Lokonga but the fact that we looked so much more cohesive with Elneny in midfield doesn’t suggest he is making much impact yet . Three of our summer signings – Tomi, White and Odegaard represent very good value. I don’t think any have failed at all and Ramsdale was superb for a couple of months but he’s not impressing me now . The jury is out on Sambi and Tavares. I think both can come good but they’ve a way to go yet. Given their age that’s to be expected . I think Hale Enders adjust quicker because they are brought up in the club tradition and are used to English football.
My take is that we won the game by accident. Being given three goals on a plate helped.
I say that but don’t take anything away from the players at all, because you have to be good enough to take advantage when opportunities are presented to you, and they were. Especially Eddie.
It just felt to me that nothing that in whatever The Plan was worked at all, as evidenced by switching to a back four after about 12 minutes and having to play a four with three centre backs making our back line look like shit.
Ramsdale was shakier than we’ve seen him in an Arsenal shirt, but he was made jittery by what he had in front of him. In my opinion. It was a crackers team to put out.
A combination of them being shit and us being good enough to punish them for being shit was good enough. But it never once felt like a comfortable night. It was hard to enjoy the game but I loved the result.
But that’s football. You lose when you’re good and you win when you’re not.
Anyway fuck it. Azpilwotsisname lost his shit at the end, so that’s good enough for me. That bloke Schadenfreude is a hell of a player, I love him to bits.
Thoughts on TTG’s post above are that playing ESR and Odegaard is going to work sometimes, but not often enough to make it something we should be doing all the time, unless ESR can develop as a wide player going forward.
As for the signings, Tomi, White and Odegaard have been fantastic, although I do have those reservations about roles when MO and ESR play together. Ramsdale has been a properly good signing as well.
Tavares is not going to make it in this league unless he can win challenges. He’s too lightweight and it’s in both halves of the pitch. As a backup to Tierney, who you wouldn’t want to call on too often, he’s ok but we should look to do better as a squad option. Bit harsh maybe but I don’t like players who get brushed off the ball so easily.
Sambi I think has found his progress stifled. I liked the look of him at first and think he could still have a role but maybe he needs a loan already and I would actually lend him to someone like Palace next season, if they’d take him. Learn a bit from Paddy, prove himself, come back strong.
As joyous a report to read, 21CG, as the match result was to savor.
Cynic@13: I share you view of Tavares. There are some players who are talented but just not made for PL football. Tavares may well be one of them. I don‘t doubt, however, that he will go on to be a success in other leagues.
I am more positive about Lokonga. He is already an accomplished player, to my eye, but needs to be playing regularly to practice his craft. (Same can be said for Nketiah.) Your suggestion of a Gallagher-like loan is sound.
If all of Mark Lawrenson’s predictions this season had come to pass Sp@@s would be 18 points better off than Arsenal. Just saying.
Lawrenson is to Nostradamus as fish are to bicycles.
Bt8
I saw that
He has us to draw with United and S***s to win 2-0 at Brentford. As CER suggests the man is an idiot
So what is Arsenal fan Lewis Hamilton doing lobbing £20m into Chelsea? I speak as a huge Hamilton fan, even though I’m aware many dislike him (my wife included).
Hamilton is a plastic supporter. As football’s popularity rose everyone seemingly had to pledge allegiance to a football club. Nobody in their right mind could say they were a Luton fan so he chose to say he was an Arsenal fan, is my guess. Call me cynical…..
Well he’s from Stevenage where most folk are either Arsenal or Spurs ….
>>>>>>>