London. Stamford Bridge was damp, slippery and unpleasant.
But there was no doubt before and no doubt after that either.
Arsenal was the better team, and the best team won.
FA Cup victory in 2020, or why the duo don’t win in the 2020/2021 season. There are many contemporary examples of Arsenal’s victories against Chelsea, but few are like this.
The most obvious difference between these teams is that they differ so much in their respective operations. When Arsenal get the ball back, every pass and every movement is in my spinal cord. For Chelsea, it often takes 1-2 seconds before the idea comes up. Sometimes it turns out to be true, and sometimes it is inexplicably false.
It can be seen that Mikel Arteta found a winning concept mostly in his first 11. Aside from the left-back position (Zintjenko from the start today), everyone knows the players the coach favors. Arsenal are formatted so that it takes 10 to 15 minutes before the opponents figure out how to stop the fast play. By then it is often too late.
checkered derby
But Chelsea held out at home at Stamford Bridge. Not entirely unexpectedly, Graham Potter continued his four-way defensive line, as in the win over Dinamo Zagreb. That didn’t increase Mark Cucurella’s passing options offensively, in part because Arsenal fired Mason Mount, but it did give the left-back cover much needed at the back.
However, the first half was not particularly memorable on this rainy Sunday in London. Referee Michael Oliver pretty much kept his mouth up which means that…”into the wind” is probably an exaggeration, but it’s definitely a choppy derby with countless free kicks.
Mikel Arteta tried to beat Antonio Conte in the ‘Most Energetic Opposition Coach at Stamford Bridge’ category, fiercely brandishing the nearest referee as soon as the situation arose. Unexpectedly, Potter directed his heart at Thomas Tuchel and made it clear that he was tired of Arteta’s objections about halfway through the match.
There is no doubt
Arsenal’s advance has been pushed by another sequence that testifies to Chelsea’s rising ways. Thiago Silva, brilliant thus far, found no one to hand the ball to and failed to deal with the pressure of Gabriel Jesus. A minute later, Gabriel Magalhaes stabbed 1-0 in the ensuing corner, with the ball slipping past everyone in the blue.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kai Havertz quit, two players who, quite frankly, have done more harm than good. It didn’t get much better, the rain never wanted to stop and the match held up.
Arsenal must have beaten the odds in recent seasons, not least against Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge, there was no doubt which team had previously been the best. Certainly not after that either.