Match report – By the numbers – Player ratings – Video
Another game against a big team away from home, another defeat. Even if the game yesterday was much more even than the encounter last season, the result was predictably, demoralisingly familiar. Chelsea produced two moments which resulted in the goals that won the game, to our none. Hard as we tried, and we did try hard, the simple fact is that they just have that bit of extra quality which decided the outcome.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the man who missed out from the midweek team that beat Galatasaray with Arsene Wenger choosing Wilshere and Cazorla to do a job in the centre of midfield alongside Mathieu Flamini. Ozil and Alexis played wider and bit further forward with Welbeck leading the line.
Even when we went in 1-0 down at half-time, I thought there were some signs of encouragement from the first half. We had passed the ball quite nicely, we certainly didn’t look overawed like many had feared, and you just felt if we could add a bit extra to the performance we could get an equaliser. But big players decide big games – Chelsea got decisive moments from theirs, we failed to get anything like it from ours.
Before they scored, we had the incident which will be remembered for Arsene Wenger giving Jose Mourinho a shove, which is funny in the grand scheme of things, but which really takes away from the fact that Gary Cahill got away with an absolutely horrible challenge on Alexis. Off the ground, over the ball, late; it ticked as many red card boxes as you want, so to see Martin Atkinson issue only a yellow was hugely frustrating – especially when he was so quick to give Chambers the same punishment when Hazard made the very most of a little contact a few moments later.
I’ve got no issue with Arsene Wenger going to see if his player was badly hurt. It’s the second time in 4 days that the Chilean has been the victim of a foul which could really have done him some serious damage – and let’s be clear, it would have been a different prospect had they rightly been reduced to 10 men. However, they weren’t and as frustrating as that is, it’s up to us to deal with it. No amount of complaining today will make the slightest difference.
Hazard then produced a moment which won Chelsea a penalty. His jinking run was excellent, Koscielny’s tackle was desperate and late and, if we’re being honest, he could have seen red for it. The Belgian stepped up and scored his penalty without any problem, Chelsea had the lead and we had to respond.
We did that, with a beautiful piece of football, working the ball down the left hand side where Cazorla played the perfect pass for the onrushing Jack Wilshere. With the right touch he’d have been one on one with the keeper and likely to score. It wasn’t the right touch, it was heavy and Cech came out to smother the ball. As I said yesterday, when those chances come in a game like this you have to take them. An equaliser so soon after their goal would surely have given us plenty of confidence, instead it seemed as if it cast doubts over the rest of our performance.
The second half was again pretty even overall, but the hope that we might really put them to the sword was replaced by a growing acceptance that we were being almost toyed with. They were content to let us have it, safe that they were solid enough defensively to cope with anything we threw at them and with the quality to hurt us on the counter. As Mesut Ozil struggled to get into the game, the manager brought off a bemused looking Santi Cazorla.
Alexis, who was caught on the ball for the move which led to the Chelsea penalty, worked hard to get on the end of an optimistic Wilshere pass forward but lost the ball. From there they worked it to Cesc who dissected our centre-halves with a relatively simple ball over the top for Costa. The striker’s first touch was sublime, Szczesny obviously had red cards flashing in front of his eyes as he decided not to charge out of goal, and the lobbed finish put the game to bed.
The manager then replaced Alexis with Podolski and Wilshere with Rosicky, then watched Ozil dribble the ball out of play like a hungover Sunday league player, but at that point there was no chance of any kind of comeback anyway. A game that was relatively even overall was won by a Chelsea side for whom victory in these kind of games in a habit. For us, it would have been something of a happy accident, as these stats show:
Arsenal have won none of their last 15 Premier League meetings against Chelsea, Man Utd or Man City (W0 D7 L8).
— Orbinho (@Orbinho) October 5, 2014
That really does tell a story and unless we find a way around that then we’re going to have to endure this frustration on an ongoing basis. I think there’s enough quality in this team to do better – when you look at the attacking/midfield talent on display yesterday there’s enough there to hurt almost any team, but in games against your rivals you’ve got to look from more from your key men.
There’s the obvious comparison between Ozil and Fabregas, for example. Watching Mesut glide down the wing, cut inside, glide a bit more, then run into Cesc, fall over and watch the former Arsenal man come away with the ball was emblematic of his day. I think I said it this week, I don’t expect him to win the physical battles with the DM or the centre-halves, but he’s too easily brushed off the ball by men his own size and I think he’s got to be stronger in those situations.
I don’t doubt he wants to play well and perform but yesterday was Ozil at his most frustrating. Having played so well against Villa and Galatasaray, the game against Chelsea was one you really wanted him to stamp his quality on, but he couldn’t do that. He’s one of our big players, our key men, our record signing, and with that comes a measure of expectation. He was bought to kick this team on and bring to another level, so we could compete with the likes of Chelsea and Man City. Instead he looks lost in those games rather than the man who can make the difference. Does the manager have to take some of the blame for that? Probably, but Ozil himself has to step-up.
Overall I thought we set up reasonably well and as a team stuck to a game-plan which ensured there was no repeat of the disaster of March. It reminded me a bit of the 0-0 game against them at home last season, but in the end they had those bits of magic that we just couldn’t find. The bottom line, for me anyway, is that they’re just better than us. An uncomfortable truth to swallow maybe, but one that recent results and the league table make absolutely inarguable.
Now, we sit 9 points from the top and the way this Chelsea team are performing, not to mention the way we’re playing, that looks like an impossible gap to overcome. For all the laughs and finger pointing at the paucity of other teams this season, we sit below Man United and Sp*rs in the table. Yes, it’s early days, but it’s still depressing.
If there is an upside, it’s that the run of fixtures we face after the Interlull mean we should be able to go on a run which will see us rack up plenty of points. But until we can dispatch one of the big boys in one of the big games, then our reputation as flat track bullies won’t leave us any time soon.
—
Anyway, yesterday and everything that goes with us should give us plenty to talk about at tonight’s live Arsecast Extra. James and I will be joined by guests Philippe Auclair and Amy Lawrence to discuss all the goings on, so if you have a ticket we look forward to seeing you later on for some Arsenal chat and a beer. The podcast itself will be available tomorrow through the usual channels.
Now for 13 days of introspection. Just what the doctor ordered. If the doctor’s surname was Kevorkian.
Catch you later.
