Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday night to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.
Leandro Trossard gave Arsenal an early lead by beating Djordje Petrovic at his near post. Chelsea then had a few half chances but failed to convert any of them.
Arsenal doubled their lead in the 52nd minute through Ben White before Kai Havertz added a third just before the hour mark. Havertz then placed a fine finish into the bottom corner for Arsenal’s fourth before White scored his second of the match when his attempted cross ended up in the back of the Chelsea net.
AthleticismJordan Campbell and Liam Twomey analyze a huge win for the home side and the ramifications for both teams.
What psychological advantage does this give Arsenal in the title race?
What a difference six days makes. After Arsenal followed their defeat to Aston Villa with a Champions League exit in Munich, there were fears their season could collapse again.
But Arsenal stunned Chelsea to seal back-to-back league wins and are now three points clear at the top of the Premier League. It shows how quickly momentum can change in a title race and on Tuesday night Arsenal looked like a team playing without any of the apprehensions that haunted their bid this time last year.
Beating their London rivals sends the message that they have mentally recovered from their setbacks this month.
Liverpool and Manchester City – the latter four points behind with two games in hand – are now under pressure to keep pace when they play on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. It may still be in City’s hands, but having points on the board rather than extra games carries psychological weight.
Arsenal have also given their rivals something else to think about: they are now 13 ahead of Liverpool and 12 ahead of City on goal difference, which equates to an extra point at this stage of the season.
Jordan Campbell
Should there be question marks over Petrovic’s place?
If Trossard’s goal that got Arsenal’s party started inside four minutes at the Emirates Stadium looks familiar, it may be because Petrovic was beaten at his near post in similar circumstances by Jayden Bogle against Sheffield United three weeks ago.
On one level, it seems excessively harsh to focus on Petrovic’s contribution to Arsenal’s first goal: Alfie Gilchrist was horribly exposed to Declan Rice’s surging run and an overlapping Trossard, with Noni Madueke and Enzo Fernandez far from offering any protection.
But Trossard couldn’t have scored from such a position either, and the goal that set the tone for Arsenal also reinforced the feeling that costly errors were starting to creep into Petrovic’s game in his first season football in the Premier League. .
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Petrovic was playing in Major League Soccer nine months ago and wasn’t even bought to be Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper. Robert Sánchez’s injury gave him his chance and, over a long run of matches, he took it admirably.
But it’s becoming increasingly clear that one of the few positions in this Chelsea team that seemed reasonably settled is no longer the case. Sanchez has been far from convincing in his Premier League minutes either, but the gap in skill between him and Petrovic is harder to see now.
Liam Twomey
Did this play secure Havertz’s place and position?
Kai Havertz is Mikel Arteta’s favorite chess piece, but his elegant double is set to see his role as the team’s centre-forward protected as king of the board by the end of the season.
The way he timed his run for the opening goal, using his body to hold off Marc Cucurella before lifting him into the roof of the net, showed the instincts of a natural striker.
His second goal, a clever backhand after taking off all the way to the edge of the area, was the work of a player feeling completely comfortable in his team.
It was hard to imagine that being the case in the first half of the season when Havertz was playing within himself as the left number 8 in Arteta’s team. But if the last five games have shown anything, it’s that the German is most effective as a number 9.
After starting Havertz seven games in a row, Arteta tinkered with him against Villa by bringing on Gabriel Jesus and moving the German back into midfield. He’s moved it back and forth over the last five games, but while Havertz can break through deep, his all-around game makes Arsenal a more complete team when he leads the line.
The striker could have scored two more goals if his decision-making had been better on the first-half break – but with Havertz having 12 goals to his name, Arteta would now be brave to move him on again.
Jordan Campbell
Why has Mudryk struggled to make an impact?
On one hand (and only one), Mykhailo Mudryk’s performance in the first half was impressive: he managed to exist almost entirely in pockets of the Emirates pitch, which offered Cucurella no protection against Arsenal’s notoriously dangerous right flank and also prevented them from providing any form. an outlet for Chelsea’s counter-attacks.
Towards the end of his first full season in the Premier League, Mudryk still doesn’t seem to know where and when to fit in Mauricio Pochettino’s system. This often makes him an obstacle to Chelsea’s possession and prevents them from taking advantage of his supernatural speed as much as he should.
This also often makes him a liability when his team defends. Cucurella fought admirably against Arsenal against all odds (and often outnumbered), while Mudryk’s lack of support was so evident that Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo often had to make long shuttles to the touchline .
Then there was the short corner which allowed Arsenal to score the second goal in the 52nd minute. Mudryk watched the play develop (along with multiple teammates) rather than trying to intervene.
Mudryk has incredibly special physical and technical tools at his disposal, but his glaring lack of understanding makes it easy to see why this was only his 13th Premier League start this season. What remains is the scariest thing: a £62 million ($77.2 million) development project that is 23 years old – not 19 – with time and expectations working firmly against it.
Liam Twomey
What did the leaders say?
Mikel Arteta hoped the result would have a positive impact on the rest of the season. He said: “It’s a big London derby and we know what that means to the fans. We will enjoy it, rest and prepare for the next one.
“What I would like is for the players to be able to fend for themselves in the locker room. You have to give them space. They know what they are playing for. This is what unites the team. My role is to demand of them and also, at the appropriate time, to make them believe that they are capable of it.
“We have a lot of games coming up. Let’s enjoy this evening and get back to work.
Mauricio Pochettino blamed a slow start and said: “I think we didn’t start the game very well. We conceded the goal and then it was difficult for us to recover from this goal.
“I think in the first half we are competing after 10, 15 minutes. We couldn’t approach the game the way we started it in the first half and we didn’t compete like we needed to, then when they scored the third it was easy for Arsenal to control the game .
“I think you have to be clinical. Like against Manchester City three days ago, we weren’t clinical and today the same thing happened. Difficult performance because it’s not pleasant to see your team playing like this when you’re supposed to have full energy. After three days where you played a fantastic match against Manchester City, today we are disappointed with the performance.
What future for Arsenal?
Sunday April 28: Tottenham (A), Premier League, 2 p.m. BST, 9 a.m. ET
A north London derby in the final month of the season with one team aiming for the title and the other needing all three points to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive? Oh, go on then.
Arsenal are unbeaten in three meetings against Spurs, but they dropped two points in the reverse fixture in September, taking the lead on both occasions but having to settle for a 2-2 draw.
What future for Chelsea?
Saturday April 27: Aston Villa (A), Premier League, 8 p.m. BST, 3 p.m. ET
A fourth meeting of the season between these two, after a draw in the fourth round of the FA Cup which required a replay (remember that?). Villa won the first league match at Stamford Bridge, 1-0 in September, then drew 0-0 in the opening tie at the end of January, but Chelsea beat them 3-1 at Villa Park just over a week later.
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(Top photo: Getty Images)