Whilst many Chelsea fans would have left the ground in shock after Saturday’s result, few could argue that Stamford Bridge provided exceptional levels of entertainment at the weekend – and long may it continue.
Some of the goals were of the highest quality with Walcott and Mata, in particular, wowing their audience with exquisite finishes which punctuated a thrilling 90 minutes. Much like Old Trafford last weekend, it was shock result that perhaps exposed hitherto unseen cracks in the home side’s squad.
When Chelsea took the lead on the stroke of half-time you had to fear for Arsenal. If recent history was to be used as a barometer , The Gunners were in danger of capitulation. However, it seems that maybe Wenger’s men have turned a corner of late. After the most protracted transfer saga of the century, Fabregas finally flew the nest and Nasri followed shortly afterwards. Perhaps it has taken time for the team to settle again after those departures. New signings were also made and at last the dust seems to be settling , to the obvious relief of the main man at The Emirates.
Noone can have enjoyed seeing Wenger look so ill for the last few months. Arsenal still have question marks over their defence and some of their rearguard actions on Saturday were dubious at best but , critically, they seem to have found a resilience again, a defiance in the face of adversity. It’s not only Arsenal that would be forgiven for fearing the worst when conceding a goal just before half-time to go behind at Chelsea. Most Premier league teams would have been apprehensive about a second half deficit at Stamford Bridge. But Arsenal came out firing for a change. The apparent message from The Gunners was ‘ we’re not having it anymore’. They gave a great second half performance with excellent showings from Song, Ramsey and the all too frequently profligate Theo Walcott. Van Persie added the bite and refinement up top to make this a memorable and inspiring day for The Gooners.
However good Arsenal were going forward, they would still have lost the game save for some apolvcalyptic Chelsea defending. If Arsenal were periodically bad at the back, Chelsea were non-existent at times. Santon carelssely gave the ball away for Mata to score for Chelsea but it still needed an awesome finish after the initial mistake. Chelsea, on the other hand, can have no excuses for their defending, particularly with Van Persie’s second, where Terry inexplicable crumbled and Walcott’s finish where 4 chelsea men stood off a player who had seemingly entered a cul de sac.
Despite questions now being asked about the mobility of Chelsea’s rearguard, they still have a decent enough pool of defenders to choose from and should look a lot tighter next time out after the inevitable grilling from their manager. Arsenal will be buoyed and reinvigorated by a result which extends their excellent recent run. And while fans of both clubs will be looking at their defences with a degree of anxiety, the neutrals among us will just hope that this season of bizarre scorelines continues.
