Though the last game had a fairly normal looking scoreline, it was frantic and could have been a 5-3.
Saturday’s game promised goals and end to end action. Villas Boas has in some ways, been making Chelsea more like Arsenal, in that he has been focused on getting them pushing up and using a high defensive line, and trying to pass their way through teams from the centre, rather than using the width of two attacking full backs to break teams down and create space. He has also paid little attention to the defence.
With Arsenal’s defensive problems, and their fondness for the high defensive line, not to mention Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos’ lack of pace, this was always going to be an ideal game for the wingers; Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge, Theo Walcott and Gervinho. So it proved. And it was always going to be a game with chances, the key would be who took them better. As it turned out, it was Arsenal. But Chelsea’s game suited Arsenal defensively.
Chelsea’s first two goals came from individual errors rather than a disorganised defence. Arsenal’s line was fine when Juan Mata turned Santos, but the Brazilian was easily outmanouevred, and Mertesacker missed his header, gifting the opening goal to Frank Lampard. Similarly, John Terry was able to shin the ball home after the German slipped again. The third goal for Chelsea was sumptuous from Mata, and unstoppable.
But for the rest of the game, Chelsea’s attacking was often ideal for Arsenal, and in many ways similar to that they faced against Barcelona last season. Like Barcelona, Chelsea tried passing through Arsenal, but the North Londoners, probably because they play this style themselves, are actually quite adept at defending this type of football. Laurent Koscielny was excellent on Saturday, mostly because he was ideally suited to anticipating throughballs, intercepting them and passing them forward.
Going forward, Arsenal were impressive too, with Walcott and Gervinho exploiting Chelsea down the flanks. Again, Walcott is a player who has had criticism, but he often struggles when faced with a deep defence. Against Chelsea, he had plenty of space to move into going forward, and was able to thrive. This was perfectly demonstrated for his goal, where having got past four players, he still had about 15 yards in front of him, enabling him to score with a fine finish.
On the other flank, Gervinho was constantly looking to get in behind Chelsea, and he repeated one of the more positive themes of Arsenal’s season, breaking clear of the last man and sliding across for Robin van Persie to slot home. Chelsea’s defending for the other goals was more forgiveable. For Arsenal’s second equaliser, it was Alex Song’s clever backheel which turned the play from the right side of the pitch to the left, and a stunning ball gave Santos the space to fire home. There wasn’t too much Chelsea could have done about that, nor Terry’s slip for the fourth. And by the time of the fifth, they were desperately trying to equalise.
With both teams trying to pass the ball around the middle of the pitch and pressing the ball, it was never going to be a game in which either side dominated. The ball was inevitably going to change hands, and quite frequently. So it proved. An enthralling game which could have gone either way, but ultimately Arsenal’s defence were more suited to playing a team trying to pass through them than Chelsea’s. What this game showed for Chelsea was that they are vulnerable to teams playing fast passing football, as they were against Man Utd earlier this season. But it also showed they are improving their play in the final third, and their ability to pass it around more confidently. For Arsenal, there was little to learn from their defence, apart from that individuals making errors continue to cost them. But going forward, the Gervinho-Walcott axis has proven lethal, and with Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta combining well in midfield, the main thing learned for Arsene Wenger was that they are getting their passing and movement back in the final third, after the start of the season was notably bereft of their trademark passing.
Aside from the two teams, this was further proof that the Premier League may be the most entertaining league in the world, but it is not necessarily the highest quality. Barcelona would have thrashed either of these teams today. And so would Real Madrid.
