Three Key Takeaways After Arsenal Beat Chelsea To Move Five Points Clear
Swagger or style is irrelevant at this stage: All that matters is getting over the line
Three Key Takeaways After Arsenal Beat Chelsea To Move Five Points Clear
Swagger or style is irrelevant at this stage: All that matters is getting over the line
1 - Timber’s timely intervention underlines leadership
From my vantage point in the Emirates press box, the clock had ticked past the hour mark when Jurrien Timber made a slow, deliberate waving action to those in attendance.
To the uninitiated it might have looked like Arsenal’s tough Dutch defender had taken leave of his senses, and had attempted to levitate by flapping his arms, albeit in slow-motion.
However, the real reason for Timber’s arm-waving motion was prompted by the fact his steadfast Gunners defensive colleague William Saliba had dithered in possession when attempting to move the ball forward.
With the score finely balanced at 1-1, with nothing more than victory required for Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders, the home crowd were tense. And Saliba’s momentary hesitation ensured apprehension levels were amplified.
Despite the ball being still in play, even if it wasn’t moving anywhere fast, Timber, intelligently sensing the rise in uneasiness, held out his arms, the palms of his hands turned to the ground in a placatory fashion, before guaranteeing his deliberate action was noted by the crowd by purposely slowing the movement of his arms, in a bid to quell the growing concern. As if to say: “Chill.”
His actions had the intended effect.
The crowd immediately quietened, prior to a swell of support proceeding to rise imperceptibly.
Jitters quelled, Saliba pushed the ball forward, and fans fears subsided.
A mere three minutes later it was absolutely fitting Timber scored Arsenal’s winner.
2 - Set Piece FC beat Indisciplined Disunited FC
‘A proper London derby’ was how Mikel Arteta described Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday.
The Gunners trademark set-piece expertise helped Arteta’s Premier League title chasers to a tense triumph over 10-man Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday.
Jurrien Timber and William Saliba scored from corners to seal a vital victory, while disciplinary issues continued to dog Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior after Pedro Neto was sent off for Chelsea, making the 25-year-old Portuguese forward the ninth player to be sent off in all competitions for the Blues this term.
In a compelling London derby Saliba scored his first goal of the season after 21 minutes, to set the Gunners on their way to secure a much-needed triumph for Arteta’s Premier League table toppers. The opener to go 1-0 up from a corner was the ninth such occurrence for the home side this campaign.
Despite Arteta insisting after the match that he thought “the margin and the scoreline should have been bigger,” the Blues levelled shortly before half-time through an own goal by Piero Hincapie, who inadvertently nodded into his own net from Reece James’ cross into a crowded box.
As the visiting fans crowed, while reminding the home support of Chelsea past glories - triumphs that seem a long way away from where Rosenior’s side are right now - Timber headed Declan Rice’s corner past the shaky Roberto Sanchez in the Chelsea goal to make it 2-1 on 66 minutes. The winner was Arsenal’s 16th from a corner this season. Not that Gooners anywhere on the planet will care a jot where the goal came from.
However, the visitors’ indiscipline undermined Rosenior’s hopes of a second equaliser four minutes later, when Neto received a second yellow card in quick succession after a reckless challenge on substitute Gabi Martinelli.
‘We conceded two goals from set-plays, which has ultimately cost us the game, and it’s really disappointing to have another red card,” reflected Rosenior, who has now lost to Arsenal three times in his short managerial career in the Chelsea hotseat, before adding that the red card was “disappointing for Pedro because he’s a very, very good player and you want him on the pitch.”
Rosenior went on to say damningly: “As a group, and me as the leader, we must take more accountability for some of the decision-making in terms of our discipline. And the goals that we’re conceding, not just today, some of them are not acceptable at this level.”
3 - All Hail David Raya
As the clock ticked down David Raya kept out Alejandro Garnacho’s cross intended for Joao Pedro, as the Arsenal keeper made a superb save, diving full length to ensure Arteta’s side moved five points clear of second place Manchester City, albeit with Pep Guardiola’s chasers having a game in hand.
No wonder a visibly relieved Arteta took time out to praise Raya during his post-match press conference I attended, saying: “David is one of our leaders without a doubt.
“He's a keeper who knows how to maintain his focus and decide a football match when you need him. Because sometimes he doesn't participate at all and then in one action you have to be there, and that's very, very difficult to do.
“And the save that he made in the last action - it's a cross, it's not a shot, but it ended up being an unbelievable shot. I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped, but David's hand was there to get it back to life.”
Arteta added: “The margins are very, very small, and the duels at the end decide these kinds of games.”
Pretty it was not.
But at this stage of the season, and after 22 long years waiting for a league title all that matters is getting over the line.
The rest is just noise.
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A key takeaway for me is that Arsenal have to keep playing like they deserve to win, that they belong, and that it is their right to win the title, especially in a year where belief is not a fragile resource to be operating from a place of starvation, but something to grab by the scruff of the neck because it is yours. Irrational confidence sometimes goes a long way. Especially with a team that is often accused of not heaving enough cojones.
‘But at this stage of the season, and after 22 long years waiting for a league title all that matters is getting over the line…’
absolutely right, we won’t get any extra points for style. I thought we played much better than we were given credit for. The focus from the usual sources bleat on about set-pieces, ignoring the fact that, in the modern game, they have grown in importance.