Arsenal hosted Chelsea on Saturday afternoon, in what was a crucial early season game. The Gunners came into the game seemingly coming back into form, following a win in midweek against Nottingham Forest and a strong win against Hull last weekend. Chelsea on the other hand, have not really got going this season. Antonio Conte’s side beat Leicester City in midweek but lost to Liverpool.
The first-half was frantic, hectic and excellent for Arsenal. The Gunners started quick while Chelsea sat far too deep. Chelsea surrendered possession and allowed Arsenal to game into the game quickly. In a rare spell of possession, Gary Cahill received the ball, miss controlled it and allowed to Sanchez to pounce. The Chilean picked up the ball and clipped it over Courtois – the goal was coming in all fairness.
Chelsea still didn’t learn from their mistakes and continued to look shaky. After some lovely play, Iwobi found Bellerin who then crossed the ball for Walcott to tap it in. Arsenal weren’t done, however as Sanchez and Ozil broke on Cahill and Luiz, the former chipped the ball across for Ozil to volley it in, 3-0 Arsenal at half-time.
The second-half was a much more subdued affair. Arsenal sat back and looked to counter while Chelsea switched to a back three. Chelsea did look better but didn’t really create enough, while Arsenal had chances to make it four, if not five.
With that said, let’s have a look at how the players got on.
Petr Cech: 7/10
Had relatively quiet game. Was never really challenged, which in part, was down to Mustafi and Koscielny.
Hector Bellerin: 7.5/10
Got up and down the pitch as usual and defended reasonably well, including an excellent recovery tackle to cover for Mustafi. He did at times try to do too much from deep but all in all, a solid performance.
Shkodran Mustafi: 8.5/10
Apart from one mistake – which Bellerin made up for – Mustafi was excellent. He looked excellent with Koscielny and often got on the front foot to pressure Costa. His mobility is also an added bonus.
Laurent Koscielny: 8.5/10
Like his partner, Koscielny was excellent. He kept Costa under wraps the whole game, and if anything frustrated the striker with his ability to follow outside of the box. Chelsea did threaten Arsenal much, Koscielny and Mustafi were a huge reason for that.
Nacho Monreal: 7/10
A solid game for the Spaniard. Every week he just does his job, and he did once again.
Francis Coquelin: 7.5/10
So unfortunate to go off with an injury, as he was arguably having his best game in a long time. If he had stayed on, the grade would’ve been higher. Let’s hope that he’s not out for too long.
Santi Cazorla: 7/10
Not his best game but Cazorla was solid enough. With Xhaka’s introduction, Cazorla was given more license to go forward, which he did.
Theo Walcott: 7.5/10
Hardworking in defence and threatening going forward. Walcott finally gave a complete performance. He arguably could’ve had another goal if not set up assisted one.
Mesut Ozil: 7.5/10
Scored Arsenal’s third goal and put in another solid performance. He’s not quite back to his best but he influenced the game greatly.
Alex Iwobi: 8/10
Was simply brilliant. He constantly drifted in between Chelsea’s defence and midfield to create chances. It was a very clever performance for the youngster who continues to impress. He has now solidified his spot in Arsenal’s first-team.
Alexis Sanchez: 8/10
He has had heavy criticism over his ability to play as a striker but has now scored five in six games. He was all over Chelsea defence, giving Luiz and Cahill constant problems. A top performance from the Chilean.
Substitutes
Granit Xhaka: 7.5
Came on for Coquelin and slotted in perfectly. His ability to pass forward provided Arsenal with a lot of impetous.
Kieran Gibbs: 7/10
Came on in the second-half and helped seal the win.
Olivier Giroud: 6/10
Came on late but had little time to affect the game.
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