CHELSEA 2-0 Arsenal: A Case Of Chelsea Against The World?
CHELSEA 2-0 ARSENAL
Well, if our poor showing at Hull was put down to the carrying’s on in the press during the week then you’d have to suspect our players have been forced to sit in a darkened room wearing earplugs and having group hugs for the last few days because not only did the initial jeers from the away support appear to fall on deaf ears yesterday but the shift we put in defensively epitomised the word ‘team’.
I’ll be the first to admit to pre-match nerves given how disorganised we looked mid-week, particularly with United walking all over Pompey to nick top spot again Saturday. The thought of a distracted and spiritless game against the likes of Fabregas and Arshavin had me fearing the sort of wounds we wouldn’t be able to patch up again before the real battle begins. And whilst we didn’t exactly inflict much in the way of prolonged pain on Arsenal going forward, our mental strength and unity showed the doubters our players are still very much up for the fight.
If all it took was possession, then Arsenal would have beaten us hands down because they had it in bucketloads. The trouble is, they appeared to have a leak. Because for all of their possession, all it took was a couple of quick counter-attacks from the man who loves playing them the most – and it was pretty much game over. Of course we still had to defend in numbers but as long as Arsenal insisted on trying to walk the ball into the net, we’d have been comfortable defending all night.
Carlo Ancelotti had already sussed how we’d play them before the off. We’d beaten them 3-0 this season already and if that game hadn’t given him enough clues, their suspect defending and lack of response against United last week would most certainly have formed his game plan. And despite Arsenal’s bright start, it took just 8 minutes for Didier Drogba to tap in John Terry’s flick. Drogba’s second, on 23 minutes came courtesy of a Frank Lampard pass and took his tally against Arsenal to 12 in 12 games. He almost had a third in the second half but unfortunately, whilst his shot had Almunia beaten, the bar had other ideas and it cannoned back out.
It’s not that Arsenal laid down and died for us though, for me they definitely put up a better fight than they did against United, they just don’t seem to be able to get past the niceties of the game and go for the kill. Arsenal are a pretty side, not a clinical side and our defence dealt with them admirably. So Wenger can argue for penalties and go on about them being ‘the better side’ as much as he likes, because until they learn how to come out of a scrap on top, they’re the one’s with the glass jaw.
Overall then, we might not have been at our best but it was still a very professional performance. Arsenal could have had possession until midnight and I doubt they’d have got past our defence who were nothing short of immense on the day. Stands to reason why Petr Cech looked back to his unflappable best when he had that sort of solid, self assured defending in front of him.
CHELSEA: Cech, A Cole, Terry, Carvalho, Ivanovic, Mikel, Ballack (Zhirkov, 81), Malouda, Lampard, Anelka (J Cole, 86), Drogba (Kalou, 90)
Unused subs: Hilario, Ferreira, Alex, Deco
ARSENAL: Almunia, Sagna (Eboue, 73), Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Diaby (Rosicky, 73), Fabregas, Song, Walcott (Bendtner, 65), Arshavin, Nasri
Unused subs: Fabianski, Campbell, Ramsey, Denilson
GOALS
CHELSEA: Didier Drogba 8, 23
Filed under: Match report, Rants
bang on mate.I am an arsenal fan and i think you got this one down.
There is one question i want to ask Chelsea fans who have supported the club for a long time.
Where do you see the club in ten years.
This is an honest question.Not a wind up.
well done JT! screw capello n the media.
Did you hear,Wenger’s going to sell almunia in the transfer window and buy another goalpost..
lol @ Rahul
matt - I think it’s hard tp predict where most clubs will be in ten years tbh. If you mean can I see us dominating the PL, no I dont think we will be.
How come you don´t see Chelsea dominating in ten years? Chelsea have been in a great form the past four-five years. And this season has been great for them. They had a slump but now they are up again. I think they will start winning now. And hopefully, both the league and the champions league is ours. Chelsea keeps growing, and perhaps they do lack in history. But they are making history right now. So to answer your question, I believe that Chelsea can keep growing and become a permanent winning team just like the others Man U, Barca, Real M, etc. It might take a long time, but it is not impossible.
I see us along with the rest of the premiership in ten years….in deep shit!
Until we get the salaries capped or at least under some sort of control and people paid what they are actually worth, with decent young players being brought up with good youth policies and the top 3 or 4 clubs domination being better controlled…..then we are heading the same way as the italians….we will get more corruption…more instances of players earning money for nothing and acting like morons and the premier league will fall by the wayside….you heard it here first remember!!!
It is getting boring already for me….I have supported Chelsea for as long as I remember and yes it is nice to win the league,cup etc, but in days gone by winning things actually meant something as players worked hard and we did not rely on big money….just to win a football match!
I want to see more than Chelsea and Man Utd fight it out because they have the most money….I want to see good managers like Martin O’neill and David Moyes given a fair chance…not being restrained by finances…as Alex Ferguson has been so lucky and only helped by his financial backing and his actual managerial qualities if he has any are not being fairly tested against better managers!
Bollox to all that “where will we be in ten years” we just stuffed Wenger’s kids..Oooops!
No alternative game plan for the Gooner…look pretty..nice passing…no effect and get beaten..always the same..so easy
Well done Chelsea
CF - For a start, Chelsea need a complete overhaul over the next few years. If you honestly believe this season has been ‘great’ for us, then you’re fooling yourself imo. It’s been good enough - so far - but is that because we’ve been good or because others haven’t? Liverpool have had a poor season, we’re probably lucky United fell foul of injuries to their backline and fortunately for us, Mark Hughes didn’t have a clue how to put a squad together with the money he had at his disposal (unlike Ranieri).
Competition will only get harder in the PL and we need to go through a transitional period of seriously bringing through younger players because we have an ageing side. Fergie always gets the balance right when it comes to adding youngsters to the side and they’ll be a lot fresher than us in the coming seasons. We won’t be able to compete with the likes of Citeh in the transfer market either, so if anything, I expect a quieter time for us over the next few years.