Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea: Arsene finds a Blueprint for Success
289 comments December 28th, 2010
Arsenal 3 – 1 Chelsea (Song 44, Fabregas 51, Walcott 53, Ivanovic 57)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
All those calls to Childline have paid off. Arsenal won’t be bullied anymore.
Only time will tell if last night’s game will prove to be a watershed evening in the development of this Arsenal team. For now, Arsenal fans should simply indulge in the unusual pleasure of not having to spend the day following a big match actively avoiding newspapers, television, and Spurs fans.
What will have delighted Arsene Wenger is that this victory was achieved in his own way. He made some big calls in his starting line-up. He dropped Sebastien Squillaci, and plumped for Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou. He dropped Andrey Arshavin, switching Nasri to the left-flank and bringing in flyer Theo Walcott on the right. And he left out a tiring Marouane Chamakh, with Robin van Persie entrusted to make only his second Premier League start of the season.
These were bold decisions. Arsene is often accused of not adapting his team to the opponent in question – not so last night. Bringing in Djourou and Walcott for Squillaci and Arshavin meant choosing youth over big game experience.
Both choices were vindicated with superb performances. Johan Djourou is maturing in to a fine centre-half, and perhaps the most obvious candidate to partner Thomas Vermaelen when the Belgian returns in January. Djourou arrived at Arsenal as a gawky holding midfielder in his mid-teens, but after he shackled Didier Drogba last night it’s same to say his transformation to bruising centre-half is almost complete. He has finally learnt to use his six foot four inch frame to dominate aerially. In January he will turn 24: this is his time.
Walcott, meanwhile, was outstanding. We know he has his faults. In the first half his control was erratic and his movement occasionally baffling. But crucially, his pace pegged back Ashley Cole, whose incisive runs had proved our undoing on so many occasions in the past. Once Cole was booked for hauling back Theo, he was even more inhibited. And in the second half, Walcott did the damage in the final third we know is capable of. He is now just one goal away from reaching double figures.
The key, however, was not individual performances, but a high-tempo pressing game reminiscent of our early form in 09/10 and which was a clear attempt at emulating Barcelona’s style. Chelsea use John Terry and John Obi Mikel as their main outlets from the back – in this game, they didn’t get a moment’s peace on the ball, so much so that Mikel was withdrawn at half-time for the Brazilian Ramires.
All too often in this fixture we’d conceded shortly before half time, giving ourselves an uphill struggle in the second 45. On this occasion, we were the beneficiaries of a goal right on the whistle. Alex Song played a neat one-two with midfield partner Jack Wilshere on the edge of a congested area, and the ball fell to Cesc. The captain was fouled and a penalty would have been awarded, but instead advantage was played and Song was able to toe-poke home.
The start of the second half was crucial, and we made a statement of intent by nicking the ball from Chelsea right from kick-off. There then followed a two minute period in which Arsenal fans entered wonderland. First Walcott latched on to a loose Essien backpass, tore down on goal, and squared unselfishly for Cesc Fabregas to tap in to an empty net. Then, with chants of “2 nil to the Arsenal” still ringing around the stadium, it suddenly became three. Walcott nicked the ball of Malouda, and found Cesc. The captain then played a sumptuous flicked ball inside the defender for Walcott to race on to and finish first time underneath Cech.
I can’t remember a goal that has been so raucously celebrated in the stadium. Drinks were split, strangers were hugged and ghosts were exorcised. The team clearly felt the same, bundling on top of Theo in a mixture of joy and relief.
Of course, Arsenal being Arsenal, we didn’t make it easy for itself. Just a couple of moments after going three up, we conceded, allowing Branislav Ivanovic to reach a lovely flat delivery from Didier Drogba and nod home.
Chelsea made changes, throwing on Kakuta and Bosingwa (why does Paulo Ferreira start ahead of him?) to try and save the game, but we held out. Diaby and Chamakh came on to help close things out, and it’s no exaggeration to say we had opportunities to extend our lead: Samir Nasri volleyed tamely when picked out by a Walcott cross, and Abou Diaby should have scored after a precision pass by Wilshere.
Full-time brought the loudest of Christmas cheers. I can’t emphasise enough how much the team played for each other, but within that some individuals did excel. Djourou was dominant and Walcott electric, but Alex Song and Jack Wilshere were outstanding against the more experienced Lampard and Essien. Seeing Wilshere bounce off challenges at the tender age of 18 was inspiring. A lot is made of the significance or otherwise of having English players, but it was clear last night that Jack understood just what this game meant.
The win takes us within two points of Manchester United, albeit having played a game more. More importantly, it invests the squad with a hitherto unknown belief. What’s vital, however, is that they don’t allow this victory to make them complacent. The effort levels, the commitment in the challenge, the urgency going forward have to be taken in to every game – starting at Wigan tomorrow, when we’ll have to cope without the suspended Cesc Fabregas.
Today, however, we should just enjoy a massive win. City could leapfrog us today to make it an all-Manchester top two, but, for now at least, we are the pride of London.
