The Soccer Blog: Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1: Gunners Get Some Post-Christmas Cheer by Beating the Blues

Tuesday, 28 December 2010

Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1: Gunners Get Some Post-Christmas Cheer by Beating the Blues

By: Sairax | December 27th, 2010
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It’s a Christmas miracle! Our boys did it. With all the pressure and expectation, they went out there and beat Chelsea. It was probably our best 90 minutes this season if you look at our consistency and overall play during the match. With the help of some personnel changes, including the beast I call Theo van Nasregas, the players stepped up, worked their socks off, and pulled off the win we all knew they were capable of getting.

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Right off the bat you could tell that the team was up for it. They started pressing from the get-go and didn’t let up. For around a half hour the match was basically a tussle in the midfield with both teams trying to get a grip on possession and dominate the game. Both teams were also playing a high line and getting back in numbers to defend, so there weren’t many shots to be found in the first half. However, we were patient and kept trying to play our game. Sagna and Theo managed to get in a few good crosses whilst Cesc kept trying to find that perfect pass through the middle. Song created the first good chance in the 6th minute when he chipped the ball over the Chelsea defense to find van Persie who had a glorious chance to stick it in the back of the net. Instead he took a half-hearted swipe at it with Ivanovic coming at him and the opportunity was missed.

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I wondered then if we would rue missing that chance. After all, we’ve been punished so many times in the past. Luckily it didn’t affect the team and we kept pressing while our front four (Theo van Nasregas) kept interchanging and passing well. Chelsea’s best chances were on the counter and on set pieces. Lampard and Drogba were both going at our defense but Kos and Djourou defended well with the help of Song. We rode our luck at times, but a bit of no-nonsense defending, clearing the ball, and being aggressive in aerial duels paid off in the first half. In fact, we won 61% of the duels in the first half. Malouda and Kalou were ably dealt with by Sagna and Clichy, who were both solid. Theo constantly pinned back Ca$hley. Though his close control let him down at times, Theo worked relentlessly on the wing and never stopped trying to get forward and take on the Chelsea defense.

Then came that glorious moment in the 45th minute. We had taken a grip on the midfield and were continuing our pressure on Chelsea who were looking a bit cautious. Nasri got the ball to Song who had a bit of tippy-tappy passing with Jack and Cesc. Cesc was taken down by Terry, but Song jumped on his chance to slot the ball past Cech for a goal right at the end of the half. It was probably a penalty (Clattenberg told Cesc he was going to give it if Song hadn’t scored) but the important thing is that we didn’t stop, we just went on and did what we needed to. It was a goal that showed how we didn’t allow Chelsea to push us out to the flanks and just put in desperate crosses all night. The crosses we did get in were decent, but more importantly we kept trying to play through the middle and stood up to the Chelsea defense. With Cesc back in the starting XI we had our playmaker back constantly trying to make things happen in the middle. Nasri, Song, and Jack all were trying to get moves started in through the middle, which ended up paying off. The half ended with Arsenal 1-0 up. It was a largely uneventful half, but we got 3 shots on target while Chelsea had none. If we were going to get anything out of the game we needed to keep up the pressure in the second half.

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When the whistle blew to begin the next 45 minutes we continued our determined play from the first. It didn’t take long before we got our second goal of the night. Terry was caught up the pitch dealing with van Persie and the ball fell kindly to Theo who went on one of his trademark runs. He blew past Cole and with Cech coming out in front of him he laid the ball off to his left for Cesc to calmly put it away into an open net. We were 2-0 up against Chelsea and I had to rub my eyes to see if this was really happening. I barely had a chance to even do that because 2 minutes later we scored a third goal. Cesc threaded a lovely ball through to Theo who made a run up through the middle and confidently struck the ball past Cech to put us up 3-0. Three-nil! Against Chelsea! The same Chelsea that had been haunting us and dominating the league for what seems like ages. Could Arsenal hold on? Could we keep a hold of this score and not completely self-destruct?

The stats were on our side at least, which kept my spirits up. For one thing, whenever Cesc scores in a game we don’t lose. Including today, that makes 32 games where Cesc has scored and we haven’t lost. It just shows how influential he is and how important he is to this team, not just for his goals, but for his attitude and leadership as well. My hopes began to wane somewhat in the 57th minute when Chelsea got a free kick. Drogba got the ball in the box and Ivanovic headed the ball home to get them a goal. This is where Chelsea can become dangerous. They see they have a chance to get the game back and they grow in confidence. For the next ten minutes we had to stay strong at the back and be resilient. We did well and rode our luck a little bit, but we got through a spell of Chelsea getting men forward and putting dangerous balls into our area. Song came up huge in this period and had an excellent overall game. Djourou and Kos did well as a partnership even though Kos didn’t contest the header which led to us conceding.

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We still had our chances. Chelsea’s backline was exposed with them having to get numbers forward and Nasri found himself with a great opportunity one-on-one with Cech, but he couldn’t quite get it over the big keeper. Our players were getting ‘stuck in’ and tackles were flying everywhere. There was a hunger in the team not to let the lead slip away and none of the players showed weakness in the face of Chelsea’s steely midfield. We gave away a few fouls in areas that Drogba normally scores from. Our defending was better though, and Chelsea could not find the net again. They have now gone 6 games without a win, picking up 6 points from their last 24. After scoring so freely at the beginning of the season, they have managed only 4 goals in 6 games. They are in a slump no doubt, which just meant that this was a great time for us to take a chance and go for a win.

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You could see such a difference in the team today. Five changes were made from the Manchester United game that we had lost so meekly only 2 weeks ago. The return of van Persie and Fabregas was essential to the team, in my opinion. Chamakh has done a great job for us, but having him and van Persie up front together wasn’t working yet. Chamakh could have, arguably, done better than van Persie on some of the chances where a big tall striker was needed to head the ball into the net. The advantage to playing van Persie was his skill and control in the final third and his ability to interchange well with the rest of our attack. He wasn’t at his best, but he did well and needed this game time to continue improving his form after such a lengthy period out with injury. He and Fabregas both have a great attitude and winning mentality that is so desperately needed on this team. Our overall play was wonderful. We never stopped pressing and our passing was much sharper than in recent games. We kept the ball moving and played at a high tempo as much as possible. Every one of our players busted their butts getting around the pitch today. You could tell they were playing with a commitment and drive that we all were hoping for. The crowd fed off the players’ energy and the atmosphere was great. All the hard work paid off and we got the 3 points.

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Player Ratings:

Fabianski 7 Didn’t have much to do at all. Chelsea had one shot on target the whole game and he dealt with it well. Wasn’t at fault for the goal and kept safe hands throughout the game.

Sagna 7 Reliable as always. Had a few really nice crosses into the box and worked well with Theo out wide. He even had a cracking shot at goal that hit Drogba pretty hard.

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Djourou 8.5 Immense. He was winning headers and putting in tackles. He towered over our backline and hustled the whole match not letting anything get by him. Worked well with the rest of the backline and Fab as well. For all my worries about him coming back from such a long injury he has taken the chance Wenger gave him today forcefully with both hands. If he’s fit, he’s a starter, I don’t think he can do much more to prove himself.

Koscielny 7 Had a solid game but didn’t cover Ivanovic well enough on their goal. He is great at tackling if still a bit shaky in the air. Still needs some improvement but he looked up for the game and was definitely giving his all.

Clichy 7 One of his better games. Covered his flank well, got in good tackles and was able to recover on any little mistakes he made. Like everyone else he was high on energy with his performance.

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Song 9 MOTM Fantastic. Lived up to his Songinho moniker in the best way possible. He stayed back and shielded the defense at crucial times. He was an absolute rock in the middle of the pitch. Going forward he picked his runs wisely and looked much more assured and comfortable on the ball. He was everywhere doing everything. By far his best performance all season. Defensively he had a great game and he was able to get back and help out our back four in crucial moments. With the new role given to him by Wenger it is so important that he gets proper cover when he goes forward, but also that he realizes when is the best time to get forward. He played that role excellently today and got a goal to boot.

Wilshere 7 Jack had a quiet game but was constantly trying to get in incisive passes and keep the play going. Gets kicked heck of a lot, but on the plus side we got a lot of free kicks in the middle of the park.

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Walcott 8 It took him some time to get fully comfortable in the game, but once he did he found himself in much of the build-up play. Got his 5th league goal of the season and an assist as well. Was a constant threat out wide and got back to defend against Malouda. He did enough to keep his spot in my opinion. He was very positive the whole game and never stopped trying to get forward even when his passing or control let him down.

Nasri 7 He was less influential in this match, but wasn’t tasked with the creative role today. He did well to get at Ferreira and most importantly, keep our passing game and movement fluid in attack.

Fabregas 7.5 Perhaps his passing was slightly off, but his presence in our midfield cannot be understated. Had a few wonderful defense splitting passes, kept trying to get forward, and always ran back when he lost possession. He misses the Wigan game because he received his 5th yellow card. We need him to play the majority of the second half of the season if we are going to win anything.

van Persie 6.5 You can tell he’s still not at his best. Great movement and does well in tight spaces up against opposition defense. Needs more game time though I still am torn as to whether he should start over Chamakh at the moment.

Subs:

Diaby 6 Clearly he’s not completely match fit and his time on the pitch was probably more for him to get back on the pitch and playing a bit. Had a great opportunity to score but continues to be hesitant in front of goal.

Chamakh 6 He needed to work hard, keep the ball and use his physical presence up front, which is what he did for the last 15 minutes or so of the game.

Rosicky N/A Played for about 5 minutes. Had a good run on the counter in the dying minutes.

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This was a really important 3 points. Manchester United are currently sitting on top of the table with 37 points and a game in hand, so a loss would have hurt us terribly. We are level on points, but ahead in goal difference, with Manchester City, but they have played a game more than us. Having Nasri, van Persie, Walcott, and Fabregas together in attack paid off beautifully. Interesting stat: when van Persie and Fabregas have played we have won 80% of the time. That just shows you how important they are and also how well we’ve coped in their absence. We looked confident, quick and lovely, and committed throughout the whole game. Today we saw the team that we know can win games, the team that we want to see in every match. On Wednesday we play Wigan. This win will have been for nothing if we can’t get 3 points against them so we have to stay focused and play just like we did today. It doesn’t matter if it’s Chelsea or Blackpool, the team needs to work hard for 90 minutes and we got that from them today. I hope this gives them a boost in their confidence and the ambition to go on and continue our good form into the new year. We didn’t win the league today and we have many games ahead of us, but we exorcised some demons today and overcame the team that has been haunting us for so long. It was a great win and it feels good goddamn it. And Drogba didn’t score.

Cesc and Theo Post Match Interview here

Wenger Post Match Interview here

Some Related Stories:Arsenal v Chelsea Preview: Once More Unto the BreachChelsea 2 – Arsenal 0: Drogba Strikes Again (UPDATED with Player Ratings)Liveblog: Chelsea v ArsenalChelsea – Arsenal PreviewArsenal – Chelsea Match Thread

Category: Chelsea, Match Review, Premiership, Video

Tags: Chelsea, Match Review, Premiership, Video
Tweet « Arsenal – Chelsea Match Thread | Home | TinjakAnyone know of a highlights video that includes Nasri's chip attempt that brought a big save from Cech? (this one doesn't)

Also, anyone know of any video/images of the "furious exchange" between drogba and terry that the bcc refers to?
GunAAwhat a shocker I had to rub my eyes many times when the score read 3-0, though ivanovic's goal was like cold water to the face. djourou was unbelievable! totally had Drogba by the nuts. Then I saw the picture Sairax put up above his rating, and turns out he literally had drogba by the drog-nuts. Viva TvN and thats that!!Darren_VOh, and Djourou was absolutely awesome vs Drogba. Great defensive performance!Darren_VGreat win, great game. Absolutely loved it! So nice to win vs Chelsea again!!
I kinda disagree about Flaps not being at fault for the goal. He was caught in no-man's land for it. Watch the replay and you can see he hesitates and comes off his line to late to intercept the free kick, and gets beat by the header. Not saying he would've saved it, but if he had stayed on his line, he would've had a chance at least.
But screw it, we won and that's all I care about!
Come on you gunners!Homey_MillsI'm sure nobody wants to look ahead to Wigan just yet, but all of this euphoria will seem a bit hollow if we don't get 3 points there. I'm sure we'll have to rotate a lot in that one too, although hopefully they'll be forced to do some of the same.

My view about RvP and Chamakh is that RvP should be ahead of him at this point. I know I can't point to a reason on the field just yet. But we've seen how good each of them can be at their best, and I'll take RvP at his best any day. So we just have to give him a shot to get back to that level, and hopefully we'll have something special in the last half of the season. If, after several more games, he's not making it happen, then I have no problem going back to Chamakh.Gigi_manThx for the briefing and ratings. Still no chance 4 me to see it, but as long as its a win, I am fine, fine, fine!
Does that vid shows the goals? if not got a link to?

Just saw the vid thx...I am sleey but after tha vid mommy got me sleeping like a baby with a smile on my face ;)Jonathanwhat a great day to be an arsenal fan!!! the emirates was electric tonight !!! great hunger and desire from the team !!! cannot draw any negatives from tonight, if we play with that spirit in future theres no doubt we will be there collecting silverware.:):):)MartinI'll probably come back with more coherent thoughts on this tomorrow, but right now I'm exhausted from too much turkey and travel, and emotionally spent from watching the game on DVR. So I'll just say two words.

Frak. Yes.KxevinNice match today. Congratulations.Steve MDjourou with 97% passes completed & especially Song 93% passes complete were maniacs!
Wilshere @ 86% was huge too, same with Nasri & Sagna - and no big mistakes for Clichy this time...
our solid back-end and useful possession finally allows our forwards to take over legitimately against a "top side" - though Chelsea looked generally uninspired and shitty to me.

this was our best lineup in my opinion!!
especially with chamakh, bendtner and Arshavin waiting on the sides.....

SO STOKED RIGHT NOW!
when we defeat United on April 30th we will secure the top spot in the EPL for good!Squash2034I'm so happy!!!ForeverzidaneTHEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
What an Henriesk top notch finish, yes that's what he is capable of!
RVP didn't score but boy did he cause a lot of discomfort for Terry and company.
Yes when ever "JESUS" scores we win!
Allez ArsenalJGTheo vanNasregas is growing on me. Gives me the impression of a pompous English gentleman who by night is London's Batman or something.
That was Walcott's 5th league goal (3 against Blackpool one against Blackburn and today)
Djourou probably our best defender this season (besides Sagna).SairaxThanks, I'll go fix that nowblog comments powered by Disqus