The curtain raises at the Emirates Stadium, for our first London Derby of the season. We host cheating Chelsea… “Self-Reporting” Chelsea.
Look how honest we appear to be about our cheating, so please don’t punish us too severely, Chelsea.
The self-proclaimed “Pride of London”… Who can’t perform consistently on the pitch, and frequent the dodgy dealings saloon, off the pitch. (Spent over TWO BILLION, on cannon fodder)
If multiple personalities was a football team, it would be them.
More like the “Jekyll & Hyde of London”. (HAHAHA!!)
I despise Chelsea, and not just because they’re cheats… but because they’re that small toddler team, who were invited to sit at the grownups table, and they started throwing food around… making a mess of the transfer market, appointing unsavoury captains, and… for thinking they’re bigger than The Arsenal, even though they’ve only won 6 league titles.
Yep… I look at them, and it just cements the fact, that London… is RED.
Mikel Arteta is about to battle his good friend Xabi Alonso for 3 points, for honour, for bragging rights, for an early foothold… in this speculation riddled, and unpredictable… title race.
For the first time in the Premier League, 5 of the “Big Six”… are in a “Transition” period, at the same time.
I WILL point out though, that these teams have spent terribly, and they DON’T face the same under-a-microscope scrutiny, and negative analysis… that The Arsenal face, week in, week out.
I can only deduce, that this is because we’re a GARGANTUAN club, and they expect MORE form us, and LESS, from the rest. (Insert shrug emoji here)
The Arsenal are unbeaten, in the last ELEVEN meetings, between the two sides. With The Arsenal winning EIGHT of those games, and drawing THREE, in all competitions.
I WOULD say this is a “Must Win” game, because it’s a chance to create some distance between US, and the “Pretenders”… But I won’t say that… even though I’ve said it. (HA!)
Aaaaanywhooooo… let’s see the team news…
Raya in goal, Calafiori at left-back, Gabriel and Konsa, central… and Benny Blanco (Ben White) at right-back.
In midfield… It was Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Martin Odegaard.
The front three was once again… Tzolis on the left, Havertz through the middle, and Bukayo Saka, on the right.
The opening minutes of the game were fast, competitive, and purposeful… with an air of confidence, emanating from both teams.
Within two minutes, Chelsea drew first blood… and said blood, was drawn accidentally.
It was like two boxers in a clinch, and one boxer unknowingly headbutts the other, and causes a cut above the eye.
Their goal came from a set-piece.
The ball was put into the Arsenal box, and it was only partially cleared. The loose ball spilled to Morgan Rogers on the edge of the box, and he hit a scuffed shot, that squirmed past an unsighted David Raya.
Like I said… an accidental headbutt. (Sickeningly) it was1-0 to Chelsea.
The Arsenal players, and the Arsenal faithful, were unperturbed. There was no panic in sight, and the fans remained in full voice… showing unwavering support, regardless of the scoreline.
The nervousness, and anxiety, that ruled the Emirates atmosphere last season… had been overthrown… and only confidence, and unshakable faith… remained.
We got the ball down, and started playing football. Sexy football… sumptuous football. One, and two-touch play, with dizzying movement, that left the Chelsea players chasing shadows, and… their own tails.
In the 13th minute, we had the ball in the net, after a goalmouth scramble. Calafiori with the final touch… BUT, after a VAR check, the goal was ruled offside.
As disappointing as the VAR decision was, I was filled with optimism, because we were getting closer to an equaliser. An equaliser that felt inevitable… because we were by far, the superior team.
Chelsea were an irritant at best. They were a Chiwawa, yapping at a Great Dane… and the big dogs, were in no mood to be playful.
In the 25th minute, we got our equaliser.
Declan Rice laid the ball off to Kai Havertz on the right-hand side… and still with A LOT to do, Havertz cut inside on his left foot, and drilled a hard, low shot… past Martinez, at his near post. It was a beautiful goal, of his own making. Havertz had once again proved himself to be a thorn, in the side of his previous employers.
Martinez being beaten from outside the box, was the icing on the cake. 1-1 now the scoreline.
There was some high quality football on show, and all spectators were eager to see the drama unfold.
The curtain closed on the first half, with honours even… by scoreline only though, as The Gunners dominated in every department. This was a mismatch in class, of epic proportions.
Whistle blew for the start of the second half, and The Arsenal flew out the traps, like greyhounds chasing a rabbit, with their tails on fire.
I wish I could’ve heard Mikel Arteta’s team talk, because it was evidently inspiring. Somehow, the players looked even more determined, more confident, and more convinced… that an Arsenal win was inevitable.
This was borne out as early as the 50th minute, when we played out from deep inside our own half… after a feeble Chelsea attempt, to break our defensive stronghold.
Tzolis received the ball on left, and in a tight space, he beat his man, and passed inside to Havertz… who let the ball go, knowing Odegaard was behind him… and his dummy, sent the entire Chelsea defence on a lengthy excursion. They were sent on a hike mid-match, and were under strict instructions to bring back souvenirs… and they had no idea why.
By the time they awoke from their football-admiration-trance… Odegaard was in on their goal, and he fired past Martinez emphatically, to put us 2-1 up. GOOOOOAAAAAAL!!! The Emirates erupted… and it was a sound that was a sweet caress, to Arsenal eardrums.
In the 67th minute, Hincapie replaced Calafiori… who had run Chelsea ragged. They struggled to defend against the unorthodox positions he’d take up… and that created space for others.
Also in the 67th minute, Zubimendi replaced Myles Lewis-Skelly, who had put in another mature, faultless, accomplished display.
It’ll be hard for Bruno Guimaraes to take Myles’ place, while he’s on this type of form.
In the 77th minute, Merino came on for the irrepressible Martin Odegaard… whose man-of-the-match display, had football fans swooning. He was back to his best, and it was a reminder to the doubters, and a warning… to the so called challengers… that he means business this season.
Gyokeres was also introduced, after Havertz made way for him.
It was an awesome example of attacking prowess from Havertz, and in contrast… it was a rusty display from Viktor Gyokeres… who struggled to make a simple pass, and control the ball.
I’m confident Gyokeres WILL find form, but it’ll take time.
Given a run of games, I have no doubt Gyokeres will bang in goals this season.
Chelsea had some more half-hearted attempts, but deep down, they never believed they’d get anything from this game… and I don’t blame them.
Estevao had a speculative effort in the dying moments of the game, that Raya saved… but apart from that, we were comfortable.
The final substitution was Madueke for Saka. The latter had a good game, but he was somewhat restricted… because he was doubled-up on. I still have no doubt whatsoever, that our Starboy, will have an exceptional season… but games like this will happen, when teams sit in a low block.
The match finished 2-1 to The Arsenal, and our 5 year unbeaten run over Chelsea, continues.
That’s 3 Premier League games played, 3 wins, and 9 points. We move onto the next one.
London has been red, London is red… and will always be… RED!!
Next up we face Napoli away, in the Champions League. It’ll be an extremely tough game, and a hostile atmosphere.
We go there brimming with confidence, and eager to take that first step towards the trophy that has eluded us, for so many years.
I expect Mikel Arteta to flex our squad muscles, and give some players a breather… and others, a chance to sharpen up their football senses.
What would be your starting lineup against Napoli?
Is it too early in the season to rotate players?
Do you think we’re better equipped to challenge on all fronts?
Let me know in the comments, as usual… and thanks for reading. COYG!!
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