Premier League: led for a long time, Arsenal comes back from nowhere and catches Chelsea

International break over, Chelsea and Arsenal engaged in an expected duel this Saturday, as part of the 9th day of the Premier League. On the one hand, the rebounding Blues, victorious in their last two league outings, a fact rare enough in recent times to be underlined – Chelsea had not had two victories in the league since March. On the other, the Gunners revived after a victory which was slow to take shape against Manchester City two weeks earlier (1-0). If we imagined Arsenal riding this dynamic quite easily, Chelsea will have long been able to thwart the predictions.

Energetic, stifling, and above all inspired, the Blues quite simply delivered a constant duel to their London rivals, at least in the first half. From the outset, Mauricio Pochettino’s players could have opened the scoring after a catastrophic recovery from Zinchenko under pressure. But to those who know how to wait, time opens its doors. Only 12 minutes later, Cole Palmer opened the scoring from the penalty spot (15th, 1-0). Following a cross from Sterling, Saliba awkwardly deflected Mudryk’s header with his hand. If Chris Kavanagh did not flinch at his first impression, he finally designated the penalty spot after consulting the VAR.

Chelsea convincing for 75 minutes, Arsenal come a long way

Amorphous, like their captain Martin Ødegaard, the Gunners have long offered football without relief, without ideas. With a hint of additional precision, like this slightly too cross shot from Cole Palmer (29th), Chelsea could have made the bill more hefty in the first half. The new French international Malo Gusto, very restless in his lane, could also have scored his goal after a nice combination with Sterling (43rd). In the end, we didn’t have to wait long to see the Blues increase the score. Lifted by an incandescent atmosphere, Mudryk deceived David Raya with a vicious and incoming cross (48th). If his initial intention seemed to be more towards a cross at the far post, this second achievement of the season should in any case give him renewed confidence.

Recruited for the quality of his kicking game – which has been more akin to a deficiency than anything else since his arrival – David Raya could have turned into Santa Claus, but Palmer was beating around the bush (57th). A 3-0 ball that the Blues will be able to ruminate on for a long time. At the end of the match, it was the turn of the other Spanish goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez, to put on the long coat and the red cap. Following a completely missed restart, Declan Rice sent the ball with first intention into the empty goal to revive his team’s hopes (2-1, 78th). It didn’t take as much for Leandro Trossard. Entering six minutes earlier, the Belgian international, forgotten by Gusto, equalized after receiving a cross from Saka (2-2, 84th). In a completely disjointed end to the match, Arsenal came away with a long-unexpected point. Despite this far from successful performance, the Gunners maintain their second place in the standings and remain undefeated in the league this season. Chelsea, who can blame themselves, are 9th in the Premier League.