New Premier League shock this Sunday with the match between Chelsea and Arsenal. The Gunners, in the midst of a crisis with 2 defeats and 1 draw in the last 3 matches, had no room for error and absolutely had to take points to avoid being dropped in the standings and in the title race. And it was not easy against an attractive Chelsea team which still fielded a competitive eleven with the presence of Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto in defense but also a quartet of Palmer, Madueke, Neto, Jackson up front. On the Arsenal side, no surprises in the eleven with Saliba in particular in the axis of defense.
Very quickly Chelsea had the first opportunity of the match. It was again Cole Palmer who distinguished himself by firing a long shot well repelled by Raya. The England international made big differences in the heart of the game thanks to his secret controls. But it was Arsenal who started their match better and dominated their evening opponent. At the half-hour mark, Kai Havertz even thought of opening the score, but his goal was refused for a slight offside position. Just before that, Chelsea had missed a very big opportunity since on a caviar from Neto, Malo Gusto missed a header from close range.
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Arsenal can’t do it anymore
Returning from the locker room, Mikel Arteta’s men tried to accelerate and set the pace but also left spaces. Spaces which benefited Chelsea since Madueke did poorly on the counterattack. But each time, the Blues attackers lacked precision in the last gesture. This was generally the case for the Gunners attackers. But shortly before the hour mark, on a wonderful ball from Odegaard, Martinelli (who took advantage of a big placement error from Colwill to avoid being offside) slipped the ball into Sanchez’s tight corner ( 1-0, 59th). Enough to ignite the meeting a little and free a more comfortable Arsenal team.
In the process, Justin Timber did not go far from the goal of the break with a nice solo number. But Chelsea have resources and have proven it at the start of the season. Very active in his lane, Pedro Neto was the author of the equalizing goal. After a good oriented control, he fired a long shot at ground level which left Raya no chance (1-1, 70th) and which put his team back in the game. In a livelier end to the match, neither team was able to gain the upper hand and the score would remain there. Arsenal continue their poor streak and have not won in the Premier League for over a month. For their part, Chelsea experienced a setback and missed the opportunity to outrun their evening opponent. In the standings, both teams remain at the foot of the podium.
