Was it a good result or did we leave the door too far open for the second leg?

Arsenal returned to winning ways against Portsmouth at the weekend, after playing out a 0-0 draw with Liverpool last Thursday. Despite going behind to Pompey, the Gunners eventually hit four past them without reply. Up next was another cup game, but the stakes were certainly raised. An EFL Cup semi final awaited Arsenal and Chelsea were standing in the way of a potential final. Two legs, the first at Stamford Bridge. Liam Rosenior’s second game in charge, but his first against a top flight team.

First Half

Arsenal began brightly and immediately set the standard for the game. They restricted Chelsea to their own half and were comfortably knocking the ball around. It wouldn’t take long for Arsenal to earn their first corner of the game. Declan Rice swung in a devilish ball and found the head of Ben White who angled his header down and into the goal. 1-0 Arsenal. Chelsea attempted to respond straight away, but Enzo Fernandez’s shot was easily saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga. Both sides engaged in a battle and neither could really settle in possession. Arsenal had a couple of attempts off target as well as Chelsea. Estevao was the next player to have a real good shot on goal, but his effort was saved by Kepa. Not much really happened after that point, the closest anyone came was William Saliba with an attempt from the edge of the box. Arsenal would go in ahead at the break.

Second Half

The second half began in a similar way to the first, Arsenal found the net within four minutes of the action commencing. White found himself with a chance to put a cross into the box. His ball across the six yard area slipped through the gloves of Robert Sanchez, Viktor Gyokeres was the grateful recipient of that mistake. All he had to do was smack it home from close range. 2-0 to Arsenal. Martin Odegaard tried to get a third for the Gunners, but his powerful strike was saved by Sanchez. Arsenal were threatening to run away with it, but Alejandro Garnacho gave the Blues a lifeline. His patience at the back post was rewarded as a cross beat everyone in the box except the Argentinian. He fired a shot beyond Kepa. 2-1 Arsenal, game on. The tie evolved into an end-to-end affair that brought excitement. Rosenior’s men probed, but with little success. Arsenal had the best of the chances following Garnacho’s goal. Odegaard and Rice both had efforts miss the target, but Martin Zubimendi decided to give Arsenal some breathing space. A lovely passing move involving Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres resulted in the Spaniard receiving a pass on the edge of the box. A couple of body feints and a sweet finish ensured that Arsenal restored their two goal advantage. Arsenal pressed on to find a fourth and came close a number of times. Saka had a shot blocked from close range before Sanchez produced an incredible save to deny Merino. Gabriel then sent a header over the bar, despite no resistance. Against the run of play, Chelsea were able to cut Arsenal’s lead in half again. Once more it was Garnacho who provided the goods. Arsenal struggled to clear their lines and the ball bobbled out to Garnacho, who took advantage of Kepa not being in the goal. After that, both sides had one more attempt left in them. Kai Havertz came close, but Sanchez was equal to his shot. Pedro Neto then had a header saved very late on. That was it, 3-2 Arsenal.

Statistics

The statistics certainly back Arsenal in terms of deserving more from the game. The Gunners had 17 shots with 6 on target. This generated an xG of 2.68 with three big chances created. Chelsea, on the other hand, had 10 shots with 5 on target. This created an xG of 0.65, 1 big chance was created.

Player Ratings:

Starting XI

Kepa – 6 – I think he done okay with his distribution, he knew when to go short and when to go long. However, he wasn’t strong enough to deal with the pressure from the Chelsea defenders that resulted in Garnacho scoring into an open net. Generally speaking, he felt a little weak compared to David Raya.

White – 7 – It was great for him to score the opening goal. Right place, right time and a strong enough head. Most of Chelsea’s danger came with Estevao, who was Timber’s opponent. White was supposed to be looking after Garnacho, but I don’t feel like he was entirely responsible for either goal. More communication was required between the defence.

Saliba – 9 (MOTM) – Despite not being on the score sheet, he was the best player on the pitch. He stuck to his defensive duties, but was on a different level on the ball. He was able to glide past the Chelsea press and kickstarted a few attacks. He was close to grabbing a sensational goal, but just flew over the bar.

Gabriel – 7 – Solid defensively and made some very important blocks. He had to help Timber deal with Estevao as well. However, that free header is his bread and butter and he still managed to miss. That would’ve made it 4-1 and the tie would’ve been over.

Timber – 6 – I’m not sure what exactly is going on with Timber right now. Fatigue? Over confidence? But, I’m not convinced by his performances of late. He was given the run around by Estevao. There was a few times that the left hand side of the Arsenal defence was left wide open due to Timber’s persistence of joining the attack.

Zubimendi – 8 – He’s facing some criticism for his performance outside of the goal, but I think in a game like that, it’s hard to establish control. I think he popped up in the right areas for Arsenal and kept the midfield ticking over when the Gunners did have control. Obviously he scored a wonderful goal to help boost his rating.

Rice – 7 – A great engine in midfield and defended the edge of the box very well, but was on the periphery of the Arsenal attack. He provided an inch perfect corner to open the scoring though. We lacked a bit of defensive structure when he was substituted.

Odegaard – 6 – Not impressed with his performance at all. The opening 20 minutes gave us hope of an excellent performance, but he struggled to deal with the end-to-end nature of the tie. It was no surprise to see him replaced, he was getting swallowed up. He also gave Chelsea the initiative to get their opening goal, his soft pass to Zubimendi was easily intercepted and Arsenal couldn’t recover.

Saka – 6 – He drew a yellow card out of Cucurella, but that was about it. It felt like he was on the outside looking in for a majority of the match. He can be so much more impactful than he currently is, but is just misfiring at the moment.

Gyokeres – 8 – His best performance since the Burnley game before his injury. He always works hard, but we got to see more of his work on the ball. His razor sharp reaction to pounce on Sanchez’s mistake is exactly what we need from him. He even grabbed an assist for Zubimendi’s goal.

Trossard – 7 – He worked extremely hard, especially with his tracking back. Timber certainly has him to thank for helping him deal with Estevao. At the other end he had some brilliant moments, but luck just didn’t fall his way. It felt like a one-man show in attack with Leo sometimes.

Substitutes

Merino – 8 – I was, once again, really impressed with his performance. If his body moved quicker, he would be my choice to start ahead of Odegaard. Merino’s brain works better than Odegaard’s and is actually brave enough to take a chance on some of his passes. It’s no surprise that our chance creation increased after Merino came on. He was one incredible save away from scoring too.

Martinelli – 6 – I can’t really remember him doing much, but what I can remember is him pressing from the front very well. Outside of his physical moments, he didn’t provide much impact.

Havertz – 6 – It’s still great to see him back and I think he’ll be immensely important for our challenge across all four competitions, but it’ll take some time to get him up to speed. But, in the two cameos he’s made, he’s had sighters of goal. Simply being on the pitch means that chances will be created.

Jesus – 5 – Another poor cameo. He needs to play off the left, but I understand he won’t because he won’t track back like Trossard or Martinelli. He just can’t lead the line unless he regains some of that close control. He would be perfect playing off Gyokeres or Havertz.

Summary

At the end of the day, it’s a win and I was ready to take a 1-0 if it was offered. The only frustration is the manner of which we conceded. Chelsea overloaded the back post and we didn’t shuffle across enough to make sure everyone was marked. 3-2 is a good result and the general performance was also encouraging. Rosenior’s side were missing key players, but it’s something we’re always told to deal with. Up next is Nottingham Forest which will be tough. They’re well rested and always provide a tough atmosphere at their ground. Fixtures are piling up, but Arsenal need to maintain league form.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

I think Arteta will go as strong as possible for this one. Forest at home will not be easy despite their form. They have great players that can punish us if we’re lazy. We have Inter Milan on Tuesday, but that game is bordering on being dead rubber due to our excellent form in the Champions League. The likes of Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Gyokeres, Rice and Zubimendi could all see some rest. Martinelli, Madueke, Havertz, Jesus, Merino, Norgaard and Eze could all get some action against Milan. We’re not in a position to know whether Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera or Piero Hincapie will be ready for Forest or Milan. Regardless, let’s get it!