Arsenal vs. Chelsea - The Emirates Diaries: The Arsenal Perspective, Part 2
To read part 1 of this article, please click
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786.
As discussed in Part 1 of this feature, Chelsea still had an outside chance. Scoring just after Arsenal’s third goal, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for Ancelotti’s men.
The Blues had managed to score just when the home side looked to run away with the game. Despite the scoreline reflecting Arsenal two goals up, Chelsea still had a good half an hour of regular time to make their mark and salvage
some pride. Had Arsenal been able to keep Ancelotti’s men quiet after scoring the third, they would’ve been in a comfortable position to play around with the psyche of the Chelsea players. However, as it turned out, the away team had managed to register their
names on the scoresheet and had the momentum on their side. The threat of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Didier-Drogba-c11044 was back to haunt the Arsenal defence. Needless to say, the next goal was going to be crucial, whoever scored it.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Johan-Djourou-c18779 had been impressive on the night till then. When it came to winning aerial battles against the Chelsea number 11 Drogba, the Swiss defender was up to the challenge and had the muscle to cope. However, now was the
time for mental strength. Was the injury to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thomas-Vermaelen-c35002 going to haunt the Gunners? Could they soak in the pressure? Did they have the belief to see out a game? Images of Tottenham’s visit came flashing by: the Arsenal team had been two goals to the good
after the first half, only to get beaten 2-3 at the end of 90 minutes of football. Was there a twist in the tale this time? Knowing Wenger and his tactics, the home side knew only one way to play: retain possession and attack the opposing team.
There were chances for either side, at either end of the field. Arsenal were threatening to cash onto Chelsea’s all-out attack while the Blues were desperate to score again and really test the home side’s resolve.
After a couple of nervy moments however, the game ended with Arsenal going second in the Premier League standing. The Arsenal boss was ecstatic; the home fans had made sure of making it a pressure-cooker game which the Gunners had
to win after going down 2-0 in the reverse fixture against their London rivals.
At the end of the match, here is what http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Theo-Walcott-c34873 had to say: “I wouldn't say it was easy but I thought everyone got their jobs right. All 11 players were pressing defensively at the right moments and we made Chelsea look quite
average at times.”
While the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 international’s words might hold true for certain patches of the match, it is perhaps fair to admit that a prominent factor in the home game was Chelsea not playing to the best of their abilities.
Agreed that Walcott had an important part to play for both second-half Arsenal goals, but other than that, the Arsenal number 14 was rather quiet – it took an average game on the part of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ashley-Cole-c6809 for the Arsenal winger to make his presence felt. The former
Southampton player had another opportunity to seal the game on the counter but the youngster made the wrong decision and tried to cross the ball to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Samir-Nasri-c32360, who only managed to recover the ball due to a Chelsea error.
However, having said that, Chelsea have come up with their own share of ‘lucky’ goals against the Gunners before. Call it defensive errors or plain fortune favouring the Blues on numerous occasions these past couple of years. While
the build-up to Arsenal’s last two goals could be a touch ‘fortunate’, there was nothing wrong with the finishing. Arsenal more than deserved all three points that night.
The article is based on the viewpoint of an Arsenal fan.
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