
You know it’s bad when you try and think of the ‘good’ moments of a match and the most prominent element is the fact that Man United lost a totally seperate game.
Arsenal lost its way and its first match of the season, coming undone against a thoroughly professional Chelsea side at the Emirates. Fernando Torres’s neat finish compounded some poor defending by Laurent Koscielny, before Gervinho’s tidy work in the box saw us level just before the break. But despite looking an improved side after the break, Arsenal conceded for a second time, again from a free kick, when Juan Mata’s free kick went unchallenged in the box as Koscielny helped it in on its way.
The first goal came after one of many fouls in dangerous areas from Thomas Vermaelen, allowing Mata the chance to size up our defence, which came up seriously short. Koscielny had a nightmare all game, and it started with the total mismanagement of Torres. The defender looked to be in a wrestling match with the forward, but made the crucial mistake of turning his back on the goal, allowing the Spaniard to get a leg around him and toe poke home. Clever stuff from the striker and amateurish from Koscielny.
It was nearly 2-0 to Chelsea when Koscielny again lost out to Torres, who raced into the box, only to trip over his own feet allowing the defence to clear.
Arsenal never found a rhythm, yet somehow found itself level just before the break as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got forward, had time to look up, and belt a good cross at Gervinho in the box. The Ivorian, his back to goal, did well to control the ball, spin and shoot in one movement to lash the ball past Cech and equalise on half-time.
Our most fluid moments seemed to follow the half-time whistle for a period of eight minutes, but again we found ourselves behind after a Mata free kick. The ball evaded everyone, bounced in front of the keeper, and Koscielny could do little but try and flick it away, and instead helped it home.
It was a deflating moment. Though they were playing well before the second goal, taking the lead just confirmed the level of control both Mata and bazillionaire Eden Hazard had over the game. The two forwards were running the show, making our much hyped Santi Cazorla anonymous in comparison.
The game had started badly enough when Abou Diaby limped off after just 10 minutes with what looked like another innocuous injury. Having to immediately reshuffle the line-up so soon did us no favours, but the passing throughout the side was bad yesterday. First touches were heavy and the pass to no-one was frequently deployed at the most inopportune times.
Failing that, the amount of space we afforded Chelsea was really irritating. Surely this team knows how much impetus it gets from closing down and hassling opponents, allowing us to break high up the pitch. On Saturday, no such thing could be seen, neutering the influence Lukas Podolski and Cazorla have been having lately. Mikel Arteta had a rare bad game, with the aforementioned Mata and Hazard constantly speeding past him when he wasn’t able to foul them. Furthermore, his passing was also pretty questionable throughout. Continue reading →