Arteta’s Good Run Against Chelsea Continues

Chelsea 0 Arsenal 1  
Premier League  
Wednesday 12th May 8.15pm  

Soon after Mikel Arteta took charge at Arsenal, at the end of 2019, his team suffered the first of what was to become an unhealthy list of home defeats, as a goalkeeping howler by Bernd Leno allowed Chelsea back into a game late on that they were set to win. Gary Neville’s commentary at the time stated “individual errors will define a coach”. How prescient. 

Things certainly picked up after that where games against Chelsea were concerned, with a spirited ten men draw at the Bridge, victory in the FA Cup Final in a largely deserted Wembley, and a pair of wins in the current Premier League season. Were such a record repeated against other clubs, there’d be no debate about Mikel Arteta’s position. But of course, football doesn’t work like that, and if memory serves me now, having rekindled faint hope of European qualification, the Gunners will now fail to win one of their two remaining ‘easier’ fixtures away to Palace and at home to Brighton, matches with nothing at stake for the opposition now the relegated clubs have been confirmed.

Last night’s game (which kicked off at 8.15pm for reasons I can’t fathom, given no other Premier League matches that night), certainly saw Arsenal enjoy an element of good fortune they might have preferred to experience last week at home to Villarreal. Chelsea hit the woodwork twice, albeit in the same second half move, and on the balance of play would justifiably feel hard done by. Unlike the Gunners in their Europa League exit, they certainly were not shot shy, with 19 goal attempts, compared to five for the visitors. The latter stat was justified by their taking the lead thanks to a Chelsea defensive howler after 15 minutes, which looked right out of the Arteta playbook as Jorginho thought he was passing back to his keeper, only to see Arrizabalaga struggle to make it back into his goal to claw it off the line. All he did was set up Aubameyang to provide a chance for Smith Rowe to convert off the post as Thomas Tuchel’s players struggled to recover.

Arteta had reverted to three at the back in an attempt to shore things up against what was going to be a predictable onslaught, and it proved a good decision as his side did look more solid, the presence of Elneny in front of the backline aiding this. Saka and Tierney started as the wing backs, the former confirming his versatility by playing on the right side of the defence. When the line-ups were announced, some thought that Holding might be the right back in a 4-2-3-1, but even under Arteta, that made no sense at all. As it was Odegaard played as one of the wide attackers with Aubameyang central. It was a line-up to emulate some of Arteta’s best results against stronger English opposition, and it worked.

No questions that Chelsea created enough danger to at least level the scores, but players were understandably rested ahead of the FA Cup Final on Saturday, and it’s difficult to envisage them falling out of the top four at this stage, so the defeat will probably not prove significant. Nevertheless, West Ham and Liverpool will have taken heart from Arsenal’s win. All three clubs have something to play for if the sides around them (Spurs and Everton in the Gunners’ case) slip up. 

So a solid performance for Arsenal (and the first win at Chelsea since that 5-2 way back in 2011), their lack of threat dictated by the early goal, which justified the approach. And until results elsewhere dictate otherwise, something still to play for in this fag end of a season. 

Season ticket renewals will open after the Brighton game, and the tone of the information will be partly dictated by whether the club can sneak European qualification. Either way, it was interesting to read that season ticket holders will be allowed the option of taking a year’s ‘holiday’ and reclaiming their seats for the 2022/23 campaign – a move I suspect may prove far more popular than the club would like, but at least avoids the prospect of a significant chunk of fans giving their seats up for good. 

The noises coming out of the club suggest they are going to give Arteta another season, and in honesty, what else would they say with things as they stand? Only time will tell us the reality of the belief they have in him as the man to turn things around, even if his home record this season has been appalling. A paltry seven wins from 18 matches, and with four draws and seven defeats meaning a total of 29 dropped points. Add that to the 55 they have and they’d be on course for the title. So much for Fortress Emirates. Is the lack of supporters a factor here? It can’t be, because it’s the same for everyone, and on the road, Arteta has suffered six defeats in 18 – so the presence of fans or not has, if anything, given him greater leeway as some of the performances would have had Gooners baying for the manager’s blood by this time. 

Still, last night made it three league wins on the trot, and it’s been a fair while since we could say that. Two more matches to go, and then we can all move on, although in the case of Arteta being replaced, that probably won’t be the case. A decision that needs to be made on May 24th will – in typical Arsenal fashion – be delayed for too long and we’ll have another scenario of the club’s policy makers not seeing what is obvious from the outside until things have been allowed to decline too far. Arteta talked about being “ruthless” in the summer. It’s not a word synonymous with Arsenal on any level these days. It’s always nice to beat Chelsea though…

To be notified when there is fresh content on my blog (generally the day after matches), follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KevinWhitcher01