It was a disappointing evening at Stamford Bridge as the Thomas Tuchel’s Blues fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of rivals Arsenal. Emile Smith-Rowe scored the only goal of the game for the Gunners as it ended Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal with top four race still very much wide open.
Chelsea started the first half on top and a had a big chance to take the lead after Kai Havertz shot off target. However, Arsenal went ahead on 16 minutes after a poor error from Jorginho almost resulted in a own goal from the Italian but the ball was parried by Kepa into the path of Aubameyang, who squared it to Smith-Rowe and put the ball home with ease to make it 1-0. However, the Blues went in search of an equaliser but were unable to break down a stubborn Gunners defence, who were ahead at half-time.
After the restart, the Blues continued to have the better share of possession but once again struggled to find the back of the net. Tuchel’s men thought they had equalised as Pulisic bundled the ball home from a corner which was headed on by Havertz but the American was offside. Chelsea kept knocking at the door of the Arsenal goal but struggled to threaten goalkeeper Leno and in the end, it finished 1-0 to the North Londoners.
Pre-Match
Thomas Tuchel made a total of seven changes to the side that defeated Manchester City at the weekend with the FA Cup Final in mind on Saturday. The first change saw Kepa start in goal over Edouard Mendy whilst in defence, Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva were brought into the starting eleven in place of Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen respectively. Meanwhile, in midfield, there were two changes with Jorginho replacing N’Golo Kante with the Frenchman most likely to start the cup final on Saturday.
The other midfield switch was at left-wing back as Marcos Alonso, despite netting the winner against Manchester City, made way for Ben Chilwell. Finally, in attack, Christian Pulisic was the only player to keep his place in the front three with Mason Mount back into the side after getting a well earned rest at the weekend and started over Ziyech and spearheading the attack was Kai Havertz in place of Timo Werner.
As for Arsenal, five changes were made Mikel Arteta from the side that defeated West Brom 3-1 on Sunday which relegated the Baggies. Bernd Leno continued to start in goal while Rob Holding moved over to right-back in the back four over Calum Chambers with Pablo Mari coming in at centre-back alongside Brazilian international Gabriel. Meanwhile, at left-back, Kieran Tierney didn’t play on Saturday but started this game over Bukayo Saka, who moved back into his more attacking role.
The next change came in central midfield with Thomas Partey replacing Dani Ceballos and playing beside Mohamed Elneny. The other changes saw Nicolas Pepe make way for Arsenal loanee Martin Ödegaard with Emile Smith-Rowe on the left as former Chelsea man Willian the other player to drop out. Finally, club captain Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang started as the lone striker in place of teenager Gabriel Martinelli.
First Half
Chelsea made their presence known in the early stages of the match and had the game’s opening attempt on goal. Ben Chilwell combined well with Christian Pulisic on the left as the American played the ball to Mason Mount in the box, who could only shoot straight into the arms of Bernd Leno. With ten minutes on the clock, Kai Havertz had a glorious opportunity to put the Blues in front as he intercepted the ball off Pablo Mari as the German raced away on goal before shooting over the bar. Havertz would have certainly been disappointed not to have at least found the target.
However, despite the home side’s solid start, it was to be Arsenal that broke the deadlock on 16 minutes. Jorginho’s pass back almost went into his own net before Kepa cleared off the line. However, the ball fell kindly into the path of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who then unselfishly squared it to Emile Smith-Rowe as the youngster slotted into an empty net. A dreadful moment to forget for Tuchel’s men as it was Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal.
The home side went in search and equaliser and almost did so as Azpilicueta fed through Pulisic, who then squared the ball to Mount as he found his effort blocked by Rob Holding. Not long later, Chelsea another chance to get level as Havertz did well to dribble into the area before sliding through Mount, whose effort was parried by Leno. Despite being behind, the Blues had the better share of possession and also had more chances but still needed to do more if they were to get back level. With half-an hour gone, Mount’s corner was delivered into the path of Kurt Zouma to Pulisic, whose headed the ball onto the roof of the net.
Another opportunity fell to Tuchel’s men as Ben Chilwell got the better of Bukayo Saka as his low cross was parried by Leno into Mount, whose attempt was cleared away for a corner. The Blues kept out their dominance against the Gunners but struggled to break down what was a stubborn Arsenal defence, who looked happy to settle on their one goal advantage. In the end, the away side held out for the lead going in at the break at Stamford Bridge thanks to a goal from Emile Smith-Rowe following a dreadful error by Jorginho in the build-up.
HT: Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal
Second Half
Heading into the second half, Tuchel opted to make his first substitution of the evening as Billy Gilmour came off with Callum Hudson-Odoi taking his place. Not long into the second period and the Blues thought they should have had a penalty after Havertz looked to have been pushed over in the area but nothing was given by referee Andre Marriner. The home side continued where they left off in the first as Reece James laid the ball off to substitute Hudson-Odoi, who could only strike off target.
Chelsea again threatened going forward but struggled to do much in front of goal as James put in an excellent cross into the middle but no one was able to get on the end of it as the ball was into the arms of Leno. With an hour gone at Stamford Bridge, the Blues thought they had equaliser as Mount’s corner was headed through to Pulisic but Havertz as the American bundled the ball home. However, Pulisic was offside when the ball was played to him and Chelsea celebrations were cut short.
Arsenal made their first change of the evening on 65 minutes as Mikel Arteta took off Saka and on came Hector Bellerin. Meanwhile, former Gunners player Olivier Giroud was introduced in the hope of a leveller as Kai Havertz’s night was over. Bellerin almost made the perfect impact as he played a one-two with Smith-Rowe before shooting straight at Kepa. With 20 minutes to go, the away side started to show their attacking intent as Kieran Tierney’s cross fell to Martin Ödegaard but the Norwegian could only strike over the bar.
Heading into the final 15 minutes of the game, Chelsea were still behind and the introduction of Hudson-Odoi and Giroud had proven to not make much difference. However, things could still change with what was left. Tuchel made his third final substitution of the game and it was a more attacking one with Hakim Ziyech coming on in place of the captain Cesar Azpilicueta whilst Arsenal brought off their captain in Aubameyang with Alexandre Lacazette taking his place. With five minutes to go, Chelsea had yet another opportunity as Giroud played through Hudson-Odoi as he utilised his pace before crossing into Pulisic, who could only shoot straight at the goalkeeper. Still Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal.
Time was running out for Tuchel’s men as Arsenal made their final substitution as Bellerin, who was already brought on, came back off due to a injury as Calum Chambers took his place. In the final minute of the 90, the home side almost grabbed an equaliser after Zouma’s towering header crashed back off the crossbar before the rebound by Giroud was off the woodwork too. The Blues were unable to create much in the stoppage time as Arsenal held on for the three points in what was a disappointing result from a Chelsea point of view.
FT: Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal
Team Line-Ups
Chelsea (3-4-3): Kepa (GK); Azpilicueta, Silva, Zouma; James, Gilmour, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Pulisic, Havertz
Subs used: Hudson-Odoi (for Gilmour, 46 mins), Giroud (for Havertz, 65 mins), Ziyech (for Azpilicueta, 78 mins)
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno (GK); Holding, Gabriel, Mari, Tierney; Partey, Elneny; Saka, Ödegaard, Smith-Rowe; Aubameyang
Subs used: Bellerin (for Saka, 66 mins), Lacazette (for Aubameyang, 79 mins), Chambers (for Bellerin, 88 mins)
Goals: Smith-Rowe (16 mins)
Chelsea vs Arsenal Post Match Thoughts
A very bad day at the office for Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel in what was a dreadful defeat at the hands of an Arsenal side, who weren’t at their best but somehow left Stamford Bridge with all three points. However, a number of changes had been made from the Manchester City game along with the FA Cup Final being taken into consideration.
I’m sure that Tuchel will want a reaction from the Blues ahead of the cup final and hope that they can pick up their first piece of silverware of the campaign. Tonight’s result will be one to forget and it’ll be best to move on from it and focus on what is coming up.
Written by Matt North (@MattNorth_)
Edited by Rob Pratley
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