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Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea – The Blues claim all three points with late goals

Two late goals from Chelsea snatch victory despite a decent Arsenal performance.

Arsenal took this game by the scruff of its neck from kick-off. They were on the front foot and going at Chelsea relentlessly and they had no answer at all.

Arsenal took the lead on the 13th minute thanks to a lovely headed goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Mesut Ozil sent in a sublime corner that Calum Chambers deftly flicked on and up popped Aubameyang with a great header.

Arsenal kept up the tempo, furiously being egged on by Arteta on the sidelines and they came close just a few minutes later but unfortunately Alexandre Lacazette fluffed his lines.

Chambers went off injured after just 22 minutes and was replaced by Shkodran Mustafi who actually received a few cheers from the exuberant fans.

For the first 30 minutes, Arsenal was absolutely dominant, they barely gave Chelsea a look in.

It has to be said that the first-half performance was brilliant from Arsenal. They totally dominated the game and made Chelsea look second rate.

The first 45 minutes was the sort of display we have been screaming out for ages.

The second half was always going to be different, Chelsea made changes in both personnel and tactics and was more attack-minded as they looked for the equaliser.

But it was not one-way traffic, the lads used their experience to break at every opportunity, to slow the game down, to spoil the game and to make tactical fouls.

Despite Chelsea making changes and being more attack-minded, Arsenal remained discipline and organised and looked quite comfortable.

Until the 83rd minute that was.

It had to an error and it came from a terrible lack of judgement from Bernd Leno. The German was left in no mans land trying to clear a Mason Mount cross, misses and Jorghino slots it home.

Then it got a whole lot worse just four minutes later when Chelsea took the lead through Tammy Abraham.

Arsenal really only have themselves to blame here, they were in control but for some reason allowed Chelsea back into the game. I am not sure why the pressure was not maintained.

That said, overall, the team did well, certainly for the first 70-80 minutes and while this loss is hard to take there were signs that things are getting better all the time.

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179 Comments

  1. Arteta seems to have improved all first team players’ creativity, except Nelson. Despite the result, the board must be applauded for appointing Arteta:

    – Lacazette: Blew a golden chance again and became tired in the second half, but at least he worked his socks off to retrieve the ball. I think Martinelli would do better than him

    – Ozil: Was great in the first half, but diminished in the second half. He enjoyed the increased amount of forward passes in the last two games

    – Aubameyang: Couldn’t offer penetration as an LW, but he defended well for his teammates. Fully deserved his goal

    – Nelson: Still too slow to be a winger, but clicked well with his teammates and worked his socks off to defend. Unfortunately he might have to be replaced with Pepe for the Man United game

    – Guendouzi: Almost got red-carded and almost gave Chelsea a penalty. He made several wrong decisions and should have been replaced in the second half

    – Torreira: A focal point in our deep midfield area

    – Chambers and Luiz: Defended well and Chambers created an assist, but were let down by their GK

    – Saka and Maitland-Niles: Defended well too, but holding themselves from going forward

    – Leno: Single handedly blew our effort. Maybe he was in holiday mood?

    – Arteta: Made some improvements in a very short time and the team become more compact now. Unfortunately Lacazette and Leno disappointed him this time, which I hope wouldn’t happen at the Man United game

    1. I’m sorry but Nelson its just not good enough. He shouldnt be starting unless this is a charity club.

      Aubameyang,Torreira and Ozil were very good.

      1. It’s been two games and it’s obvious he is not as quick as Maitland-Niles and Bellerin

        I think Pepe would replace him, because Arsenal need fresh legs to play against Man United

      2. @ArsenalWhy I think it a charity club to please the English fans who persistently clamoured that Iwobi must be sacrificed for The fake magical and mercurial Reiss Nelson. There’s a limit MA can improve the players, the truth is that except Bellerin, Tierney and keepers the entire defence should be cleared out by summer. 80% percent of the midfield also need to be cleared out if Kronke really wants support MA and restore back Arsenals glory.

        2. JEMMAN I remember the constant abuse iwobi got. Nelson it’s just not good enough am sorry. That doesn’t mean am putting down our youth development because saka though played out of position seems able to handle himself but Nelson seems out of his depths.

          Guendouzi is just too slow and needs to release the ball quicker or be benched but as of now we have no choice but to play him.

          1. @ArsenalWhy
            I always laugh at those like you who go on about Matteo holding up the ball too long. If you pay more attention to the play, then you see he’s looking for players who’ve run into space or are about to. All that he’s confronted with are guys standing flat footed or walking up. But he’s to blame for that… 🤔

        3. Iwobi was a poor man Nelson! Please stop this Iwobi nonsense and not being English! Don’t care what nationality they are, if they are crap please call them crap l, even if they are of similar background to you!
          There is no racism in calling players of foreign background crap lol

        4. To start how is IWOBI doing at Everton?we would know better if he was playing more! and what is the reason he is not playing more!you got it he is crap even Walcott is doing better!i guess you haven’t watch our last games our defence has improved greatly if it wasn’t for single errors,our defense missing injured players bmwas compact for 80 minutes,our midfielders have improved tactically for the last 2 games,we outplayek Chelsea for 80 minutes,i don’t think you watched our games since Arteta came in as manager,2 complete different teams and tactics,attitude, imagine after few more games, you were sll crying if only they were making efforts,running for 90 minutes st least we could support the team and be proud,what do you think they did today and Arteta has even with that team, plastic fan!next time watch the game live instead of reading match reports!by the way i sam nit happy with the loss but proud of the team spirit despite the individual errors costing us the game, for nearly 85 minutes we were the best time give arteta and the tean time, that,s thebkeast we could do,when was it the last time we played like this,anyobe can see vwe are not fit enough yet to play the way Arteta wants!!COYG where are you egen your so calked team needs you?

          2. What day hell pe you doing in this website? Got lost?

            Go and praise your Everton team elsewhwre

            Above us but not at all better team or players you for we don’t want anymore

            Get a life, if your team is too boring to comment on juatarsenal. Lost your damn mind!

    2. We would’ve beaten Chelsea today if they hadn’t switched the formation. Lampard saw the problem and smartly changed it. Emery would’ve stuck with it fpr long and cost us a victory as he did in the UEL final and others.
      Once Lampard switched the formation it was lights out for us. The main thing that won them this match was their squad quality. Their midfield alone is far better and it helped them take control of the match

      1. Willian is still quick and skillful, despite being 31 years old. Our wingers should see how he plays

        I’m worried of Man United now, because our forward is wasteful and our defense is shaky

        1. Tbh I don’t think Utd are as good as Chelsea but who I do think is that when they play on the counter they are very dangerous. They have a team which is built to play on the counter despite having some average players in there.
          We would need to keep the ball very well in that match to beat them.

      2. They went more 4 3 3 and in defence set up we set up like 4 4 2 but the problem was we were not able to turn this shape into the 4 2 3 1 we intended as an attack moving forward…or atleast not switched fast enough. This was the problem.

        In reflection, after the calm prevailed I can say my reason for this is due to a number of factors.

        1. Lack of confidence. The desire to keep the lead was high for arsenal due to lack of wins. We was not confident or as confident as the game progressed and this hindered our potential within the game.

        2. This team is far from the team we would pick from a fully fit team.
        Tierney Bellerin as wing backs.
        Xhaka alongside Torriera.
        Auba up front with Martinelli on the LW.

        Just these small additions are actually a huge change.

        Other then the Leno error I cant actually criticism a single player. They all gave so much. I feel for them.

        But the tactics are a huge improvement. We just need our players back and we just need to get behind this new era and be patient.
        January additions would be nice. But equally moving a few players on too

      3. I said it yesterday that it is the midfield and defence that will decide the outcome of this match and that Arsenal is the worst of it.

    3. Guendozi is another player that shouldn’t be starting for arsenal. People need to stop hyping up the kid. He does try hard I’ll give him that.

      1. The key word is “kid”. He’s good for his age and better than many of our more experienced players. Give him time to develop

        Until we get a better player, we need to start Guendouzi

      2. He was the only choice because he is better than Willock and Xhaka is looking to leave

        I predict Arteta would use Xhaka sale money to bring a new midfielder. Which would be good, because he would be able to choose his own player

      3. Dont talk like an idiot, he is young, he is learning, dont bash our young players, that are going to be great. We will never improve if we dont let our young pkayers play and learn.

      4. I understand the frustration but what it is, is that Gendouzi needs to learn that in the EPL you dont get alot of time on the ball – whilst he likes to have time on the ball he needs to create the respect to be given that.
        That comes from building a career.

        Personally he needs to learn this soon because at arsenal, unlike a liverpool.or city where you are protected by top talent around you, we need everyone working harder then usual atm.

      2. He is so shit that Atletico Madrid wants him if it wasn’t for their transfer he,d already be playing for them, if a coach knows a good player is Simone!;

    5. @Gotanidea.
      That’s a good analysis.
      Just want to add that Arteta should buy a technically & physically good defensive midfielder & an Experienced Center back in January. The coach should also work on the energy level of the players in their training; most of them tired out in 2nd halve of the game. Nd Chelsea took the momentum. Our lack of good bench also affected us.

  3. In the first half Arsenal were great for most part.We were helped by Chelsea’s three back system which saw us dominate them centrally but then started to see less of the ball as soon as they switched to four back and had the extra midfielder on. We shouldve taken advantage of the lack of extra midfielder in the first half. I was more interested in seeing if we’d make any improvements and once again Arteta didn’t disappoint. Ozil was on crack in that first half but totally faded in the second. Auba showed good instinct to score that goal. Our MOTM was Torreira. I would’ve have given it to David Luiz but for his capitulation. I feel so sorry and sad for Leno today. He’s gonna be dejected. This match once again takes me back when I said Arteta will be limited by the quality of his players. The quality of Chelsea shone in the end and they were the better side. A painful loss to take but it was coming. We move on to the next one!

    1. I’m afraid Arsenal have to start winning some of those big EPL matches now, otherwise we would go down to relegation zone really quick

      Arteta’s tactic was great, but Lacazette failed to convert the easy chance into a goal again and Leno’s concentration broke after seventy minutes

      I hope Martinelli would be fit for the Man United game, because I don’t think Lacazette would be fresh enough for that and he is already given two chances

      1. We really need Martinelli back ASAP. I thnk we are all sick of watching Lacazette stumble around for 90 minutes. His holdup play has also gone to complete crap so he now offers nothing and seems to have gotten even slower too. Becoming more like Lukaku every minute.

        1. Like Ozil his problem is mentality and not quality. It was this same Lacazette who was the the player of the season in the just ended 18/19 campaign. Something must have seriously gone wrong for him to be playing this way. He’s not an average player at all even if many would try to indirectly imply so.
          He needs to benched for his and our own good

          1. Agree about Ozil. It’s very evident hes put more effort into the last two games than he has in all of last season. It really is just his attitude. As for Lacazette, cannot explain what has happened to him either. Everything has just been wrong for him. He’s no good and needs to be benched. The player of the season curse continues.

          2. I really feel sorry for Lacazette. He gives his all but all that is undone when you can’t put the ball in the back of the net. He needs to have a good look at himself and start working harder to get better. He’s far better than this and even the haters won’t deny that. If Arteta is serious he would bench him for the next match

        2. Aubameyang is more energetic than Lacazette, despite being two years older and playing on the wing

          I can’t imagine how Lacazette’s stamina is going to be when he reaches 30

          I think Arsenal should try to find a suitor for him

      2. We should’ve taken advantage of the lack of that extra midfielder in first half before they switched formation. They took absolute control in the first half through to the second from that moment onwards. We should still have won imo bevause we could’ve scored had we made better decisions from the counters we had.
        It’s a plus to havmartinwlki in the squad as that would take out Laca for the mean time but I think he’s a player who comes alive in the box so it’s such a shame to see his talents wasted out wide

        1. No Kev, they didn’t take control, we gave it to them. After 30mins our attacking play wasn’t in existence. We didn’t look for goal, the evidence is the number of goal kick we passed from the back.

          1. I have to disagree. Chelsea begun with a three back formation which saw them dominated completely in the middle for the majority of the first half. Once Emerson came off and Nothing I was introduced they probably went 4-3-3 meaning a three man midfield. That reduced the space for the Arsenal midfielders and is a large part of the reason why Ozil was nowhere to be found in the second half. It’s all about tactics and formation

    2. When Chelsea switched their formation Arsenal started losing the midfield and eventually ended up playing only with Torreira and Gouendouzi in midfield.
      Once the space got squeezed for him Ozil gradually became a passenger in the second half, as we have often seen before.
      Aubameyang did quite well but evidently is not as effective playing wide.
      Nelson’s lack of experience showed when breaking as he lost the ball too often. Lacazette did not hold the ball up well enough and allowed himself to get frustrated by niggly fouls.
      Chelsea were much better at game management, tactical fouls and maintaining pressure. For all Arsenal’s better play in the first half the only goal came from a corner and there were few clear chances.
      Arteta is quite clearly far better than FL tactically but has a poor roster.

      1. I think it’s debatable to say Arteta is far better than FL tactically. To me FL has outperformed Sarri from what I’m even seeing. Add Hazard to this side and he’d be doing far far better. The Chelsea side isn’t great. It’s more of a case of a coach being able to get the best out of his players. We’d have to wait for at least a season to know to be able to compare them.
        I applaud the fact that you were able to observe what the formation change by Cheksea did to our game. Many often underrate what a simple formation switch can do in a match. The match was won as soon as they went 4-3-3. I think Chelsea would’ve lost if they stuck to the the three back

    3. Did you watch the game,we outplayed them for 83 minutes, their goals came from individuals errors duevto fatigue and if course lack of focus!nothing to do with their substitutions we lost because of lack off fitness and 2 individuals mistakes,we outplayed them for 80 minutes and they were the best team, is this a bad joke?

  4. We are not used to Arteta’s intensity yet. Team switched off in 2nd half. If we lose to manu we are in trouble

    1. We were second best as soon as Chelsea switched the formation to a four back. We are lucky to have Arteta because it really could be worse than this. Arteta was always going to be limited by the quality of the players. That was the point I’ve always been trying to make. No matter what he does there’ll be matches where it will come down to their quality.

      1. Touche kev

        A manager can only be as good as his players. The players are the ones who will eventually play on the field

        I just hope we wouldn’t get relegated with the current set of players

      2. @Kev
        You are very much on point I agree with you. I saw lots of average players on pitch today. We don’t even have good bench compared to Chelsea.

    2. Whattttt ?! Everyone , commentators, audience ， my 5 year old saw the problem after the formation change and you’re saying the coach is not responsible for not doing anything ?? Not even trying to change things up ??

      1. Okay, so what is your recommendation. Since he had so many top class options on the bench? And please done say Pepe, who has been poor all season. Nelson did a fine job today and covered for AMN all game. Something Pepe would not have done.

  6. You should be tearing the lot out of the players with that performance. Unforgivable to lose after winning for 80+ minutes. They’ve all lost four ratings points they would’ve had if it finished 1-0

    1. Honestly, no point berating anyone, we know the quality of this team now, they worked hard today and we should applaud them for that.chelsea were lucky, jorginho shouldn’t have been on the pitch. Arteta is showing he has what it takes imo, but he does need a win soonish. Other than that, we need new signings

        1. Your right sue! They just had two big decisions go there way against wolves! That wolves goal should of stood, VAR is bollocks.

          2. Yeah looks like the league is definitely theirs, at this point I just dont want them to continue getting these decisions as they might go invincible! That just cannot happen 😪

          3. Oh I know, it’s bad enough them triumphing in May… but the thought of them being invincible brings me out in a cold sweat!!

    1. exactly, Mike. looking at our fixture list, that was obvious. Even when the managing is done well, you still have a ton of clowns in defense that you cannot account for. It’s impossible to stop error-prone defenders from losing those habits. Not to mention, our attackers cannot do anything besides Aubameyang. This is the mess Arteta has been inherited and he’s doing the best he can. I very much liked that the players were all working hard, even tho we didn’t get the result we wanted. Have to stay positive tho and accept that this season will be painful.

        1. Agree. DOnt wanna be too harsh on him either since we’d literally be in the relegation zone if it werent for him.

  10. We’re in serious trouble! I don’t know what else to say about this team! It’s looking like a relegation scrap. Maybe this team needed an experienced man until the end of the season.. I’m seriously worried for this club

    1. I’m glad we have Arteta

      The players who are afraid of relegation can leave before it happens. It would be easier for Arteta to get rid of the demotivated ones

      1. Mate can you honestly see a clear out in January? Won’t happen! Xhaka will leave but doubt anyone else will and the chances of us signing anyone is extremely low. I like Arteta but this club is a mess and it needed some experienced hands because I can genuinely see us being relegated.

  12. Before Arteta, it was the defense, on boxing Day, Lacazette killed us, today Leno’s turn…so frustrating!

    Arteta took something from Wenger, late subs…

    Last week I thought should have been subbed, this week if completely fell it’s wrong and to have Nelson and Lacazette on for so long was wrong imo.

    An enjoyable match, we keep fighting…coyg!

    1. Last week I thought Ozil shouldn’t have been subbed, today, I think it’s completely wrong to sub him, Willock brings nothing to the team

      You have to feel for Aubameyang

    2. Nelson tracked back for most of the game in a largely defensive performance which is why he stayed on. Lacazette also works hard but as we can see is a mess in every other aspect. they weren’t bad subs made. Ozil had greatly diminished at that point in the match, and it was a sensible sub. Mustafi is the main man at fault for 2nd goal, tho there also should’ve been at least one midfielder back as well.

    3. We don’t even have a decent bench. We shouldn’t have lost. I think we will lose against united as well, they are very quick on counter.

      Watch how Chelsea go and lose against Brighton in next game. They are lucky to get all 3 today. They didn’t even ask enough questions to Win a 0-0 game let alone coming back from 1 down.

      1. Who cares if Chelsea loses to Brighton,Southhamton and Bournemouth?Like it or not they have a better young squad which will even get better next season and we all know they will spend big time.They destroyed us in the Europa final and then today.They have improved and we have gone backwards.They are 4th and are we are 12th in the league man.

  13. I m gutted and pissed…. Arsenal had a good 75mins. Talk about jorginho second yellow card but for me Leno mistake cost us and we rue the miss chances in the first half especially the lacazette one. Arteta got the boys playing good football. Well-done Arteta

  14. Despite the loss, the improvements are there to see (of course, that is if u don’t have a bias). We didn’t play well in the second half, and we allowed them too much space sometimes. Props to Aubameyang, Özil, Torreira and Luiz…. they really impressed. Chambers too until his injury. All in all, we lost, but I don’t really feel bad….. I hope we improve from here…. COYG!

    1. The style of play has improved I am referring to the first half now Arteta need the right players in key areas to get the desired results

  15. Leno picked the wrong day to phuck up.
    I’m still behind Arteta. Solid performance, Is there anyway I can send a bullet straight to that Ref’s thick skull?
    Jorginho no red card, WTF?
    Martinelli against United please, Lacazette is a big let down.
    Watch the pundits come for us with their usual PEA scored and same poor performance. Rétards

  16. Disappointed at the defeat, but encouraged by the first half display. No ifs and buts, jorginho got away with a blatant pull, even my 2 weeks old puppies knew that was a yellow. And of all chelshit players, it was jorginho who equalised. Now , Artetas mountain just turned into mt.everest.

    I don’t care even if we finish 17th, the priority is Arteta now work to set us up for next season.

  17. I am sorry Guendouzi is pure shit get him out of this club with Mustafi Louis Niles Nelson get them OTF. That ref was and is a joke what was the difference between Torriera and the chelsea one? Buck all!!!!!!!!!!

  18. Not sure that I would call it a good performance after the first 30 min. Once Jorginho came on our midfielders could not keep the ball at all. Even though Leno was at fault but our lack of ability to keep the ball was exposed big time. We need quality midfielders who can keep the ball under pressure. Lacazette was also very poor; 2nd game in a row. Jorginho should have been sent off but I think we were poor after the initial burst and didn’t deserve to win.
    Overall, if Arteta is allowed to bring in good players, he had the talent. Not sure why he did nor bring on Pepe sooner though, maybe his work rate. Looking forward to Man U now.

  19. mustafi can some1 explain what hes was doing for the winner.he ran away from the player instead of fouling r tackle..shouldnt he b shot at dawn LOL

  20. Don’t worry my fellow gooners we are still setting records. I am confident (has fingers crossed) that we won’t set another by being relegated for the first time!

    1. It wouldn’t bethe first time. We went down in 1913. A Gooner who doesn’t know that is not a clued up fan.

      2. Arsenal went down but not in reality in 1913. The league was expanded, therefore, the relegation was not observed. So, we can say, Arsenal has not been relegated in reality. That is what my own history tells me.

  21. Caught on the counter again. Torreria and Guendouzi should not have been so far forward that late in the game.

    Mustafi didn’t close Abraham down, let him turn and we were undone.

    Team showed improvement, but midfield was caught out and we paid on the counter.

    CB and midfielders needed in Jan stat!

    Xhaka can leave if HB pay closer to £30 million. If it’s £21 million they’re offering tell them to sod off.

    Would love Jack Grealish, he can bring a bit of that Santi we’ve been missing

    1. I agree Durand, Grealish and a quality CB in January would do me for now. Grealish would slot straight in, he knows the EPL and would bring a bit of bite and quality to our midfield.

      There were some good signs today, I thought Torreira, Auba and Ozil had decent games. They looked like a team for the first time in years and should lead to a bit of confidence coming back. I did have my doubts about Arteta but he is definitely moving in the right direction and needs to be backed in the January window.

    2. Durand, Who would not want Grealish! You and I ( certainly me, anyway) KNOW IT WON’T HAPPEN WITH KROENKE HERE. Grealish would cost a huge fee, which will not happen. I’d take any money we can get for Xhaka, even 21 mill. Just get him out of Arsenal say I. At any price.

  24. Leno is awful , hE cost to us this match , the problem is not the coach the problem is players they are shit , can’t even get a home win game they should wake up the head and play for the badge of the team , this is shame.

    1. Leno made a mistake. This may have led to the match being lost, but he didn’t cost us the game.

      You should remember that he has been one of the very few shining lights during this season

  26. This is why I wanted Allardyce. Just isn’t the time to developing Arsenal DNA. We need ultra defensive tactics, because relegation is looking more likely with every game. Watford and Southampton catching us up now!

    1. This must be sarcasm, Allardyce????
      Players are letting us down but i enjoyed the game, we would have won if Auba played through the middle and Martinelli played LW

      Auba had to come deep to help Saka, Chelsea were really lucky today, am so gutted

      1. And they worked hard for it and in the end earned the win.Our players dont work as hard and thats why we are in 12th place and they are 4th.We need to buy two central defenders(get rid Luiz and Mustafi)and a energetic defensive midfielder.

    2. That won’t work, we don’t have the type of players Allardyce needed to play defensive. There are no strong type players of the bottom halfe nor do we have the players needed to play attractive football.

    3. Thirdman I’m in absolute agreement with you! We could have got Arteta come May and forget about the fancy football.. because we’re in a relegation fight.

      1. thers an entire half season left. string together two wins at some point would be enough to take relegation off our minds. and as bad as we are i still think we are capable of doing that at least once. think you guys are being a bit dramatic.

      2. That’s exactly my point. Only Allardyce until the end of the season, and then look at someone better. Tika-taka is harder to pull off, than defensive football.

    4. Agree.What will the club do if the Arteta experiment isn’t working and we are in the bottom 3 with 8 games to go?Stick or twist?

      1. I thought I was a pessimist but I’m not quite as glass half empty as you
        There have been more positive signs under Arteta straight away
        I’m not daft enough to think a top four finish is possible but I have faith in him

  27. 3 managers chose not to play Pepe because they can’t handle him and threatens their ego =

    3 managers not getting destroyed

    I don’t see Nelson, willock , Saka, niles making the the impact Pepe is capable of when he’s in the field

    I don’t see any team making an offer close to 10 million pounds for these players

    I don’t see any of these academy players capable of getting close to 22 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1 that Pepe is capable of

    2. Don’t allow stats fool you. In this day and age that is the lazy way football fans use to analyse players i.e stats without context. Pepe is not even as good as 08/09 Arshavin who didn’t have as much stats before he came to Arsenal. Do you think 08/09 Arshavin was world class?
      Why don’t people look at a player’s game before judging how good he’ll be. As I said before he even kicked a ball for us he’s a good player but not great. If the standards haven’t be so lowered at the club then I guess even you would admit that for the money we bought him he’s supposed to be carrying us like Sanchez. Unfortunately he doesn’t have as much quality.
      I’m all for him starting over Nelson and co but those who still think he has world class potential will be disappointed.

      1. @Sekman
        Whati don t understand it is when they are in trouble that they put him on. When the team is doing well he is on the bench. How can this brings his confidence back???

        2. @kev
          If pepe is not great good or whatever…Why these managers don t choose other players to save us? They always bring him on when we ve got problem. How do you explain that? To me pepe is an excellent player..If arsenal does not want him sell him to liverpool and we will see lolll

          1. If you think he’s excellent that fine. I will not put up with below par performances all in the name of being better than others in the team

      2. You think Nelson can pull 22 goals and 11 assist in Ligue 1?? What a joke

        I agree with you and I am watching how he plays on the field and that is exactly why I judge him as Better than all our players

        1. The stats don’t fool me. Check Giroud stats before he came to Arsenal. The stats is the laziest attpt to defend him from such below par performances

        2. I’m sorry but Pepe is not excellent and nor will he light up the league! Forget about him as Arteta has given a strong enough hint that he aint good enough in training!

          1. Why are we arguing about this when clearly Nelson has done nothing in three straight games he started ?

            In fact I don’t see any of Nelson , willock , Saka or Amn scoring a goal , creating a dangerous chance , or winning games like Pepe (e.g. west ham , Victoria , Aston villa , Bournemouth)

            I’m quite sure he will light up the league

  28. Arteta has clearly improved the team. He has impressed me so far

    However, there is a limit to how much you can improve players. Most are still bang average but at least they seem to be harmonising better and playing with more conviction

    1. How well have Sheffield utd CBs been, punching above their weight. With proper coaching, average players become very good . Good players become useless with poor coaching, Mustafi isn’t a German international because he is baaaaad, he is baad because of poor coaching. And i think you already have a fair idea of who destroyed arsenal identity. Today i just witnessed a fair bit of our identity recovering, Artetas got a mt.everest to climb to restore our true identity, and he is on the right track.

  29. The moment you sub Ozil, the other side goes all in with the attack, as they know the Arsenal attack is diminished. There is no point subbing Ozil or asking him to press. He should played the who game as keep the other team honest and marked. He keeps both wings relevant.

    That said the goals were due to poor set piece defending.

    First goals… On that goal where, was the far post defender? Leno made an error, but there was no far post protection.

    Second goal was another error. Mustafi allow Abrams to control the ball, rather than crowd him and take the foul Citeh style. Then to make matters work 77 was ball watching allowing the strike.

    With a lead Arsenal need to attack… not play from the back, but send the ball half way to a loaded wing.

    Much more to do on defense.

    1. Should have but did not happen.That can happen to us too.The reason we lost is that we don’t work hard enough.Chelsea players worked hard.We need to get rid of Luiz(You can see why chelsea got rid of him)Mustafi,Xhaka and Ozil.These players are dragging us down.They are not good enough.

  31. The loss is painful but what makes me happy, is that our game has improved for the last few games,
    our second half display was a bit poor but COYG, let’s keep going, I’m seeing a bright future, the players worked hard today, luck was not on our side.

  32. The truth is that there is no tactic any coach would implore to make this present squad great again because these players are not good enough for this team. All of you who think Ozil is not good anymore you are wrong, it’s the players around him that are not up to his standard. The moment Arteta took him off the midfield collapsed. Today alone imaging Lacazette was Christiano Ronaldo or Lewandowski even Aguero, arsenal would have been 3 up and game over for Chelsea. The only two players who can really remain as part of great squad are Torriera and Auba

  33. Our midfield ahahahahahahahahahahahaha
    The game is lost in midfield in the second half. Ref played a part by allowing Jorginho to escape red card but we lost the midfield battle in the second half. Lost the ball immediately after we recovered possession. Hate to say this but where was Xhaka when we need him. What happened to Lacazette. Seems like he forgot how to play football. Chelsea deserved to win. Plain and simple.

  34. This Arsenal team is too overrated. I watched Wolves the other night with lots of enthusiasm.

    Arsenal are nowhere near top 6 teams. We are just too far from them. We are poor to the sense of sight.

    I usually feel like waking up to see that our EPL position is a dream.

  35. To all the idiots saying we are in a relegation and some even saying they want us to go down, please!!! If your watching the games you will see we are improving. We are not gonna set the football world alight this season now but things are looking better and I hope it continues. I can’t stand anyone who has said we need to be relegated to improve your just mouth breathers. I’m in a bad mood because of the way we lost today but some comments makes my mood even worse

    2. @Dan – how are we not in a relegation battle when we last won at home nearly 10 weeks ago? 6 points off the relegation spot, trust me this team is doomed! Players not good enough, structure in the club is a mess, the club needs to be sold on by Kroenkes but no one will pay above £1 billion let alone the £3 billion the Kroenke’s think its worth lol 😂😂

    1. Are you f**king serious ?? When has Pepe been awful and when was Nelson ever solid ?

      What have you been watching ??

  37. It’s over now… got to look ahead to Wednesday. Not looking forward to it now… Chambers will surely miss it, Guendouzi will be suspended. Never rains, but it pours!

    1. Guendouzi is fine I believe, Sue. We are passed the half-way point of the season. But yes, game is over, heads up. GOt another match coming up. Gotta look for the positives, and I believe in Arteta. 🙂

    2. Guys we will come good we probably gonna need some reinforcements/improvements in January but we are definitely moving in the right direction for the first time I can actually communicate after a loss come on you Gooners

    3. Guendouzi suspended, if it takes that to get Jim off the pitch GREAT!!! He is pathetic anyway. I hope he is suspended for the rest of the season!!!

  38. Im afraid it was a case of brilliant first half, when Chelsea were disorganised and we probably should have done more to score. But the second half was completely different, we dropped off, couldn’t keep the ball, allowed Chelsea to push us back and couldn’t muster anything in the Chelsea half. Auba i have to say was my MOM because he worked his socks off all game, Torreira worked hard all game. Ozil, Nelson, AMN, saka, luiz, Gouendouzi all had good first halves but particularly ozil and nelson faded out completely second. We couldn’t cope with Chelseas change of shape and gear and the error by Leno was key and it remains to be seen how that affect us in the next game. Our season probably hinges on that game because another damaging defeat will be hard for this bunch of talented but flimsy players to come back from, they aren’t a bunch who know how to fight when the chips are down. People will argue Arteta had them in the right frame of mind for this game, thats correct but we still managed to turn a win into a defeat and we were at home and in charge. We are in trouble big trouble, it will require big hearts and fight. Do we have that in this squad?

    1. Hello Reggie,
      I couldn’t agree more although I did feel that they worked hard, which was not the case under Emery. Do you think that, in part, it was lack of stamina that did for us?

      1. No Sue, i dont think its lack of stamina but whats between their ears. I also think Arteta obviously has a lot to learn about making subs to counter the opposition tactics. Its a wenger and pep thing to not worry about the opposition but concentrate on your team. I feel Everton we could have won with tactical subs and Bournemouth we could as well. Today we lost because we didn’t change to counter Chelsea in the second half. Yes Leno made a mistake but we were under lots of pressure and couldn’t stop their supply. Two games he has brought willock on for Ozil and goy no effect and two games bringing on pepe too late and to no effect. Im probably being harsh but this is a harsh league and we are in the do do.

      2. I agree I think the players are not used to this high intensity reguired you could see in the second halve most of our players were dead tired

    2. My view is that it was a good but not brilliant first half. Chelsea were terrible until they made changes. A better team would have created more chances against them.
      Arsenal’s play in the second half was far too passive and reactive. Aubameyang played well and I agree with his rating but he was wasted playing wide.

  39. Positives
    1. I haven’t seen arsenal defend like a team like that for some time. Well done.
    ■ From front to back. We shouted at UE – why couldn’t they get this from the front men, but Arteta has put identity and understanding of our ideas alongside giving the players the system to be an attacking team again.
    Right now the players believe in the ideas.

    2. Our pass and move was excellent for the first 60mins of the game.
    ■ We couldn’t give them a pass forward, they tried long balls in the end and misplaced it.
    The tactical change from chelsea meant we defended 4 4 2 but we just couldn’t switch this quick enough when we won the ball back to attack – and the lack of confidence and right personal (injuries) was a factor.
    We have to accept this was Chelsea’s first team against our injury hit team.
    Kosalniac Xhaka Tierney Bellerin Holding Martinelli Sokriatis not available to pick from!

    Within the positives will we always find our negatives.
    Equally it can be found in the mentality. When at 1-1 and trying to make up for gifting chelsea a goal and wanting to redeem that feeling of ‘we should of won’ we overexposed ourselves and loss the game.

    Similar errors existed during AW era. Normally then it was from over procession but here it was just a mentality error.
    Dont loss at all costs. It needs to be reinstalled.

    There was 2 night errors today. Jorhinho not being sent off and leno error. Both equal as their 1st goal came from jorginho scoring.

    How the ref must be feeling must be equal to how down leno must be. But the ref’s done get the sort of abuse players do. Not that I suggest they should, but just a statement of how responsibility should work for everyone in order to get better standards and performances.

    I give arsenal a 8 out of 10 and the ref 1 out of 10.

    1. Generally, I agree with many of the points about Arsenal’s play.
      I disagree about the referee. I don’t believe he got everything right but he was right about Jorginho- who did not deserve to get sent off.

      1. I dont think jorghino should have got a second yellow, not for that but i have seen worse decisions where a second yellow was given.

        1. Whats the point of giving a first yellow then if you pull somoneback on the counter if you are not going to give the second. It’s like giving goalkeepers yellow card for wasting time very well knowing the keeper wont get a 2nd yellow for time wasting.

          He should’ve been sent off.

    2. Jorghino not being sent off was not an error. If you get sent off for that, there would be only the goalkeepers on the pitch. I have seen players booked for less but its not a sending off yellow. He took a chance but its just a foul.

        1. It wasn’t a clear break, whatever that is, Chelsea had players behind the ball, it was a foul. The rest is opinion and interpretation, the ref interprets it as a foul, which it was. Im not saying there isn’t a ref in the world who wouldn’t have given a yellow but there are ones that wouldn’t. It was a clear foul, it wasn’t a clear yellow.

          1. Souness called it right on TV. A run of the mill foul by GEORGINHO BUT NO WAY WAS IT A SECOND YELLOW. GUENDOUZI IS ALWAYS TRYING TO GET OPPONENTS SENT OFF. HE IS OUT OF CONTROL EMOTIONALLY BUT I LIKE HIS POTENTIAL AS A PLAYER , BUT RIGHT NOW IT IS ONLY POTENTIAL. Many hysterical Gooners calling for what would have been an unfair dismissal, instead of facing the plain fact we were not good enough in second half.

          2. So you dont know what a clear break is but you know it wasnt one lol? Even Lampard said jorginho was lucky to stay on the pitch, your categorically wrong!! Saying get over it changes nothing.

          3. @Jon fox even Lampard said he was lucky to stay on the pitch so calling your own fanbase hysterical for not agreeing with you doesn’t make it so.

          4. How can it be categorically wrong, when the ref didnt yellow card him. Obviously jon me and the ref are wrong and you are right. Do tell me what in the rules of football is a “clear break”

          5. @reggie dont forget lampard as he also thought you three were wrong lol, so pasted from the fifa website : a caution (yellow) for unsporting behaviour shall be issued when a holds an opponent to prevent him gaining possession of the ball or taking up an advantageous position.

            So yeah lol and to answer your other inquiry clean break = promising attack.

          6. @reggie and also by your logic no decision EVER made by a referee can be catagorically wrong lol 🤣😂

          7. @ Reggie, @ Jon fox, et all,

            So you people can not see that the foul in question was a shirt pull. To my own understanding as a sport analyst, shirt pull is a yellow card offence, it is termed to be unsportsmanlike conduct. Jorghinho was lucky and the referee bottled it because they were playing better than us in that second half of the game, though this did not justify Leno to make a howler, it was a costly mistake

          8. NCIDENT: Jorginho was close to being sent off in the 76th minute after pulling back Matteo Guendouzi in midfield. The Chelsea midfielder had already been booked, but referee Craig Pawson did not book him again and he went on to score an 83rd-minute equaliser in a 2-1 win.

            DERMOT’S VERDICT: Incorrect decision.

            DERMOT SAYS: “I was surprised he didn’t get sent off. Firstly, I think it’s a yellow card offence and secondly, three minutes earlier, there was a carbon copy offence from Lucas Torreira who got a yellow card. In that space of time, the referee gave a decision one way and a similar one the other. It’s a yellow card offence for me, Jorginho grabs a hold of his shirt to take Guendouzi away from the ball.”

      2. Torreira and Guendouzi got booked for the same offence, so why shouldn’t jorginho have been sent off, committing the same offence, knowing he had already been booked earlier?

      3. Then M.Niles shouldn’t of got a yellow for the same foul later in the game. This is the problem…no consistency.
        For me it was sinister and deserved a second yellow for not being in the spirit of the game . Which is from the FA rule book.

        Fans all argue about ref decisions. Even managers moan about decisions going in the favour of the big teams against them….never an opponent pen at the Kop end…etc… just now Wolves have a fair goal disallowed because the wolves players fingernail was off side!!!!

        VAR is superb, excellent in fact and long overdue BUT the people using it just don’t know how to use it.

        It brings drama mind you, and talking points..it’s what keeps the EPL the best league in the world.

      4. Come on Reggie really just look at Jorginho reaction he knew he was supposed to be off and do I need to remind you the ref prior to that also let him get away with a yellow but onwards and forward its done

  40. What is of great concern now is that none of our attackers can score besides Aubameyang… I hope Arteta would slot PEA as a 9 and Martinelli on the LW against Man Utd… Laca has suddenly lost all his scoring instincts…

    1. Correct, Ozil doesn’t shoot so never scores, Lacca seems out of form, Nelson doesn’t score, Pepe i believe would but isn’t getting his chance and our midfield whoever they are dont get in the box.

  41. Big signs of improvement all we can hope for is a win and the players will be stronger in mentality and confidence.

  42. Very sad by the outcome of this match. We did everything right in the first leg, and defended too deep in the second. We need more physical power.
    David Luiz produced, in what was by far his best display in an Arsenal shirt IMO. Sadly we did make the same old errors in the defence.

  43. Nelson was one of the best players on the day…,
    For me the team played fairly well…
    It was mustaphi again who would have fouled Abraham at the half way line when they broke rather than turn and run towards our goal…
    All good teams …man city ,Barca would do those…,
    Arteta would ve added a body to the midfield and switch to 5 at the back when Chelsea had that sustained pressure …I knew something was going to happen …twas just a matter of time…
    The problems re just too much…

  44. Worrying times honestly. Our league position..this was a must win match. Arteta has to buy 3 players in January. That second goal could have been avoided. One of Luiz or Mustafa should have fouled Abraham. It was very wrong for both defenders to run back towards goal. The board have to sign a defender(lewis Dunk) a DM(Thomas Partey) in January.

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