Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
There was plenty to unpack from that frustrating encounter, and here is what stood out.
Arsenal were far from their absolute best. They lacked the ruthlessness shown against Tottenham and Bayern Munich.
With Chelsea reduced to ten men after Moises Caicedo’s reckless challenge on Mikel Merino just 38 minutes in, Arsenal had a golden opportunity to take control. Yet they failed to make the most of it.
Chelsea still looked the sharper side and could easily have taken all three points.
Arsenal were poor. For a team with title ambitions, this was the sort of fixture they should have won. Much like the draw with Sunderland, this derby stalemate acts as a reminder of the work still required.
Arsenal must improve because, in a title race, consistency is everything.
Trossard absence felt
Leandro Trossard’s absence was clear. The Belgian has been in excellent form on the left wing, offering goals, control, and balance. His partnership with Ricardo Calafiori has been central to Arsenal’s attacking rhythm. This was evident in the North London Derby, where his spirited display set the tone for their dominance.
Trossard has been a key figure in Arsenal’s play this season. Against Chelsea, the attack did not click. For much of the first half, it was Chelsea who looked more likely to break through. Gabriel Martinelli contributed, but it is Trossard who has truly lifted the left flank this season.
Lewis Skelly role indication
Mikel Arteta also gave a hint about the long-term role he may have in mind for Myles Lewis Skelly.
The Hale End graduate was introduced at half time, replacing Ricardo Calafiori. On the pitch, Lewis Skelly operated mainly at the base of midfield.
Although his minutes have been limited, largely because of Calafiori’s strong form, Arteta’s decision to trust him in midfield is significant.
The teenager may be developed to return to his original central role, where his long-term future could be.
Title ambitions dented
A draw against Chelsea does little to help Arsenal’s title push. The Gunners could have extended their lead at the top to seven points, but instead remain five points clear of Man City in 2nd place,
City will take encouragement from this result. Despite their setback against Newcastle, Arsenal’s draw has reopened the door and shows that the title race is still very much wide open.
Le us know your thoughts in the comments.
Daniel O
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I learnt that physicality against Arsenal players didn’t end with Stoke being relegated.
I also learnt that Anthony Taylor encouraged it against Saka. Why Cucurella escaped punishment against Saka, was appalling; especially with the nearest linesman not seeing the fouls, nor the throw-ins and corners for Arsenal.
Both Hincapie and Mosquera are not perfect replacements for Gabriel and Saliba. I hope Saliba will be back for the midweek game.
Not perfect replacement? They are not up to a year and u expect the kind of saliba/Gabriel? That’s really harsh.
They found it difficult against Brighton, they played their part, this is not the time for this kind of comment. Be positive.
We were not great on the day and the Chelsea tactics ensured we never got any fluidity going. There will be more games like this, we either rise above it or we will drop more points. Games like this we definitely miss Gabriel’s presence and physicality. Not a great game for Martinelli but he didn’t get much service. On to the next one.
Chelsea imposed themselves on us, and even showed a bit more desire and fight with 10 men.
We left with a point, but felt we should have done more, especially when they went down to 10 men.
Off game for a lot of players, and Saka needs a rest. Mentally not sure what he was doing, and should sit the next game and watch Madueke play on the RW.
Missed a chance to widen the gap, but at least we got a point. Work to do still, especially with consistency.
“Consistency,” in the context of effort and play, not wins. You can’t win every match, but the effort and desire should be there, and it was not against Chelsea in my opinion.
Dowman may have offered that bit of edge that we were lacking, but not a poor result, but not a good result either.
Hopefully we can return to our ways, and impose our play and style on opponents.
The criticism of Mosquera and Hincapie has been over the top in my opinion.It is simply unrealistic to expect this pairing to measure up to arguably the best centre back duo in Europe in Saliba and Gabriel who, along with Timber, are the foundations upon which our defensive resilience is based.Having to throw them in at the deep end against a top quality side like Chelsea is unlikely to have been on the Arteta adenda but at least he will now be aware of their shortcomings which can however be curtailed by playing more games together.It takes time to build a successful centre back partnership yet many of our fans and professional pundits seem oblivious to this.Personally, from what i have seen of them i would favour a pairing of Mosquera and Califiori with Hincapie at left back, but i fully accept that our Manager is far more qualified than i am when it comes to matters of selection.
Calafiori would be great at left centre back but I feel like he offers us so much in his current role that if we move him, we’ll lose a lot. Calafiori is a big part of the reason why the left side of our attack is functioning better than previous seasons. I don’t think Hincapie can replicate that.
Besides, Calafiori has developed such a good understanding with Trossard. I wouldn’t want to break that up. But you’re right,he’s probably still our best option at left CB.