Premier League, Arsenal-Chelsea 3-1 goals from Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Madueke

The real Arsenal is back. The one who plays wonderfully, the one who wins and convinces, the one who commands the Premier League and is in the fight for the title with Manchester City, now two points behind in the standings but with two games to recover. There is still no trace of the real Chelsea, because the one destroyed at the Emirates much more than the 3-1 final says is a team in disarray, which has lost 6 games out of 6 with Frank Lampard at the helm. Such a huge failure that 2022-23 will go on file as the Blues’ worst season ever in the Premier League.

The keys

—

Arsenal needed a victory like this, to dominate from start to finish in front of their fans, to convince themselves that they had everything it takes to hold on to the title race with City until the end, taking advantage of any missteps by the champions along the road. The best was Martin Ødegaard, author of the brace between 18′ and 31′ that handed the match to the Gunners, with dominance sealed by the excellent Jesus three minutes later. Monumental Granit Xhaka, capable of tearing apart both the midfield and the defense of the Blues with his insertions. The only concern for Arteta in an almost perfect evening comes from the defense, for Zinchenko’s sleep on the Chelsea goal and for the condition of Gabriel, who came out badly and whose stoppage would deprive Arsenal of a second defensive column, given that Saliba is still knocked out Chelsea at the Emirates failed again, again giving the impression of a group that has not yet figured out how to play together.

chelsea moves

—

Lampard switched to a 4-3-3 formation by bringing back Pierre Aubameyang, the former player who hadn’t played as a starter since November and who has only played 8 games since then: he remained in the locker room at half-time after touching 9 balls in all, including 4 when hitting kick-offs. It is the symbol of the failure of a team which remains twelfth with 39 points, the same as Bournemouth which however thinks of not relegation and has not spent 700 million euros on the transfer market. 2022-23 will be the only year in which the Blues do not reach 50 points, given that the calendar between now and the end is the toughest in the entire Premier League: a total disaster, like the team seen at the Emirates.

The match

—

Arsenal dominated, put Chelsea on the ropes from the first minute and started hitting hard until they found the goals. Ødegaard places the first two knockout shots, in the 18th and 31st minutes, always served by Xhaka from the left and always entering the unmanned folds of the Blues defense to place an unstoppable shot from the height of the spot. The 3-0 is by Jesus, just three minutes after doubling the lead, with the Brazilian very good at pounced on a short clearance by Kepa on a shot by Xhaka, with three helpless defenders around him. The second half restarts with Thiago Silva who saves on the line with a spectacular thigh dribble from Gabriel’s header and continues with Arsenal controlling until Madueke in the 65th minute tries to reopen the game, signing the 3-1 by taking advantage a rare illuminated pass by Kovacic. The goal didn’t change things: Arsenal continued to dominate, Chelsea did nothing. And the result remains the same, 3-1 Gunners, even when the referee blows his whistle three times.