Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 in a Unai Emery masterclass performance at the Emirates Stadium, keeping Arsenal’s top four premier league hopes on a high. This is by far the best defensive performance that I’ve seen from Arsenal this season, getting barely their third clean sheet in the league. Arsenal’s defense shut down Eden Hazard and Chelsea, showing Chelsea’s lack of strength going forward this season.
Unai Emery introduced a new 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation, having a well disciplined and organized team that received their clean sheet. He had the entire team pressing very high, with even both strikers Lacazette and Aubameyang doing defensive work tackling down players. Both strikers showed their quality last night, showing how well their link-up play together is. Lacazette scored a banger as well, with another near post finish this season, very similar to his winner against Cardiff. His first touch, control, and dribbling for that goal has shown his striking instincts, proving he is world class striker. Lacazette is also a player that we can count on in the big occasion, now scoring against Liverpool, Man City, Man United, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Athletico Madrid in our recent big games.
When seeing the lineup with four in the back, I can say I was not convinced that our defensive was strong enough, but I was proven wrong with them nullifying Chelsea’s attack. Kolasinac was very solid defensively, something that we haven’t seen all season. I’ve criticized his defensive ability but if he continues to play like this consistently, we could have a left back that could be in contention of being the best in the league.
Laurent Koscielny also made a name for himself, proving to his critics that he is not finished. Koscielny was rushed back into the team after our crisis with injuries and now that he is fully fit, we saw the Koscielny that we had in the past. His speed and agility was shown, was a defensive wall, and a threat in attack getting our second goal today. He also had a bullet header right before his goal that was saved by Kepa. Koscielny had a real captain performance, being my man of the match against Chelsea. Although I do think we need an upgrade, I would not get rid of him as other fans suggest. He’s been at the club for 9 years now, his experience will be very crucial to our young upcoming defenders. He will be a reliable member to the squad, and should be our captain until he retires.
The only negative aspect of the match was the injury to Hector Bellerin, he’s had a quad tendon torn and is set to be out for at least 9 months. Bellerin has been one of our most improved players since Emery’s arrival, and last night he showed why we missed him last month. With this injury Arsenal will have to look to sign a right back. Although Maitland-Niles can do the job, he’s not a right back and he has the ability to be a star in our midfield. Stephan Lichtsteiner has been dreadful for Arsenal, but he was just signed too late as he is 34 and the Premier League is too difficult to settle in his position and age. I hope that Arsenal in the summer try to sign Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He’s been very impressive this season for Palace, being a key figure in the Palace’s run this season.
Arsenal now face Manchester United next in the FA Cup, a match that Arsenal must win if they want to win any silverware this season. Being the club with the most FA Cups with 13, United are right behind them with 12 trophies. Both clubs will be hoping to win a trophy this season, with United starting it off awfully, and Arsenal hoping for Emery to win something in his first season.
Alex's Soccer Blog 