Arsenal does not give up, which after four games without winning found the best possible restorative, a match against Chelsea, the team that spends the most on the planet and one of the ones with the fewest solutions, a pastiche in which the disasters and experiments, a wimp for the title contender to resume the good path he had lost. Enough to focus on a league final in which he wants to force Manchester City to maintain their best version to revalidate their tenure in the Premier. Arsenal retakes the leadership of the Premier, adds 78 points and has two points and two games played more than the squad led by Pep Guardiola. If the gunners win their remaining four dates (Newcastle and Nottingham away and Brighton and Wolves at home) would force City to win five of their remaining six games to clinch the championship. That is the objective that Mikel Arteta sets himself. “We are in the most beautiful part of the season and we have to enjoy it”, is the kind message transmitted by the Arsenal coach.
3
Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel (Robert Holding, min. 85), Jakub Kiwior, Ben White, Zinchenko (Tierney, min. 73), Xhaka, Jorginho (Thomas, min. 85), Odegaard, Trossard (Martinelli, min. 59), Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka (Reiss Nelson, min. 73)
1
Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana (Trevoh Chalobah, min. 86), Ben Chilwell, Azpilicueta, Enzo Jeremias Fernandez (Mykhailo Mudryk, min. 70), Kovacic, Kante, Aubameyang (Kai Havertz, min. 45), Sterling (Conor Gallagher, min. 71) and Nonso Madueke (Hakim Ziyech, min. 79)
goals 1-0 min. 17: Odegard. 2-0 min. 31: Odegard. 3-0 min. 34: Gabriel Jesus. 3-1 min. 64: Nonso Madueke.
Referee Robert Jones
Yellow cards Kovacic (min. 79) and Conor Gallagher (min. 95)
The review of Chelsea had rude moments. Lampard, about to celebrate a month after his return to the team, adds a baggage of six defeats, two of them in the Champions League. So he goes to the desperate search for solutions. His last ingenuity consisted of giving Aubameyang ownership, the same one who left Arsenal shorn after a run-in with Arteta. In the last 12 days he barely played three short periods and he had not started as a starter for half a year, but Lampard is already committing himself to all kinds of miracles to reactivate a cadaverous team. “In these situations you can find a certain motivation”, justified the coach. Aubameyang stayed in the dugout at halftime after touching the ball nine times in the first half.
Two of the nine touches of the Gabonese striker were in the rival’s field, a fact that reveals that the game went in the opposite direction. Arsenal played with their usual enthusiasm, with that vibrant and hyperactive off-the-ball style that has become their hallmark. And he found the best Odegaard again, author of the first two goals to leave a trace of arrival. The Norwegian midfielder has already scored 14 goals so far in the Premier. A footballer in his demarcation with such scoring ability has not been seen at the Emirates since Cesc Fàbregas scored 15 times in the season in which he ended up lifting the World Cup in Johannesburg.
madueke de vidilla
Fàbregas, who is spending his short days at Como Italian, saw Odegaard’s exhibition live because an English television channel recruited him to comment on the game. But the question remains as to whether Arsenal excelled for its value or for Chelsea’s shortcomings. Arteta played pieces. With Saliba, his defensive pillar, still out, he gave minutes to the new Polish Kiwior, given Holding’s lukewarmness in recent games. And in midfield he rested Thomas to give Jorginho a field. The team regained its vigor. He should have thrashed, but he didn’t. After the break he returned bossy, forced Thiago Silva to take a shot from Gabriel under the sticks, but conceded a goal from Madueke that seemed like an accident, but which gave Chelsea life and unleashed some concern considering that Arsenal comes from giving up two-goal leads to Liverpool and West Ham United.
NEIL HALL (EFE)
The alarm was as false as Chelsea’s fur. Arsenal allowed themselves to be carried away until three whistles with a certain placidity, without brilliance, but with the points. And this Wednesday he will sit in front of the television to see if Manchester City, who receive West Ham in a hurry, will once again snatch the lead. If he doesn’t, North London will dream again.
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