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Chelsea capped off a good all round performance as Fernando Torres and Mata scored in their 2-1 victory at the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger continued with his recent tactic of playing without a proper striker, as Gervinho started upfront. Ramsey retained his place on the right, with Koscienly on for Mertersacker as the only change.
With plenty of options available, RDM opted to start with Hazard, Mata and Oscar in a 4-2-3-1. Ramires got the nod ahead of Lampard in midfield and John Terry started in defence amidst all the controversy.
Midfield Battles
Both teams lined up in a similar fashion with a double pivot in midfield. Chelsea’s new recruits Hazard and Oscar were causing all the problems at the beginning. Oscar especially, was playing in simple triangles with Mikel and Ramires.
A notable point about Arsenal’s midfield duo of Diaby and Cazorla was that they were not closing down Ramires and Mikel. The Chelsea duo was given a lot of time and space on the ball, and so playing to Hazard and Oscar was pretty simple for them. Oscar played a similar role that he played against Andrea Pirlo in the Champions League. This time it was Arteta that the Brazilian covered. Oscar constantly tracked Arteta and this forced mistakes out of the slow paced Spaniard.
Wenger’s tactic to start Ramsey on the right paid off well in the beginning. The Welsh international played much more centrally and tracked back well with Hazard. Ramsey provided Jenkinson the cover that Arteta was unable to provide. Also Ramsey was able to combine well with Gervinho and Cazorla upfront, but as expected, the final cross was missing from the wings.
Injury affecting the game
Diaby, who had started the match brightly against Ramires, came off with a hip injury, and this changed the balance of the game in midfield. Ramsey had to shift to central midfield with Chamberlain on the right.
Even after Ramsey shifted to the center, he kept making the energetic runs through the middle and lost the ball on many occasions. It was with such chances that Chelsea pushed ahead. Both Ramsey and Cazorla were very clumsy while tracking back and this left Arteta dangerously exposed. Cazorla was playing very high up the pitch and most of the time Arsenal where playing a 4-4-1-1.
Defensive woes for Arsenal
Hazard started on the left against Jenkinson, but the right back along with Ramsey, was able to ward off the Belgian with some stiff tackles. Hazard then shifted to the right against Gibbs and was much more successful there. Cutting in from the right, the Belgian gave all sorts of problems to Arteta and Vermaelen. Vermaelen especially did not have a good game as the Arsenal captain was caught out for pace many a time by Hazard.
Steve Bould has received many plaudits for improving the Gunner’s defence this season, but the way they conceded both the goals from set-pieces will surely affect the morale at the base. Laurient Koscienly was at fault during both these goals, as the French international was not very impressive in his overall tackling against Torres. The French international was caught with his back to the goal for the first goal and Koscienly should definitely have dealt with Mata’s free kick for the second.
The True No. 9
Fernando Torres’s performance today showed what exactly Arsenal was lacking in the striker’s department. Torres was full of energy today and was willing to run into the channels. He was able to pull out Koscienly from the defense and on many an occasion he shifted wide left to play Oscar through the center.
Contrastingly, Arsenal were unable to convert any of their balls into the box. This was partly due to the presence of Terry and also due to the lack of it by Gervinho. The Ivorian was never in the proper position to receive crosses from the impressive Jenkinson and Gibbs. Chamberlain needs to be given credit for Arsenal’s goal as the 19 year old looked up before the cross and picked out Gevinho with what was more of a cut back than a cross.
Wenger brought on Walcott and Giroud for Ramsey and Podolski in the second half. Walcott continued his poor showings in the EPL and was rarely involved in the game. The difference that came to the game was that Chamberlain shifted to the center. Often described as his best position, the teenager was involved much more and increased the pace of the game. His linkup with Cazorla in the final moments to feed in Giroud deserved a goal, but the Frenchman as usual did everything right before putting it just wide.
All the eyes before the game were on Terry and how he would perform on what was possibly his last game before the ban. But the ex- England center back was majestic in the tackles against Gervinho and Podolski. On the other hand, it was the Arsenal center back pairing of Vermaelen and Koscienly that under performed, and Wenger would sure have missed his towering German at the back
Top of the match: Eden Hazard
Flop of the match: Laurient Koscienly
