Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

#4 Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ individual errors compound Arsenal’s defensive woes

Maitland-Niles was again poor defensively

Unai Emery decided to adopt a back three for the final against Chelsea and installed his trusted lieutenants, Sead Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles as wing backs. Though the pair gave an acceptable account of themselves in the attacking third, they again failed to keep things tight at the back.

The Englishman was directly at fault for the 2nd and 3rd goals with his inexperience coming to the fore. In the build up to Pedro’s goal, the defender brought the ball out of defence confidently before being robbed in midfield. With him taken out of the game, Chelsea wreaked havoc in the space thus vacated. Kovacic and Hazard marched forward and created a 2v1 situation before the latter fed Pedro.

The 3rd goal, meanwhile, highlighted the deficiencies plaguing ‘Maitland-Niles: the defender’. After getting caught on the wrong side of Giroud, he indulged in an impulsive tackle on the Frenchman. Inevitably, he conceded a penalty and provided the Blues the game on a platter.

Apart from the right-back, Arsenal’s defence looked largely static and they started suffering once Maurizio Sarri’s men began to move the ball quicker. While Sokratis made the odd crucial challenge, the rest of the defence was guilty of ball-watching.

The Gunners have long identified that their Achilles heel remains their defence. Yet, with another Europa League season ahead, they just might not have the required funds to make the defensive reinforcements they crave.

In an all-English Europa League final, there were a total of 17 nationalities being represented in both sides’ playing elevens. Thus, it was ironic that the only Englishman who started the game ended up influencing it the most, albeit negatively.