Chelsea 3-2 Arsenal: Hits and flops from the game

Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
It was a fairytale finish!

Chelsea pipped Arsenal by 3-2 to make it two out of two in the Premier League after having squandered a 2-0 lead. Goals from Pedro, Alvaro Morata and a late winner from Marcos Alonso helped the cause. For Arsenal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi got onto the score sheet.

The home side enjoyed large portions of possession in the early stages, with Jorginho dictating the play and the wingers injecting tons of energy into proceedings. Rightfully, the Blues led through Pedro, who found himself in acres of space in the box. Alvaro Morata then held off Mustafi to get his shot away in the 20th minute, which eventually ended up in the back of the net.

The Gunners though, had plenty of clear-cut chances that went begging in the first half. A couple of head-scratching misses from Aubameyang followed by another one from Mkhitaryan left Emery ruing over his side's finishing. The Armenian though timed an effort to beat the world's most expensive keeper and reduce Arsenal's deficit.

Moments later, Alex Iwobi cleverly ran into the box and dispatched a shot to restore parity. The square passes from either wing proved to be hectic for Chelsea's defence, which switched off more often than not.

Sarri's side dominated larger parts of second-half and upped the ante by knocking at Arsenal's defence repeatedly. Alonso's attacking presence of mind helped him open his goalscoring account for this season.

All in all, it wasn't one of those matches for coaches and fans alike, who want defensive discipline as both sides had 39 attempts on goal together.

Here are the best and worst players from the exhilarating London derby:


#5 Hit: Eden Hazard

Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
Catch him if you can!

Hazard's inclusion sparked life into the whole of Stamford Bridge, which erupted when the 27-year-old took the field. There seemed to be a vibe indicating that if Chelsea were to claim all three points, only one man could do it for them - Eden Hazard.

Right from the word go, the little magician dropped deeper, exchanged passes, directed the play and applied himself near perfectly. He was on top of his moves, as far as his dribbling was concerned.

For Alonso's goal too, he dropped his shoulder, changed his pace intelligently and provided a peach of a pass into the box. You know what happened next! Alonso condemned the Gunners to a second defeat in a row.

#4 Flop: Mesut Ozil

Arsenal FC v Manchester City - Premier League
Ozil cut a frustrated figure

The Gunners created an array of chances from the wings, with both full-backs finding unmarked players in the penalty area. Whilst Mkhitaryan played and impressed in fits and starts, Mesut Ozil, on the other hand, struggled to split the Chelsea back line, initiate attacks or create a goal scoring chance.

He opted a safe pass more often than an inventive one. Deployed at a deeper role, the playmaker had a larger view of the pitch. Neither did he exchange one-twos with his teammates, nor did he play a through ball to Aubameyang, who offered runs down the pitch continuously.

One could argue that Ozil was too safe in possession. No wonder he touched the ball the least number of times in the first-half.

#3 Hit: Alvaro Morata

Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
Morata couldn't hear his critics

One man who has been desperate to prove a point is Alvaro Morata.

Having failed to net a goal against Huddersfield, the pressure was on him to deliver in the nerve-wracking London derby. Well, he did stand up to the occasion with a goal to his name.

The Spaniard held the ball better than usual, lifted his head up and picked passes earlier, played decisive balls to midfield and flanks and looked sharper than ever. Most importantly, he seems to have installed a sense of physicality along with his movement to satisfy the needs of the Premier League.

Even for the goal, he skipped away from his marker, applied an excellent first touch, held off Mustafi and buried the ball past Petr Cech. Way to go, Alvaro!

#2 Flop: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League

All he could do about those missed chances

Aubameyang's performance was probably his worst ever in a senior match. Flop is quite an understatement, especially when those missed opportunities are taken into account.

The Gabonese linked up play whenever Arsenal did see some of the ball, held it up and got his shot away early on. Signs looked promising, but little did one know what was to follow.

He skied a simple pull-back from Bellerin from less than six yards out, something that was highly uncharacteristic of him. Then, a similar squared pass from the left was played to him. He had the whole frame of the goal in front of him, but the former Borussia Dortmund forward fluffed it wide of Kepa's goal.

#1 Hit: Marcos Alonso

Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League

Three points in the bag!

Firstly, forget about Chelsea's defensive frailties and the space they exposed. Alonso and Bellerin ran freely at each other, with one proving to be better than the other for each moment that passed by.

However, one has to applaud the fearlessness, desire, hunger and drive that this boy's got. He continuously exploited the left flank, played to his strengths and exchanged quick passes with Jorginho and Willian - illustrating Sarri's style of play.

Jorginho set him free down the left wing with a first-touch long ball, and he kept his cool and guided it to the onrushing Pedro, who gave Chelsea the lead. For the winner, Alonso was in a deeper position when Hazard picked up the ball. Even before the Belgian could surge forward or skip away from his marker, Alonso was on the move.

Now, talk about the finish. He got in the right place, met the ball sweetly, sorted his feet out and smashed it from a tight angle to score the winner. Thinking over his attacking prowess, sometimes you may wonder, is he really a left-back?

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