Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal: Five Talking Points

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho go head to headChelsea and Arsenal – the two London heavyweights – came head-to-head for the first time this season only for the Blues to come out victorious, rather comfortably. Arsene Wenger was out-thought by his nemesis Jose Mourinho, as his abysmal record against him continues.Here are the five talking points from this game:

#1 Chelsea executed their game plan to perfection

Ivanovic Sanchez — Branislav Ivanovic (L) takes on Alexis Sanchez

Chelsea were set up to hustle and harry the Gunners so that they could disrupt their rhythm throughout the match. Which really explains why Arsenal never got going.

It’s an age old weakness that Arsenal have: they just don’t seem to like physical contact. Chelsea exploited this and ruffled their feathers. the Blues attempted 57 tackles on the night while in comparison the Gunners attempted only 38. Constantly jockeying their opponents, Chelsea frustrated Arsenal’s passing game.

Alexis Sanchez was marked out as a significant threat by Mourinho and it must be said that Branislav Ivanovic did a brilliant job against the Chilean forward. He stuck to him extremely tight, shepherded him into tight spaces on the flanks where another Chelsea player would arrive to double up and dispossess him. That is why it came as no surprise that he was only able to create one half chance for Santi Cazorla outside the box.

The Blues defended deep and didn’t allow Arsenal to utilize the pace of Welbeck or Sanchez. What is also immensely commendable is the work rate that the “chosen one” gets out of his players. On the few occasions that Arsenal were able to get into space in the attacking third, the blue shirts would just flood back to protect the back line.

#2 A tale of two no.10s - Oscar vs Mesut Ozil

Oscar and Mesut Ozil typified the their manager’s approach and it is clear who had the better game. However, it wasn’t in ways that you would expect.

Oscar may not have created much for his striker to feed on, which is what a classic number 10 does. But he did put in a shift for his team. He made four tackles and three interceptions, more than both his centre backs. Only Cesar Azpilicueta and Ivanovic made more tackles than the midfielder, which goes to show what kind of a player Oscar is.

Mesut Ozil, on the other hand, is the classic no.10: a smart player with great passing abilities. On his day, Ozil is a tricky customer and difficult to contain. However, due to Chelsea’s approach (and his current form) Ozil wasn’t able to get space in dangerous areas and affect the game. This was also partly due to him being pushed to the wings but also because he usually diminishes against physical opponents.

Throughout the game Oscar was putting in challenges and executing Mourinho’s tactics to perfection, which completely highlights why he preferred Oscar to Juan Mata in that no.10 role for matches like this. He’s not as pretty as his German counter part, but he is ever so useful for the team

#3 Matic filling performing the makelele role to perfection

How Arsenal need a player like Nemanja Matic. He put in another imperious display at the base of midfield where the towering Serb shielded his defence to near-perfection, using his physique to his advantage.

Matic is a good blend of brains and brawn. While he does use his imposing frame to his advantage, he is also an accurate and efficient passer. Tactically and positionally intelligent, he is Mourinho’s perfect “intelligent aggressive” player.

His contributions have allowed Cesc Fabregas to flourish in that deep-lying playmaker role, where he creates chances and has the freedom to make runs into the attacking third of the pitch.

His role is understated, but very vital to Chelsea’s success this season.

#4 Time for Wenger to make a decision on Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil cut a frustrated figure at the end of 90 minutes. He did little to nothing to affect the game even though the statistics say that he created 3 chances.

It is clear that he does not like playing on the left. His performances in that position show that. So why does Wenger persist? If anything, play him on the right where he can cut in and play a pass.

But it is centrally where he enjoys himself the most, and where we can see him come back to his world class best. Against Aston Villa he played centrally and came up with a goal and an assist.

But there are times when things are not going for him that he becomes a liability to the team. The home leg versus Bayern Munich last season was a great example. It is times like these where Wenger must realize that he is costing the team and take him off.

Wenger seems reluctant to bring off his most expensive acquisition in the hope that he might affect the game at some point. It might serve as a reality check for the World Cup winner that he is not indispensable.

#5 Chelsea are a Big Horse now

If it wasn’t clear already, it is now. Chelsea are certainly down in my books as title favourites.

The addition of Fabregas and Diego Costa have made Chelsea a much more dangerous team. They have a reliable goal-scorer and a passer in midfield who can control a game.

What is most important, however, is the balance of the squad. They have arguably the most balanced squad in England, if not Europe. Pace, power, organization, aerial presence, trickery, vision, depth – they have the lot.

The foal has truly evolved into a magnificent steed, ready to pounce on the title.