When the balls were pulled out, everyone agreed – Arsenal had an easy group.
Many called it a “Europa League group” and with PSV, Sevilla and Lens it was hard to disagree. But that easy group could begin to look a bit trickier if we fail to return to winning ways tonight.
Our return to the Champions League started with a bang – a comfortable 4-0 win at home to PSV. Ironically we had also played PSV 12 months earlier in the Europa League.
Everything was also going swimmingly in the second game in northern France. 1-nil up after 14 minutes, we looked in complete control. Lens then snatched a brilliant equaliser before the crowd carrying them to victory. The exiting (and troubled) Elye Wahi grabbing an excellent winner.
On a side note, Wahi is clearly a talent and it is only his controversies that probably stopped him getting a bigger move last summer.
Only 20-years old, I do not think you can hold something that happened as a 15-year-old against him. I would not be surprised if he only stays at Lens for a single year. A lot of clubs will be keeping tabs on his private life to see if the incidents where just immaturity.
Anyway, back to The Arsenal.
3 points from the opening two games leaves us 2nd in a group where no one has a 100% record.
10 points is the usual magic number, and you have to think that we will win our 2 remaining home games, so all we need to do is grab a draw (or win) in Spain or Holland. But it is not just about qualifying, we need to finish top.
Those late Wenger-years were marred by us finishing 2nd in Champions League groups that we should have topped, and then getting the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or AC Milan in the first knockout stage.
Finishing top is so important.
As it stands (and yes, there is still a long way to go), winning the group would set up potential matches against PSG, Inter Milan, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Lazio, Porto or Galatasaray.
Finishing 2nd would mean we would be drawn against one of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad.
Bar PSG and Napoli, you would expect us to win against all the 2nd placed teams without an issue. Finish 2nd and the only “easy” tie would be against Kieran Tierney’s Real Sociedad
The need to finish top is what then puts the pressure on tonight.
Lost, and we could find ourselves bottom of the group with 3 points from 3 games. We would then need to win 3 from 3 to have a chance of finishing top. Win and we might secure top of the league with a game to go, allowing us to rest some players ahead of the busy Christmas period.
Sevilla have not been great in Spain this seaosn, but then neither had Lens.
We need to put out our strongest possible team, play at a high tempo and regain control of our Champions League destiny.
UTA!
Keenos
Our new Arsenal Bruised Banana dog blanket is now available!
Last season it was back to back Desmond’s against Liverpool and West Ham that saw our title challenge derail. And it was the same result out in Portugal that lead to our Europa League exit.
We had already had two games finish 2-2 this season; Spurs and Fulham at home. We made it 3 Desmond’s in 9 games as we continued out unbeaten start to the season.
Saturday was one of those games where we looked groggy.
At half-time, I mentioned to my mates “it feels like one of those northern games from the early 2010’s. We are clearly better than them but they’ve nicked a goal and are now looking to sit deep and defend for their lives.”
The Chelsea pitch has never taken the weather well, and the torrential rain before and during the game played into their hands just like it would of for Bolton or Wigan of yesteryear.
Their first goal was a penalty that never was. Their 2nd was a sliced crossed that looped over David Raya into the top corner.
I am not accepting any criticism for Raya for conceding that goal. It would have gone in against anyone. Much of goalkeeping is about predicting what is going to happen so you ensure that your weight is going in the right direction. When a player slices a shot, it can catch any keeper out.
For those calling for Aaron Ramsdale’s return, were you demanding Vince Batram replace David Seaman after 1995? These freak goals happen and every keeper will retrie with a couple on their resume.
We were denied a stonewall penalty when Robert Sanchez absolutely poleaxed Gabriel Jesus without getting anywhere near the ball.
Anyone that does not think it was a penalty, let us look at it from another viewpoint.
Sanchez comes out for the ball, Gabriel Jesus clatters into him, not getting the ball, and then William Saliba nods it in. The goal would be disallowed for a foul on the keeper. So why is no foul given on the keeper?
I have never really understood the way goalkeepers get reffed so differently to others on the pitch.
They can come out, clatter a player getting nowhere near the ball and nothing is given. Then the next moment a free kick is given in their favour ebcause an attacking playing slightly nudged them at a corner.
The ref had an absolute stinker. And it was interesting talking to a couple of Chelsea fans after the game that they felt he gave every decision to Arsenal. It certainly felt to us that he favoured Chelsea.
He seemed very quick to brandish yellow cards to Arsenal players, whilst Chelsea players escaped punishment. Marc Cucurella kicking out at Bukayo Saka after the ref had blown his whistle was just one of many times that Spanish fullback escaped punishment.
As we looked to try and get back into the game, Chelsea resorted to those dark arts of time-wasting that officials were supposed to be stamping out. Has the early season instructions already been disregarded?
Throw-ins that took more than 30s (Takheiro Tomiyasu was sent off at Palace for taking less time over one). Goal kicks that took more than a minute. Chelsea players throwing themselves to the ground and rolling about, to then miraculously get back up just before the physio was to be wave on.
7 minutes of injury time were given and with Chelsea on the ropes, they looked to slow the game down even further. The ref could not wait to blow the whistle dead on 97 minutes despite the ball only being in play for around 4 of it.
I have long said I would like to see 30 minute halves trialled, where the clock is “stopped” everytime the ball goes out of play. Games would last the exact same as they do now, but you would stamp out time wasting, refs blowing up early or giving a team “one more attack”.
So we came away from Chelsea with a 2-2 draw. Some will put it down as 2-points lost. But I will always take a draw away against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City or Man U.
they have already taken points off Liverpool at home, and in the next 3 games face both Tottenham and Manchester City. It is probably after those games where will we understand whether it is a good point or two points dropped!
On to the next game with Sevilla away tomorrow. Following the defeat to Lens, the pressure is on for us to get 3 points. Lose and what looked like a fairly easy group suddenly looks a lot harder. And it is not just about qualifying but also finishing top to avoid those top teams in the knockout stages.
Everyone flying out, have a safe trip and see you all at Sheffield United!
UTA!
Keenos
Our new Arsenal Bruised Banana dog blanket is now available!
Chelsea (1) 2 Arsenal (0) 2 Premier League Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road., London SW6 1HS Saturday, 21st October 2023. Kick-off time: 5.30pm
(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli. Substitutes: Thomas Partey, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson, Kai Havertz, Karl Hein
Scorers: Rice (77 mins), Trossard (84 mins) Yellow Cards: Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Eddie Nketiah, Mikel Arteta Arsenal Possession Percentage: 57%
Referee: Chris Kavanagh Assistant Referees: Richard West, Matthew Wilkes Fourth Official: James Linington VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Jarred Gillett; AVAR Darren Cann
Attendance: 39,723
Great to see that both Bukayo Saka and William Saliba have passed fitness checks today for this important game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. Obviously it goes without saying that we need a win in West London to keep in the hunt for Premiership glory, and also to leapfrog Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the table this evening. Also sad to see the passing of 1966 England World Cup winner and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton at the age of 86, which was announced today.
After a short period of silence to reflect on the loss of life in both Israel and Gaza, (which is the reason why both sets of players are wearing black armbands), the home side kicked off proceedings on a rather wet and cold West London late afternoon.
Chelsea started quickly, bringing the game to us, with a long ball forward from Thiago Silva to Raheem Sterling, ending with Conor Gallagher having a shot blocked by our defence before Enzo Fernandez fired the ball erratically over the bar.
After another goal attempt by the home side shortly afterwards, the game started to settle down with both sets of players eager to impose their will on the game. Cole Palmer received a well-deserved yellow card for an appalling tackle on Gabriel Jesus, in which our man could so easily have had an ankle broken.
A little while later, Oleksandr Zinchenko received our first yellow card of the afternoon when he tripped Mykhaiko Mudryk, who made a meal of it, to be fair. VAR were consulted when a cross from the right wing appeared to hit William Saliba on the arm, and subsequently a penalty was given to Chelsea, with Cole Palmer making no mistake from the spot.
The match started to settle down after the first quarter of an hour of frenetic activity from both sides, and we nearly grabbed an equaliser when a clever right-footed flick from Declan Rice into the path of Gabriel Jesus flew just in front of him, in which he so narrrowly missed the opportunity to connect.
Thiago Silva clattered into Gabriel Martinelli with an extremely strong tackle, and despite some good chances for our boys to grab the equaliser, it was an end-to-end game now in the rain.
Bukayo Saka came close with a clever shot when the Chelsea goalie was out of position, but Thiago Silva easily cleared the danger, and at the other end, we nearly shipped another goal when a Cole Palmer shot went inches past David Raya’s left-hand post.
The home side were starting to cause problems with our defence, and there were times when we had trouble keeping them at bay. Although our passing was crisp, we were not threatening the Chelsea goal very much at this stage of the game.
Thiago Silva was quite rightly booked for a blatant body-check on Gabriel Jesus, and unfortunately the resulting free-kick was wasted. Despite an incident-packed first half with two minutes of injury time, we could not grab an equaliser in the first half.
For the second half, Takehiro Tomiyasu has replaced Oleksandr Zinchenko, and as we kicked off, we realised that we had to get a result here, no matter what. However, a few minutes after the restart, Mykhaiko Mudryk scored Chelsea’s second goal when he chipped a ball over the head of David Raya from the left wing; suddenly our task has just become harder now.
We started to put pressure on the home side, both Gabriel Martinelli and Takehiro Tomiyasu getting mighty close to scoring, and we nearly gave a second penalty away when David Raya cleared a ball out that went straight to the feet of Cole Palmer, who was relieved of the ball when our goalie dived at his feet, which was a real heart-in-the-mouth moment!
Gabriel Jesus then had a clash with Chelsea goalie Robert Sanchez, and he appeared to come off worse for wear, as the medical staff came onto the pitch to treat him before he hobbled back into action.
With just over twenty minutes of the game remaining, Gabriel Jesus and Jorginho were replaced by Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith-Rowe in order to try and get some goals out of this match.
About ten minutes after the substitutions, Chelsea ’keeper Robert Sanchez casually passed the ball out from his six-yard box, totally missing his defender and found Declan Rice, who unceremoniously hit the ball straight into the back of the Chelsea net from about twenty-five yards! Game on!
Sensing something special could be going on here, Mikel Arteta threw caution to the wind by sending on Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard to replace Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel Martinelli to make a difference.
And what a difference was made, when just after the substitutions, Bukayo Saka put in a deep cross from the right wing, Chelsea defender Malo Gusto looked like he simply switched off, and Leandro Trossard nipped in and grabbed the equaliser! Such drama!
We sensed that the game was there for the taking now, as an Eddie Nketiah shot went narrowly wide of the post, the home side’s defence looked all over the shop. Chelsea appeared to get themselves together in order to try to score the winner themselves, but as hard as they tried, it was not going to happen.
Seven minutes injury time was awarded, and despite some very good chances by both clubs, the score remained a draw. As a final note, Mikel Arteta was cautioned after the final whistle after walking to the centre circle to remonstrate with the match officials, which was a ridiculous end to such a match.
The first half was abysmal, and at times we looked at sixes and sevens, and after the second Chelsea goal was scored, things looked rather iffy for us, but to be fair and to give credit where credit is due, Mikel Arteta’s substitutions came at the right time for us, and we clawed our way back and got a point out of this match. Mind you, we had thirteen shots on goal, but only three of them on target, so there is room for improvement there.
On the plus side, we showed immense character and a never-say-die attitude that a lot of other teams in the Premiership lack, and the point we got today here at Stamford Bridge was one that we thoroughly deserved, and there were times when it looked like we could have got the winner, but it was not to be. Anyway, a point is better than nothing, and tonight we are level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premiership table. All to play for, chaps.
Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Sevilla at Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Tuesday, 24th October at 8.00pm (Champions League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.
Steve
Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 