Chelsea were surprisingly poor, but Arsenal warn Man City: The title race is not over yet

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London — armory returned to the top Premier League with a comfortable 3-1 win on london rivals Chelsea Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium.

A dreadful first-half display from the visitors enabled the Gunners to hold a three-goal lead at the break as Martin Odegaard scored twice in the first 31 minutes. Gabriel Jesus Third pair from close range.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Made a surprise debut against his former club but was replaced at half-time after only touching the ball nine times Kai Havertz Instead leading the line, there was some improvement in Chelsea after the break. Noni Maduke Scored his first goal for Chelsea in the 65th minute Mateo KovacicKey through ball but the damage was already done as Arsenal secured their first win in five matches.

Arsenal fearing injury at the defender’s end Gabriel Magalhaes Limping from what appears to be a muscular problem.

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Caretaker boss Frank Lampard has now lost all six of his matches in charge of Chelsea, while Arsenal return to the Premier League summit two points adrift with two games to play. Manchester CityWho face West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Swift response

1. Shambolic Chelsea give Arsenal a chance to stay in the title fight

after four matches without a win and Manchester City going to the top of Premier League table, armorys confidence was shaken, leaving them a fragile unit here at kickoff. Of those four losses, liverpool, West Ham, southampton And Man City had reasons to rally, whether chasing Champions League qualification, trying to avoid relegation or winning the league.

But Chelsea, manager-less and isolated in mid-table, had nothing to bring them together beyond caretaker boss Frank Lampard seeking a display of pride in the London derby. That rallying cry fell on deaf ears.

Even in a season of struggles, Chelsea were almost impossibly bad here at the Emirates, allowing the Gunners to find their stride from a slow start. While Martin Odegaard’s 18th-minute opener was well taken, the space he had to score the goal was laughable.

in truth, ChelseaThe defending was excellent for all three of the first-half goals, leading the jubilant home fans to chant: “Are you in Tottenham disguises?” To be fair, Chelsea weren’t too far away from considering issuing refunds to traveling supporters, as Spurs did after their 6-1 defeat at Newcastle last month.

The Chelsea camp is not happy these days. Thiago Silva can be seen arguing with ben chilwell Afterwards armoryhad the second goal and although there was a slight improvement in the second half – signs of Noni MadukeConsolation in the 65th minute – The end of the season can’t come soon enough.

In contrast, the Gunners got a vital morale boost at a crucial time and let City know they are still in the hunt ahead of Sunday’s crucial trip to Newcastle.

2. Lampard’s Aubameyang gamble backfires, epitomizes terrible Chelsea

to start the likes of Lampard Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang For Chelsea Felt like the product of Lampard looking around the beleaguered squad for any sources of personal inspiration.

Chelsea have really struggled badly for late goals, having scored just once in five games under Lampard before. But the argument for suddenly starting Aubameyang is of course based on how suddenly he was transferred barcelona By armory in January 2022 — a ploy of revenge from the striker — rather than any sign of encouragement from his performance Brentford last weekend.

It was a gamble that completely backfired.

On Aubameyang’s final start – the reverse fixture – he scored eight touches and lasted 64 minutes. Here, he scored nine goals in 45 minutes and four of them were kickoffs.

It was the nadir of a truly embarrassing performance from Chelsea, who have now lost all six games under Lampard, the club’s worst run since November 1993.

The Arsenal encounter was a reminder of Aubameyang’s strange past. His present is no better these days, and so it is inevitable that his future now lies elsewhere.

3. Arteta and his players get relief from squad rotation

There are signs of physical and mental fatigue in the form of armory The title advantage has returned to Man City in recent weeks.

Thus, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made three changes on Tuesday in a bid to freshen things up: Jacob Kivor, jorginho And leandro trossard Replaced Rob Holding, Thomas Partey And Gabriel Martinelli, The latter trio were arguably Arsenal’s three worst performers in their loss to City the previous week, and so whether these specific changes were also designed as a warning against abandoning standards, the desired result was an improved performance.

The game was over by the break as a contest, allowing Arteta to continue the theme of finding relief in some of his players. Bukayo Saka And oleksandr zinchenko Here for the last 16 minutes.

The Gunners’ reliance on the creative core has been evident throughout the season: his brace against ChelseaOdegaard became the third Arsenal player to reach 20+ goals and assists combined Premier League This season, after Saka (24) and Martinelli (20). Arsenal are the only side to have three or more players reach this milestone.

best and worst performers

Best: Martin Odegaard, Arsenal

The north Londoner took advantage of the freedom to finish well twice with his left foot.

Best: Jorginho, Arsenal

Arsenal controlled the game in midfield, with a 90 percent pass contest rate from 70 attempted passes.

Best: Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal

He gave Arsenal a boost at the top of the pitch and his persistence was rewarded with his 10th goal of the season.

Worst: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Chelsea

was sent off at half-time after an unimpressive performance – a miserable return to his former club.

Worst: Raheem Sterling, Chelsea

The aggressor does not exist as a threat. Completed just 14 of 24 passes in 71 minutes and only 28.6 percent in the final third.

Worst: Wesley Fofana, Chelsea

looked particularly shaky as Arsenal swarmed all over Chelsea in the first 45 minutes.

Highlights and Notable Moments

Martin Odegaard started the festivities for Arsenal inside the first 18 minutes. Granit Xhaka crossed the ball down the middle and Odegaard, standing at the top of the box, broke through in the right position, slotting it over the crossbar and inside.

From there, Arsenal were in cruise control and Odegaard scored again in the 31st minute.

Gabriel Jesus joined the fun in the 34th minute, ending a scramble in the box to make it 3-0.

What did the manager and players say after the match

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on his team’s performance: “The first 60 minutes, I thought the team played really well. We need to be ourselves, and that was everything I want to see from my team. The pace, the quality, the moves, the two beautiful goals, Connected to the crowd and created an incredible atmosphere. They’ve been incredibly supportive of everything we’ve done and we wanted to earn the right to be top of the league. We’re there and happy.”

Arteta on the apparent injury to Gabriel Magalhães: “He could not continue. We will have to assess him – he was not comfortable.”

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard on his team’s performance: “We were too good to play against all sides in the first half. In the second half we played like a team that is a threat. It was too easy to play against us in the first half.”

Key Stats (Provided by ESPN Stats & Information Research)

  • Chelsea have lost all six of their games (all competitions) since Frank Lampard took over as caretaker manager. The last time they lost six in a row was in October-November 1993.

  • Chelsea have lost their last 10 league matches on debut, and their last league win on debut came against Crystal Palace on 1 October 2022.

  • Martin Odegaard scored his 13th and 14th league goals of the season for Arsenal. He is now one behind Gabriele Martinelli as the team’s most Premier League goalscorer. It was Odegaard’s third Premier League brace of the season, the most in the team. Odegaard never scored a hat-trick in his professional career.

  • Arsenal now have four players with 10+ league goals in a season (Martinelli, Odegaard, Saka, Jesus). It is the first time they have had four players with 10+ goals each since the Arsenal team of 2012 (Walcott, Cazorla, Giroud, Podolski).

next

Arsenal: The first-placed Gunners will travel to third-placed Newcastle United on Sunday, May 7, for a match that could have a big impact on both the Premier League title race and the race for a top-four Champions League finish.

Chelsea: The mid-table Blues visit fellow mid-tier AFC Bournemouth for a Premier League fixture on Saturday, 6 May.





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