The below were my 5 key takeaways from our 2-0 win against Arsenal at the Emirates in our second game of the 2021-22 Premier League season.
London is (remains) Blue
Heading into this blockbuster clash, the divergence between the two clubs in terms of their current situation and short-term prospects has never been more evident.
On one hand, Tuchel’s Blues entered this contest full of confidence following their convincing 3-0 win over Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace, whereas Arteta’s Gunners were stung 2-0 by new boys Brentford and looked second best for large portions of that match.
While Arsenal started off the game with reasonably good energy and were thriving off a vibrant home crowd, this quickly dissipated once Chelsea found their groove and dispatched two finely taken first half goals to leave the Gunners an insurmountable hill to climb.
Although the home side attempted to lift the tempo in the second half, Chelsea remained composed and concentrated in thwarting the Gunners, and in truth looked very assured throughout. In fact, the Blues were the more likely to add more goals and would have had it not been for the athleticism from Arsenal’s keeper Bernd Leno.
Overall, a professional and dominant display from the European Champions to remind their northern neighbours that London remains Blue!
Romelu returns with a star performance
The big question before this game was whether Romelu Lukaku would start this match, or, would he be injected from the bench. While some had their reservations about whether he would be ready to be thrown in from the outset given his limited time with the squad, Tuchel was supremely confident when speaking of his decision to start the star striker:
We signed him to play, we didn’t sign him to come off the bench. He trained quite a lot in Italy and he started individually when he came to us and joined the team last weekend. We watched him on Friday and Saturday to see how he looked and he looked good so today in the morning we decided that he goes into the team.
From scoring the opener in the 15th minute via an instinctive close-range finish (which he was involved in the build-up), his expert hold-up and link-up play, to his driving runs and bullying of the poor old Gunners defence, Romelu reminded everyone that he’s a world class striker entering his prime.
The big Belgian offers a strong focal point for Chelsea to play more direct and centrally, which adds variety to their attack and will thus cause more headaches for future opposition.
The next big questions for Tuchel regarding Lukaku will be: 1) What setup will help maximise his effectiveness? And 2) Which players will benefit most from his presence?
While that’s being pondered, Blues fans can relish in the fact that their once talented protege has now returned a seasoned superstar!
James vs Tierney – Reece comes out on top
Notwithstanding the superiority of the Chelsea players on paper, the battle between England’s and Scotland’s rising talents Reece James and Kieran Tierney added an intriguing subplot to this clash.
While the young Scotsman showed his usual energetic self and tried his best to spark his teammates into action, including a lung-busting length of the pitch pursuit in the second half, ultimately his opposite Reece James won the personal duel on the day.
Reece put in a stellar performance throughout the match with his dynamism, physicality, passing and all-round contributions. He set up the opener with a pin-point low cross into the path of Romelu Lukaku who steered it in from close range, and then scored the Blues second with a stunning shot across the keeper and into the roof of the net.
While he had a nervy moment with a 50:50 challenge on Saka in the first half, he looked assured in both his offensive and defensive responsibilities.
James continued to find time and space in Arsenal’s final third and ensured that he would be a menace through to the final whistle. With all the talk of how Lukaku would bring out the best in the likes of Havertz, Mount and Werner, it is James who has set the tone of what an effective and dynamic duo could look like.
Chelsea squad depth showing its worth
Not only were the Blues in cruise control against the Gunners, but they also did it without several of their first-team regulars, including Thiago Silva, Christian Pulisic and Ben Chilwell. Further, N’Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner only made brief cameos towards the latter stages of the match which signalled the strength of Chelsea’s current depth, but perhaps more importantly, Tuchel’s ability to trust those that started the contest.
The importance of squad depth cannot be overstated as the Blues will be seeking trophies on multiple fronts this season. Therefore, it is crucial that Tuchel works with his players to identify the combinations that work (and don’t), but also ensure that fatigue management and injury prevention are appropriately considered given the high volume and intensity of games to be played this season.
The early injuries and illnesses to the likes of Kante, Ziyech and Pulisic perhaps foreshadowed that Tuchel will need to leverage more of his broader squad this season, hence the value in strategic rotations earlier in the campaign so as to reduce the potential for concentration risk i.e. too much reliance on the same players and combinations.
Gunners fail to fire, again
Once the ‘Invincibles’, now the invisibles, the Arsenal of last season and the start of this season look a distant shadow of the team that used to strike fear into their opponents, especially when playing at their home ground.
Arteta’s Arsenal were well and truly gunned down by Tuchel’s Chelsea with the gulf in class between the two proud London rivals has never been wider. Chelsea, the only club to have won the Champions League (twice) played with the confidence and conviction that befits their Champions of Europe status, whereas the hosts’ Arsenal for the most part were passive and uninspiring. Further, this is a second consecutive game the Gunners fired a blank and have still yet to register a goal this season.
Notwithstanding this is one game which should be analysed in isolation, one cannot help to think that this represents a microcosm more broadly of the current status and trajectory of these two clubs. Fortunately for Blues fans the outlook appears promising with blue skies ahead, whereas for Gunners supporters the forecast is more cloudier it would seem.
Final Comments
While Arsenal vs Chelsea is always a high-stakes clash, this particular affair had the feeling that there was a lot riding on it for both clubs, despite it being only the second game of the season.
On one hand, Chelsea were aware that anything other than 3 points against a wounded rival would invite unnecessary scrutiny, and hence pressure, ahead of their huge clash with fellow table-toppers Liverpool who themselves won 2-0 against Burnley. On the other hand, Arsenal were arguably even more desperate to try and win this match given the calamitous 2-0 shock-loss against Brentford on the opening day of the campaign.
Given this, Arteta and his Gunners will not only be disappointed to have lost again (this time in front of their home fans), but the consequences for their diminishing confidence could be even greater especially as they take on City at the Etihad in their next Premier League match. Conversely, Tuchel and his Blues not only walked away with a precious and well-earned 3 points from a bitter rival, they also took with them more self-belief heading into the high-octane Liverpool clash at Anfield!
Until then, let’s enjoy this fine victory and remind everyone that London remains Blue!
Twitter: @RJ_Goodthings
