Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea. Credit to Arsenal. Chelsea are now out of it.

Now I want to start this match report by congratulating Arsenal on their performance yesterday. Looking back I cannot pick out one of their players who had a bad game. Every player new the importance of the game and of getting the result last night and went out there and played exactly how they needed to. Chelsea's defensive errors and players who never showed up handed the game to the Gooners and they now have to be considered genuine title challengers. As for Chelsea, our relegation form has cost us and we have to be realistic and say for this season it's over as far as the league is concerned.

People will more than likely think that I am being all doom and gloom but listen in the situation we now find ourselves in we can't ignore what has been happening for weeks now. For example, I wrote my match preview yesterday and pointed out a post from earlier last week asking if Arsenal were favourites to win. The vast majority of their fans saw Chelsea winning this one easily. Looking back you have to realise that this was based on last seasons Chelsea, the start of this season's Chelsea and the Chelsea that beat them earlier in the season.

Chelsea are not the team we all know and to me anyway there are major problems with confidence. I will never ever in my lifetime know as to why you can go to The Emirates last night, knowing how big this game is normally, but with the addition of what it means right now to both clubs to get a result and not be up for the fight!. Chelsea's performance was shocking last night and there is no other way you can describe it.

Chelsea found themselves playing one paced, in their own half, playing a such a slow defensive tempo that Arsenal had it easy and you have to hold your hands up and say they made it look easy. You could see Carlo set us up to be tight defensively and to hit them on the counter attack, that never happened and in fact Arsenal's second and third goals were from their counter attacks and they killed us twice.

Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea.
I have said about defensive errors. Now I will go through each goal below and point out what I mean. Now the first goal is down to Ivanovic and Cech. Not so much Cech but you can bet the big man will be disappointed that he was on the floor far too early when he could have stood up and hopefully made a save.

However, watch Ivanovic. As Nasri picks up the ball he is fronted up by Ferreira and Essien and has to go backwards which is fine. However, when Song picks up the ball for some reason Ivanovic leaves his position as right side of the two centre backs. Song plays a ball into Wilshire, Ivanovic comes out to make a tackle, leaves his position and Wilshire plays the ball into the space left by Ivanovic. Ferreira does his best to give them a penalty before they can score but by this time Arsenal have three players over where Ivanovic should have been and Song makes us pay.


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See what I mean?. Ivanovic is at fault for that one, but you could also mention the powder puff challenges the rest of the players put in. Fair play to Arsenal, they played quick clinical passes and picked our pocket, opened us up and made us pay big time. It was like that for all their goals!.

Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea.
The next goal is a nightmare from a defensive point of view. The ball is played up to Van Persie with JT up his arse. Now although JT has come across towards Ivanovic to make the tackle, Ivanovic should have dropped off to cover in behind, or JT should have left Ivanovic to deal with him. Van Persie turns and with Terry AND Ivanovic trying to challenge him, Essien steps in and knocks the ball out of Van Persie's feet almost like a through ball. As this happens watch Ashley Cole. He thinks that three players can deal with Van Persie but doesn't expect them not to so gets caught ball watching. As the ball gets played back by Essien, Walcott is onto it like a flash and being unselfish slides in Fabregas who does the rest. Clinical finishing from Arsenal again but shocking once more from Chelsea.


อาร์เซ ๒-๐ เชลซี (matchhighlight.com)

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Shocking isn't it!. There we all are looking to hit Arsenal on the counter but Arsenal do exactly that to us!.

Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea.
The third goal killed us off and again showed just how bad Chelsea were last night. So many players were off the boil, one paced and laboured and it played into their hands. You have to credit Arsenal once again for pressurising the ball whenever they could. In this instance it was Malouda who has been caught out by Walcott and with Ashley Cole out of position Walcott is free. JT comes to make a challenge and Fabregas plays a great ball through to Walcott and he does the rest. You can argue that Malouda never received a call from someone to say man on but bearing in mind he picked the ball up in the middle of the pitch he should have expected someone to be up his arse!.


อาร์เซนอล ๓-๐ เชลซี (matchhighlight.com)

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I said before that Arsenal have lacked the killer pass and because of that find themselves playing side to side alot, Fabregas played a great ball you have to say and once again exposed our defence.

Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
There was a couple of Chelsea players who for me, were giving it their all last night even though we were getting beat and one of them, even though I have pointed out his defensive weakness last night and that was Ivanovic. I don't know about the rest of you but every time we had a set play or a chance to get the ball in the box with our height, I thought we could punish Arsenal. In this instance a great ball from Drogba finds Ivanovic and he heads home easily. If only we could have done that more often last night.


อาร์เซนอล ๓-๑ เชลซี (matchhighlight.com)

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Great ball in and a good goal that made it look easy didn't it!.

So to sum up it was a game we all knew was a big one. It's always a massive game when we play Arsenal but last night had extra significance. Arsenal needed to win the game in order to gain confidence in themselves to be taken seriously as title challengers. Chelsea needed a win to bounce back from the dreadful period we have had and to reestablish confidence and to take it forward into the second part of the season.

It was Arsenal that come out of the game with alot of credit. They played well, popped their passes off and caused us problems. When they had the chance to make us pay they did. They dealt with Drogba and more or less played him out of the game and nullified any threat he would have in the game. So yes, they are to be thought of now as genuine title contenders as they have always had the players to do it. I hold my hands up and say now on record I didn't think they have but Wenger was bold with his selection last night and it paid off so fair play to the Gooners. If we ever don't win it I would rather you lot did than Spurs, City or United.

As for Chelsea it's another case of back to the drawing board. Carlo has spoken of a lack of confidence and for me it was there to see last night. Obviously we had a game plan and once Arsenal scored our tactics should have changed but they didn't. We had too many players that were awful and a couple that were shocking. Someone said on Twitter last night:
"I've gone to the tunnel to find some of the Chelsea players last night but can't seem to find any!" Harsh but you have to agree.

I am personally sick and tired of building up to games knowing how we can play, the strengths we have and knowing just how good we are, to seeing powder puff performances, half hearted and laboured. Something needs to be done and done quickly. There are problems at Chelsea now and we all can see it.

As for last night on the biggest stage once more Chelsea have let themselves and us fans down badly. Usually I try and take some positives but when you gave the likes of Ferreira, Malouda, Mikel and Lampard not playing well and finding themselves as passengers in games and Kalou who should, after that performance, be sold in my opinion, you are never going to win games, let alone the title.

Credit Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, you played well and it got it right last night, Chelsea got it wrong and never turned up!.

KTBFFH.