So today, we played arguably our toughest game since the Manchester United away game which saw us lose spectacularly 8-2. Today we face Chelsea, who lost Didier Drogba to suspension and really looked poor even with most of their first team in tact, and so did Arsenal, yet we won!
The game was your great end to end derby which was a fantastic advert for the Premier League and showed why defences in England are typically poor this season.
The game started with many end to end chances, Gervinho and Van Persie missed a sitter each, as did Torres and Sturridge at the other end, that was until Frank Lampard scored in the fourteenth minute to put Chelsea ahead. Twenty-two minutes later, Ramsey played a brilliant ball through to Gervinho who ‘jew-goaled’* it to Van Persie to grab an equaliser. It looked like the Premier League pendulum would turn Arsenal’s way with many a chance to make it 2-1 Arsenal before Half-time, however, defensive mishaps by Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta meant John Terry could get in and make it 2-1 to Chelsea just before the half-time whistle.
Really, the game could go either way in the second half, if Arsenal could score it would make it an interesting game, if Chelsea got a two goal cushion, it would be over.
Arsenal started the stronger of the two, and scored two goals in ten minutes after the restart to make it 3-2 and actually looked defensively adequate despite keeper Woijciech Szczesny almost getting sent-off for a Professional foul on Cashley. That was until the ball was given away with ten minutes to go and Andre Santos who scored in the forty-ninth minute although you could argue Lakaku fouled Santos before Mata struck the ball.
At 3-3, one man came alive, the Dutchman, Robin Van Persie, who right now deserves FIFA’s Ballon d’Or, even ahead of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, John Terry slipped as RVP ran through skipped passed the helpless Petr Cech and made it 4-3 and with the game in stoppage time, Chelsea threw everyone forward in a desperate act to make it a 4-4 only for four Arsenal attackers to go up the other end and Arteta to gift RVP a stunning hat-trick with a brilliant swerving strike.
A long way to go before Arsenal are title rivals again, but in this form, they are arguably as good as they were last season, any faltering's from either Manchester club could gift Arsenal back in it in this forever surprising, forever changing season.
Chels3a – Ar5enal
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