Arsenal lost 3-2 to Chelsea at Stamford bridge on matchday 2 of 38, with man of the match being awarded to Chelsea new signing Jorginho.
After going 2 down away from home, the Gunners managed to make a comeback thanks to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi’s strikes. Eden Hazard came on in the second half and sealed the deal for Chelsea as he assisted Marcos Alonso for the winner.
Though there were some negatives in this nail-biter for Unai Emery‘s side, there were some things for the Londoners to cheer about too. One of them was the 19-year old French signing Matteo Guendouzi.
The ex-Lorient man has been one of the signing of the summer and has clearly got the potential to become one of the best in the next few years. Another positive aspect was the visitors’ pressing at some points in the game. The Emirates outfit are still getting used to the high press system of Emery and they have to be patient with him.
Arsenal failed to seize a number of opportunities as Aubameyang had a bad day in the office.The attack looked fluent as ever and seemed to work even better when Alexandre Lacazette came on.
John Cross: Ramsey & teammates were shocked by Emery’s decision to drop him from the XI vs #CFC. Unai was not happy with Aaron’s performance vs City — Contract talks: #AFC confident but as it stands they are still a long way apart on agreeing terms.https://t.co/ymYcpBZni9
— Arsènic™ (@MrArsenicTM) August 20, 2018
THE NEGATIVES:
- The gaffer chose Hector Bellerin over Stephan Lichtsteiner, as this proved to be a fatal mistake. The Spaniard didn’t have anything to offer offensively and didn’t seem to fit in Emery’s defense.
- According to the stats, Mesut Ozil created the most chances in the premier league last season. He looked out of his comfort zone against Chelsea and was subsequently was subbed off.
- Petr Cech, arguably the best premier league goalkeeper ever and one of the most decorated player in the league, looked uncomfortable with the ball at his feet for the second time.
https://twitter.com/Durchiga/status/1031928963826937856
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS:
Lichsteiner has to start against West Ham on Saturday. He proved vital even against Man city where he played out of position and completely dominated Riyadh Mahrez. The veteran has to be chosen over Bellerin as he is defensively much better.
Though Ozil is irreplaceable, Granit Xhaka is. Lucas Torriera should start over Xhaka. Coming from a great world cup campaign he will provide the confidence the team so desperately need.
Now this opinion might be a little bit of a hot take but if Emery wants to play from the back Bernd Leno has to be chosen over Cech. Though Cech put in great saves against Chelsea and Man city,Unai Emery has to show confidence in the youngster and give him a chance against the Hammers.
After two hectic weeks against the defending champions and the constantly improving Chelsea side the gunners have a breather against West Ham,as they host the Hammers who too are going through a tough spell.
