Questions will be raised as to why three of our central midfielders were in forward positions at the same time. Why didn’t one player take it upon themselves to drop back into a safe position behind Lampard and Malouda.

Match Review – Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0 – Premier League

I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, waking up to the same nightmare. No matter what I do to change the same reoccurring dream, nothing changes. It is getting quite frustrating now. I am now at the point when I have noticed certain things are going to happen before they even take place.

* Dominate possession
* Opposition playing very narrow
* Our players cross balls into nobody
* Over commit going forward
* Get caught on the counter attack
* If the opposition is Chelsea then concede more goals against Didier Drogba

The game had played out as in previous dreams but we saw an improvement in the performance. A performance that gives me hope for the upcoming games. Finding positives from our performance last weekend was difficult for even the most rose tinted of Gooners like myself but at least the players fought until the end at Stamford Bridge.

Before the game I was almost certain that Arsene would have picked Emmanuel Eboue to start on the right of attack and was more than surprised to see Theo Walcott take the position as he has lacked games and would be unlikely to be at his best. I suppose it is the catch 22 situation where Theo can only get back to his best by playing matches.

Abou Diaby was passed fit as expected, he replaced Denilson for arguably our strongest midfield trio. I noticed that our team is very close to full strength on paper if not performing at their very best.

It only took Chelsea seven minutes to get the first goal and once again we did very little to help ourselves. Chelsea took a corner, which I think was their first of the game. The defending that followed was certainly a cover your eyes moment. Florent Malouda swung his kick to Terry who out jumped Diaby, but it should have been Vermaelen who was supposed to be marking Terry. John Terry left Vermaelen behind so Diaby has to leave Ivanovic but it was too late. Alex Song who was picking up Drogba had already started the wrong side of his marker, when Terry won the header, Song already left his area and left Drogba free at the back post to tap into the net from 2 yards. Gael Clichy started on the far post and had also gone walk abouts for no particular reason.

When four of your defensive players do not do their jobs correctly at a corner then the chances of being punished are fairly high. Carvalho was being picked up by Arshavin just behind Drogba which kind of tells its own story I guess.

Arsenal had been the brighter side until that point, the passing and movement was crisp and the Gunners were gaining belief only for it to be shot down by Drogba once again.

Arsene Wenger would have been impressed with the attitude of his team after that, they did not once let their heads drop and started to take control of the game. Andrey Arshavin could have levelled the scoring ten minutes later when Arsenal had penned Chelsea back into their half and Cesc picked out Arshavin with a pin point pass, Arshavin’s side foot was blocked by the left foot of Petr Cech. Had it of been in the other corner then Cech wouldn’t have been able to reach it. Their could be many if’s in football, but the certainty was that Arshavin did not equalise.

Deja vu struck in the 23rd minute, Arsenal caught out once again from a sucker punch counter attack. Arshavin lost the ball to Ballack when trying to wriggle free which is normal, he did well to beat one but couldn’t get away from the back leg of the German. Alex Song had already made his mind up to run past Arshavin in hope to get a prodded pass to him. Cesc Fabregas was also on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area. Abou Diaby should have taken the initiative to drop back into Song’s position as he could see his team mate out of action.

Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda were standing in the center of midfield without an Arsenal player anywhere near them. Mikel played one pass forward for Lampard to break forward with acres of space in front of him. Drogba was lurking on the right wing. Thomas Vermaelen and Gael Clichy who played a big part in the first goal clearly were not communicating as they both pulled from their left side into the middle at the same time, Clichy realised far too late, when he did get back Drogba had turned the ball back inside him and fired a left foot shot powerfully past Almunia.

Questions will be raised as to why three of our central midfielders were in forward positions at the same time. Why didn’t one player take it upon themselves to drop back into a safe position behind Lampard and Malouda. After the disappointment of last week why didn’t the team keep a solid base first and foremost. These, I am sure are some of the issues that Arsene will be addressing at the end of the season.

Theo Walcott worked very hard but got very little joy on the ball. Chelsea doubled up on him when he had the ball at his feet with time and when the ball was passed into him, he was quickly dispossessed. Ashley Cole got the better of him and knows how to play against him from his England training sessions.

Abou Diaby was in fantastic form which is quite surprising after his lay off. He fought the Chelsea midfield and won the ball countless times. His powerful running through the opposition was missed last week. Abou Diaby is a player I have liked from the first time I saw him in an Arsenal shirt. With the games under his belt, he is starting to show the consistency needed at this level. It is no coincidence that with the more games he has played the less he has misplaced passes or held onto the ball for too long. Should Diaby remain fit from now until next season then I expect massive things from him. He has a few more gears to go up and that will happen with game experience.

The game reminded me more of the first game at the Emirates between the two sides. They defended deep and in numbers, waited for their opportunities and took them efficiently. Manchester United had much the same game plan but looked creatively a lot better and dangerous going forward.

I still find our crossing of the ball very frustrating and ultimately pointless. I want to see our wide players pushing passes inside our opponents to our full backs and instead of crossing into an area, just drive towards the line and cut the ball back to the many who arrive late. Clichy picking the ball at the byline and tossing in a high hanging cross is practically like handing the ball back to Chelsea.
Either work it back inside and get the likes of Cesc, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky etc on the ball to make something happen or get beyond the full back and make the decision from that area. The previous team scored so many goals from that same area of the pitch and this side could be doing the same.

Arsenal were well in control of the game without causing Cech enough problems, On the hour mark one of our intricate moves came off and Nasri had ghosted into the center with Cech in front of him he hesitated and the chance went begging. He must have been in two minds as to square it to Walcott who wasn’t clearly open but in a good position nevertheless of he had to side foot it low past the keeper. He did neither and the chance disappeared in a puff of smoke within a split second.

With Arsenal forcing the game at that point, a Nasri goal could have totally changed the game but it wasn’t to be. We needed to score a goal quickly if we were to turn the game around.

Theo Walcott was replaced on 65 minutes, Nicklas Bendtner came on for his third substitute appearance after his groin operation. Bendtner would have started the game if he was ready, it is unfortunate that he has come back too late for this run of games. We are currently have only half a striker out of three right now and that is a shame. Our usual formation requires only one forward.

It is easy to say that you miss a player after a defeat but Van Persie’s loss is just major. Chelsea would not be in the position they are in without Drogba, Rooney is likely to claim player of the season and Liverpool without a fit Torres have flopped this season.

It is easy to say we should have bought a striker but, we do not know the facts. We do not know which players were available and would they have made a difference to the team? We do not know what prices were slapped on the players that Arsene may have liked. We do know that Arsene wanted a forward and didn’t manage to get one.

Robin Van Persie’s do not grow on trees.

With 15 minutes remaining, Wenger brought on Eboue for Sagna and the Ivorian made a big difference. His running with the ball opened up spaced that were slammed shut before his arrival. Eboue is currently in better shape than Walcott, he has played much more football than Walcott and is better defensively so without banging on about it, I am perplexed as to why he started from the bench when Walcott could have made an impact against tired legs with 15 minutes to go.

Bendtner looked like an handful in the brief time he was on the pitch and hopefully it will not be long before he is ready to start as his strengths will be useful to this Arsenal side.

Drogba almost grabbed his hatrick with minutes remaining. His dipping freekick cannoned off the crossbar with Almunia nowhere near the shot.

Apart from two pieces of naive defending, the difference was Drogba. Had he have been lining up for Arsenal then the game would have gone the other way without question but such is life.

Amoungst all the frustration and disappointment, Wenger has some positives to take from the game. The players fought from start to finish and for long spells where in total control. Abou Diaby was immense in the middle of midfield and is certainly one to look out for during this second half of the season.

We are nine points behind Chelsea with 42 points to play for. We are indeed outsiders for the title and any further slip ups will make the league impossible but at this stage we are not out of anything. It will take an almighty effort and we are also relying on others dropping points but giving up now would just show weakness.

I am confident that we can go on a winning run because of the performance we gave. Going to Stamford Bridge is statistically the most difficult match of the league campaign over the last 5 years or so.

Hopefully the team can put the others under some pressure with a third victory of the season against Liverpool on Wednesday.

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