The 5 shortest tenures of England managers

SAM ALLARDYCE

After only one game in charge and a managerial spell that lasted a grand total of 67 days, Sam Allardyce was sacked by the FA after comments made to two undercover journalists posing as business men. For a man that was quick to assure the public how pleased he was to get the England job in the first place, many would think that he would have been a lot more careful about he acted while in the position. However, he does leave the job with a 100% win rate thanks to a last minute goal scored by Adam Lallana, but that won’t be the first thing to come to mind when people look back on his short time as manager.

STEVE MCCLAREN

Until Allardyce’s dismissal earlier this week, Steve McClaren held the title for the shortest spell as England manager. Although he got off to a strong start by winning his first three games, he only managed to hold onto the position for 16 months in which they played 18 matches from 2006 to 2007. His tenure came to an end after he failed to win a Euro 2008 against Croatia in which the team only needed to avoid defeat. After failing to qualify for the competition for the first time in 24 years, the FA were forced to act and relieve him of his position.

KEVIN KEEGAN

Kevin Keegan also took charge of England for 18 matches but outlasted McClaren only on the number of months that he was in charge. One of the bright spots of his time in charge came in the shape of a 2-1 win over Scotland that took England into Euro 2000. They enjoyed a bright start to the tournament and even registered a 1-0 win over the reigning champions Germany before being knocked out by Romania before they reached the knock-out stages. He kept his job after the Championships but lost his job after a 1-0 loss to Germany.

TERRY VENABLES

Terry Venables enjoyed quite a successful stint after he won 11 of his 23 games in charge and only registered one loss. During these games, he became the last man to lead England to the semi-final of a major tournament during Euro 1996, but he announced his plans to walk away from the national team before the tournament kicked off due to his upcoming court cases. A lot of speculation surrounded him and he even claimed that there was a “concerted and organised campaign” to discredit him after public reaction to his police clearance over allegations that he paid Brian Clough a £50,000 bung for the transfer of Teddy Sheringham and his public falling out with then-Spurs chairman Alan Sugar which resulted in him being banned from White Hart Lane. All of this was healed by the FA chairman Bert Millichip who showed Venables his support.

GLENN HODDLE

Like Allardyce, Hoddle’s time in charge of England ended with controversy after 28 matches in charge. He won 17 of these matches, which gave him a 60% win rate, leaving him sitting in third on the all-time list and despite a very short World Cup campaign in 1998, it looked like Hoddle would have been kept on in the position if not for a radio interview. In January 1999, he was quoted saying some derogatory comments about people with disabilities which caused outrage amongst disabled people, fans and even MPs. Hoddle claimed that his words had been misinterpreted but after it was found that he had expressed similar thoughts before, the FA were forced to let him go.

EURO 2016: France vs Romania

France secured the first three points of Euro 2016 after a late wonder goal rounded off Dimitri Payet's brilliant game for the hosts against Romania. 

As the hosts, France haven't had to play a competitive match since the World Cup in Brazil two years ago, meaning they now had the chance to show their fans they could still perform under pressure.

Blaise Matuidi took it upon himself to have an early, optimistic chance in the hopes of settling the crowd. His shot was on target and it was a fairly easy chance for Ciprian Tatarusanu to deal with after he initially spilled it. 

It was Romania who registered the best chance of the first half though not long after. A corner soared over the crowd of players to Bogdan Stancu at the far post and he hit the shot first time from close range, but Hugo Lloris made a brilliant instinct save to deny him.

The first of a hat-trick of chances for Olivier Giroud came on the 10 minute mark when Payet floated a cross into the box. The forward rose for the header and his shot was just inches wide of the near post.

Minutes later, Antoine Griezmann registered France's best chance of the half. Bacary Sagna is left in space down the right he quickly threaded the ball to Griezmann. It took him two attempts to reach the ball; he saw his second, a header from close range, rebound off the post.

France were easily the most dominant team throughout the game, but they struggled to get a sight of goal even with all their possession of the ball.

The first half ended with the second of Giroud's great chances which followed another brilliant delivery from Payet. He had another header from the centre of the box, but this time he couldn't keep his shot down and it's just over the crossbar.

Romania started the second half, the same way they did the first: strongly. Nicolae Stanciu floats a ball into the box and finds Stancu in a lot of space. He had time to chest the ball down and try for the volley, but he was unbalanced as he hit the shot and his shot was just off target. 

It didn't take long for France to get back into their stride as Payet showed the rest of Europe what he can really do. He once again set up a Giroud chance and the forward this time hit his shot on target, but it was straight down the centre at the keeper. 

Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring the first goal of Euro 2016
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/live-france-win-euro-2016-8044920

And then Giroud finally got his goal. Once again, Payet put a brilliant cross into the box and Giroud rose high to beat Tatarusanu to the ball and flick the ball into the back of the net to score the first goal of the tournament. 

It all seemed to be going to plan as France kept pressure on Romania with a couple of half chances and the domination of possession, but it didn't take long for their opponents to get back into the game. 

Stanciu made a dangerous run into the box and got to the ball before Patrice Evra. The left-back couldn't match his opponent so stuck his leg out and tripped Stanciu, giving away a penalty.

Stancu was the player to step up to spot and he opened up his body to side foot the ball calmly into the right side of the net. Lloris looked like he could get to the ball, but swayed to the wrong side as the penalty was taken. 

Foul by Patrice Evra on Nicolae Stanciu that awarded Romania the penalty
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/06/10/france-vs-romania-euro-2016-live/

The nervousness from the fans became apparent after the equaliser, but the French players on the field carried on in the same dominant fashion as they had before the goal. 

In the final 10 minutes, France started to really chase the winning goal. Substitute Anthony Martial made a darting run into the box and played a one-two with Giroud to open up some space so he could hit his low shot, but it was straight at the keeper. 

It wasn't until the last minute that something special happened. Payet rounded off his brilliant game by pulling out all the stops when he received the ball outside the box. He took one touch before swinging at the ball with his laces and the ball swerved before nestling into the back of the net. A wonderful goal that gave the keeper no chance. 

Dimitri Payet rounds off his man-of-the-match performance with a wonder strike
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/06/10/france-vs-romania-euro-2016-live/

France did have one last opportunity in the final moments of the game as they cleared a Romanian corner. Moussa Sissoko was left in acres of space and found himself one-on-one with the keeper, but his shot was just wide of the near post. 

So, France have shown how well they can perform under the pressure of being the home nation, and some of their players have really shown their worth including the likes of Payet, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante.

Romania have also shown that they could be a tough opponent to face in the remainder of the group matches as they did trouble France's defence at times in the match.

If the rest of the tournament follows the same principle as the second half as this match though, we could be in for quite a treat...

Huddersfield Hi-Tech aim for play-off success

Huddersfield Hi-Tech netball team compete against some of the best clubs in the country at the weekend as they fight for a place in the Premier League.

They will compete over the two days in the England Netball Premier 3 playoffs against other Premier League sides that are aiming to avoid relegation and other Northern League sides chasing promotion. 

Anna Harrison, who has played every game in the Northern League this year as goal keeper and goal defence, has had her say on how the team feel going into the big games at the weekend:

Last season was clearly a good time for the team after winning the quadruple, will that be used as inspiration going into the playoffs?

We have enjoyed fantastic success over the last few seasons, winning the quadruple for the last two years, the triple this season and finishing 2nd in our first season in the Northern League. We’ve achieved so much for a relatively small and unknown club. The competition in the Northern League has been extremely competitive, challenging and a big step up from the regional league.

The success we have had this season has definitely given the team a greater desire and appetite to achieve even more. Knowing that we have been selected by Yorkshire Netball for these playoffs will certainly be used as inspiration going into the weekend’s matches.

How confident do the team feel as they prepare for something as important as this?

The team are used to winning, having only lost a handful of matches in recent years and while we know this weekend will be the biggest test we have ever faced, confidence in the team is high. The national Premier League playoffs is the next step up for us and while we have not experienced this level of netball before, we are looking forward to the challenge...with maybe just a little nervous excitement! 

Preparation for the playoffs has been good, we’ve worked hard with regular local league matches, not to mention a team building night out at the bingo! As long as we play our own game and enjoy the opportunity playing against some of the best teams in the country, we know we will have a good weekend.

The team had also received well wishes from other local teams, does that give an added boost going into the playoffs?

Definitely! The support from the netball community and other clubs across the North has been amazing and has given our confidence such a boost. Many of the messages are from teams who are usually our rivals so it’s great to see they’re all supporting our journey and are behind us every step of the way.

As the playoffs are at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield we’re hoping to get lots of local (and vocal!) support over the weekend to cheer us on which will be an added advantage over the travelling teams. Having this extra support makes us even more hungry to go out on court to win and to put on a performance to make everyone proud.

Do you feel that the team's success in recent seasons can help to bring more prominence to the game in the area?

We have gained some great coverage from the local press on our success in recent years and also for the playoffs which has definitely helped to raise the profile of netball and the club in the community, hopefully with continued success we can gain even more!

As our team is a mix of backgrounds, ethnicities and ages, we hope our success will inspire others into the game at every level.  Having an outlet like Netball in the Huddersfield community is only a good thing.

How will England do at the Euros?

Last night, England came from 2-0 behind to beat current World Champions Germany 3-2 in their friendly match ahead of the European Championships. 

Roy Hodgson has already hailed the victory as his best night as England manager after his side fought back against the two-goal deficit Germany had created. 

Throughout the match, England put on a good performance but in the first hour of the match, they conceded twice (Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez with the goals) and it looked like the match would be taking a turn that so many England fans have become accustomed to over the years. 

Then, up stepped Harry Kane. Almost one year after making his England debut and scoring after 79 seconds, the man that has proved to everyone he is a big candidate to lead the line in France pulled off a neat Cruyff turn before he drilled the ball into the back of the net at the far post. 

Harry Kane celebrating with Spurs team mate Danny Rose after pulling a goal back for England
Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/germany-vs-england-roy-hodgsons-current-crop-prove-they-can-exceed-failures-of-the-golden-generation-a6954636.html

Jamie Vardy was next up. Hodgson brought him on for Danny Welbeck, who had had a quiet game, and it didn't take the Leicester forward long to make an impact. 

Nathaniel Clyne put a brilliant cross into the box and Vardy confidently flicked his back-heel behind his defender and past Manuel Neuer for his first international goal.

It was one of the new boys in Hodgson's squad that finished the match off though. In the last minute, England had a corner and it was whipped in to Eric Dier who towered above his defender to head the ball past Neuer and claim the victory for England. 

Now, given that Hodgson has claimed he has never been happier with his team, this has just boosted the hopes of many England fans as they carry on their preparation for the Euros. 

A lot of the new players that Hodgson is bringing into the squad look exciting and are giving their manager a lot to think about in the near future. 

One player that certainly showed his worth against Germany was Deli Alli.

The youngster was in the mix throughout the night and for a long time looked like he would be England's biggest threat when going forward.

With the score line at 2-2, Alli had a golden opportunity to get England's third goal, which Dier eventually took. Vardy set him up brilliantly and with an open net in front of him, he hit his shot high over the bar.

Jamie Vardy draaws England level at 2-2 with a beautiful back-heeled flick
Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/germany-vs-england-match-report-harry-kane-and-jamie-vardy-trigger-incredible-fightback-as-eric-dier-a6954626.html

The Leicester players have also made their names known as they fight for their place in the England squad, and once again Vardy made sure to get his name in the headlines.

If he doesn't make the Euros squad, then I know a lot of people will be very shocked. For Leicester, his goals have given them many wins that have helped them to get to the top, and he has just done the same for his country.

His Leicester team mate Danny Drinkwater will most likely make his debut against the Netherlands, and if he does the same as Vardy, then fans can most likely expect him to pull off a great performance.

It isn't the midfield and the strikers that are looking to be a problem though. For England, their main concern at the minute may be their defence. 

Goalkeeper Jack Butland was forced off at the end of the first half with an injury and Fraser Forster put in a good shift when given his chance, but the players in front of him looked shaky.

The partnership between Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling is not yet solid and Germany were able to find pockets of space that exploited them throughout the game.

However, if this is the centre back pairing that Hodgson will stick with, then with time, they will surely work on the stability between the two. 

Out on the flanks, Danny Rose did extremely well on his debut and looked l ready to tackle any problem that came his way, but the shakiness was out on the right side.

On the attack, Clyne was a huge threat and provided the ball that gave England their second goal. Going towards his own net though and he looked unsure with how to deal with his attacker.

England team celebrating Eric Dier's injury time winner against the World Champions
Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/germany-vs-england-roy-hodgsons-current-crop-prove-they-can-exceed-failures-of-the-golden-generation-a6954636.html

For now though, I think that England fans have every right to remain optimistic, but more information about the team will surely come out when they play the rest of the warm-up games, which will hopefully give Hodgson time to fix any problems there may be.

England's next game is against the Netherlands at Wembley on March 29.

Can Arsenal still be Champions?

This has been tipped as the year that Arsenal will regain the Premier League trophy after that famous victory in 2004 that belonged to 'The Invincibles'. 

Don't get me wrong, most years that Arsenal show a good fight between around November to February is a year that gets fan in the footballing world excited for them. For the past three or four seasons, there have been huge shouts that it is once again going to be Arsenal's year. 

This year, the cries seemed stronger than ever. Leicester were obviously sitting comfortably at the top of the table (much to the shock of pretty much everyone, but it's definitely well-deserved) but Arsenal gave them a reason to keep checking over their shoulders. 

In the last round of Premier League matches, Arsenal was the team that was written all over the back pages.

They faced Leicester at the Emirates and after going behind to a Jamie Vardy goal just before half time, it looked like the league leaders would have the better of the match, but it didn't quite work out that way as they pulled a goal back through Theo Walcott. 

The plaudits were shown to Danny Welbeck though who was brought on towards the end of the match after coming back from injury and sealing the game for his team when he scored an injury time goal to win the three points. 

In the past week though, all this work seems to have been flipped on its head in a way. After rallying together and being rewarded with so many good results, Arsenal have struggled in the past week. 

It started with their FA Cup tie against Hull City at the Emirates. This is the third time the teams have met in the same amount of seasons in the competition, and Hull have never just sat back and made things easy for Arsenal.

Arsenal players with heads in hands as they fail to score against Hull
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/12165715/Arsenal-vs-Hull-City-FA-Cup-fifth-round-live.html

Hull made things difficult for Arsenal though and Eldin Jakupovic had an excellent game which included a lot of important saves that denied Arsenal and kept the score at 0-0. Now, the Gunners have added another fixture to their already hectic calendar and many people are saying this is a game that they should have won. So why didn't they?

In this case, I think Arsene Wenger may have underestimated Hull slightly. He will most likely have had one eye on the Barcelona game on Tuesday so he rested some of the big names in his squad in preparation for this. 

As holders of the FA Cup for the second time in two seasons though, that should mean this competition is still a big priority for Arsenal. If this is the case, then it does beg the questions: why didn't Wenger send a full-strength team out onto the pitch that day? I guess only he'll know...

Like I mentioned earlier though, he did have that very high profile game against Barcelona just around the corner and who wouldn't want to make sure that their main players are ready for that when they'll be facing a player like Lionel Messi. 

I'm not sure how many people expected Arsenal to be able to go out and put on a brilliant show that made Barcelona look like amateurs, but I do know that some people did think Arsenal might just be able to edge the game due to their talent, which isn't too surprising. 

The first half of that game did belong to Arsenal. The home team did brilliantly to keep Barcelona quiet and create some dangerous chances, which if they'd taken, would mean the game could have taken a very different turn. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has a brilliant chance against Barcelona
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/12170664/Arsenal-vs-Barcelona-Champions-League-TV-live.html

It didn't quite happen that way though and Messi pulled some magic out of the bag for the Barcelona for the first goal and Mathieu Flamini made a mistake to give away the penalty that gave Messi his second goal. 

Could it have been the pressure of the 0-0 draw from the FA Cup tie playing on Arsenal's mind during this game? Or are they may be losing their touch after such a strong display in the league over the past few months?

This was an important week for Arsenal and the results they had had weren't exactly morale boosting as they went into their game against big rivals Manchester United. 

Arsenal were the big favourites to win this game due to their league position and the fact that they brushed aside United 3-0 earlier in the season, but it didn't quite turn out the same way for them yesterday. 

United's teenage debutant Marcus Rashford made a name for himself on the big stage as he beat Petr Cech twice in the first half an hour, but that didn't stop Arsenal from clawing a goal back just before half time through United old-boy Welbeck.

Welbeck's header pulls a goal back for Arsenal just before half time
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3467383/Manchester-United-vs-Arsenal-English-Premier-League-LIVE-score-Plus-Tottenham-vs-Swansea-Premier-League-action.html

They just couldn't do enough though to win the game. A goal from Ander Herrera, which took a horrible deflection off Laurent Koscielny, took the game out of the visitor's grasp even though Mesut Ozil did manage to pull another goal back. 

So, what's the excuse for this one? Both teams played well in the game, but Arsenal had a nearly full-strength team compared to United's injury hit squad which included a lot of young players. 

There's still time in the season for Arsenal to get their rhythm back and put together a brilliant run that could knock Leicester off the top and lead to them lifting the trophy in May, but if performances and results like this week keep pulling them back, it might prove to be a very hard task. 

If you work out the maths behind the table, then it is very possible for them to be in the position that so many predicted, but that's not taking into account the solidity of both Leicester and Spurs at the moment. 

Arsenal didn't sign any outfield players this season, and this could prove to be the thing that costs them the most because they didn't add any more depth to the squad.

Looking to the end of the season, if Arsenal fail to win the league, this might just be Wenger's last chance at the club. For such a long time now, he has guided Arsenal to a top four finish, but that's not going to be enough anymore.

Maybe Arsenal can still be champions, but it might just take a horrible mistake from Leicester and Spurs for that to happen if they're going to let that slip now...

MATCH REPORT: Liverpool vs Stoke City [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Joe Allen scored the winning penalty in a tense shoot-out to send Liverpool to Wembley for the Capital One Cup final. 

Jurgen Klopp's men beat Stoke 1-0 in the first leg of the tie through a Jordan Ibe goal, giving themselves a big boost going to Anfield.

Stoke weren't ready to sit back and go down without a fight though and they really took the game to Liverpool and possibly deserved a win at the end of the game due to the performance they had put in. 

Early on in the game, Stoke got a foothold in the game and really tested the Liverpool defence as they pushed forward. Jonathan Walters was the first to get into the box as a nice through ball was played to him. He decided to take on the long-range shot and it deflected out for a corner. 

He then had another chance minutes later when he made a brilliant run from the halfway line into the Liverpool box. He pulled away from Mamadou Sakho and directed his shot to the bottom corner across the face of goal, but his shot was just wide of the target. 

Liverpool only managed a few half chances before they were finally given the chance to get the ball into the box with a free kick. Emre Can moves into some space and he tries to curl his effort into the far post, but it is just wide of the post and Jack Butland had it covered. 

That's when Stoke picked up their game again and got their reward on the stroke of half time. The ball is played neatly through the Stoke midfield and out to Bojan on the right flank. He plays a cross into the box to Marco Arnautovic and he was left with a simple tap in under the keeper. 

Arnautovic puts Stoke ahead on the night but under controversial circumstances
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Sakho had dropped deeper than the rest of his defenders to try and challenge Bojan for the ball, but Arnautovic was ahead of him as he made his run into the box for the goal. The linesman didn't raise his flag though and the goal stood, levelling Stoke on the aggregate score line. 

Liverpool came out for the second half with a point to prove though. Early on in the half, a free kick was whipped into the box and Jordan Henderson touched the ball onto Roberto Firmino hit the ball towards the goal only to see it bounce back off the post and cleared. 

Then, Sakho almost drew his team level on the night when another free kick was crossed into the box and he rose to get his head to the ball. He aimed his header down at the ground, meaning that the bounce took the ball wide of the target. 

The only other stand out chance in the full time came for Liverpool. Alberto Moreno crossed the ball into the box to Christian Benteke but the forward missed it and landed at the feet of Jon Flanagan. He wasn't expecting the pass and he tried to take the ball around Benteke, who was still on the floor, but Stoke managed to clear the ball without much difficulty. 

Jurgen Klopp giving his team their instructions before the start of extra time
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Liverpool were the first to challenge their opponents in extra time as Firmino created some space and hit his shot down the centre of the goal, but Butland was in the perfect position to collect the ball. 

From then, the major chances fell to Stoke. Peter Crouch flicked the ball onto Marco van Ginkel in the box and he got away from two defenders before he smashed his shot at goal, only to see it rebound off the outside of the post and out of play. 

He had another chance minutes before the final whistle blew as well. Crouch once again set up the chance and van Ginkel hit the shot sweetly, but Simon Mignolet did brilliantly to stretch across his goal line to catch the ball and prevent a late Stoke winner. 

So, this meant that penalties would follow. The first two penalties were scored by Walters and Adam Lallana respectively, but then the drama really stepped up. 

Crouch and Can both stepped up and failed to convert their spot kick for the second round of penalties. From then, it was completely equal between the two sides, even as the game entered the sudden death stage. 

Van Ginkel and Lucas both scored the first set of sudden death penalties, but then Marc Muniesa was denied brilliantly by Mignolet meaning the pressure had mounted on Allen stepped up for his goal, which he scored without any problems, sending Liverpool to Wembley in February.

Allen celebrates with his teammates after scoring the penalty that won the match for Liverpool
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Mark Hughes will feel that his Stoke side have been very hard done by after they out performed Liverpool by a mile in the second leg of this tie. Stoke put in an all-round great performance as they were defensively solid and posed a massive threat when going forward.

On the other hand, Liverpool did perform the better of the two sides in the first leg, which Liverpool fans will probably say is the reason that they deserve to be in the final. In many ways, the away side did get lucky in this tie, but sometimes, luck is the thing you need to win you matches.

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal vs Chelsea

Guus Hiddink's Chelsea carry on their undefeated win as they beat 10-man Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates. 

If you look at the statistics for previous meetings between the two, then it would have been obvious that the game would end with a Chelsea win; Arsenal have failed to beat Chelsea since 2011 and Chelsea are yet to lose a game since Jose Mourinho left the club. 

However, Arsenal have been in excellent form this season and if they had won today, they would have gone back to the top of the table which would have been the best way to celebrate Theo Walcott's 10 year anniversary at the club. It just wasn't meant to be though.

In the first 2 minutes of the match, both teams had already registered a good chance. Joel Campbell was played in by a great cross from Walcott and he had to adjust slightly to get to the ball but he didn't catch it right and his volley ends very wide of the target. 

Down at the other end seconds later, Laurent Koscielny plays a slack pass straight into the path of Oscar who was just outside the penalty area. With little time to get his shot away, the midfielder hit the shot to catch Petr Cech out, but the keeper got down low to turn it away.

Out of the two sides, it was Arsenal who looked the most likely to score. Campbell played a one-two off Olivier Giroud on the edge of the box and found Mathieu Flamini in the middle of the box. His touch is poor though and he lost control of the ball, leaving Thibaut Courtois with an easy save. 

Not long after, that's when things started to heat up in the match. A brilliant ball is played over the top to Diego Costa and his first touch allows him to go past the defender and he was in the clear. Per Mertesacker, as the last defender, rashly slid in to the back of Costa, which left the referee no choice but to send him off the pitch. 

Mark Clattenburg shows Mertesacker a red card for a bad challenge
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Following Mertesacker's dismissal, Arsene Wenger decided to bring on Gabriel Paulista for Giroud to try and keep some defensive solidarity in his team. This decision wasn't received well from both the fans and Giroud, but the need for another defender seemed to weigh on Wenger's decision. 

The manager's decision didn't have the desired effect. Branislav Ivanovic was left in some space down the Chelsea right and he played an excellent ball into the Costa in the box. The forward got around Gabriel without much difficulty and easily stroked the ball past Cech at the near post. 

From there, it was all Chelsea in the first half. Cesc Fabregas swung a cross towards the far post which cleared the head of Hector Bellerin and landed with Costa. He tried to hit the shot on the volley but failed to get a clean connection with the ball and the shot finished off target.

Costa stepped up again not long before half time when Willian played a square ball into him. The forward took the ball around the defender to get a one-on-one with the keeper, but he couldn't direct the ball past Cech at his near post.

The pressure mounted minutes later as Chelsea swung a corner into the box and it was Ivanovic who rose best to power a header towards goal. Cech was diving across his goal line, and he would have got there, but Nacho Monreal cleared the ball off the line to keep his team in it. 

Costa getting the better of the Arsenal defence and slotting the ball into the back of the net
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Chelsea had the upper hand in the second half, and they will feel that Arsenal got very lucky just before the hour mark. Fabregas got away from his defender and drifted into the box and with no other cover, Koscielny went across and barged into him, causing him to topple to the floor in the penalty area, but the referee simply waved play on. 

Arsenal were still pushing for a goal though, and it looked most likely to come from a corner. As the ball was into the box, Chelsea made a huge mess of defending it. Arsenal had a few shots on goal, but the ball pin-balled off the defenders and they eventually cleared the danger out of their box. 

Towards the end of the match, Chelsea struggled to deal with another Arsenal corner. This time it was the keeper as he failed to hold onto the ball twice and just about managed to shield the ball from the Arsenal players while his defenders cleared the box. 

It was Arsenal who finished the match the stronger of the two. After the introduction of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal seemed to see a lot more of the ball and cause problems for the Chelsea midfielders and defenders.

The last big chance of the game came when Oxlade-Chamberlain took a swing at the ball in the penalty area and instead of hitting the target like he planned, the ball bounced into the path of Flamini. He couldn't sort his feet out quick enough though, leaving Courtois with an easy catch and a quick clearance. 

Chelsea remain in the bottom half of the table but also have an unbeaten record under Hiddink
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

So, Arsenal missed their chance to go back to the top of the league table after falling behind both Leicester and Manchester City. Nobody is writing off their chances of winning the Premier League trophy just yet, but if they want to keep up with the other title challengers, they will need to bounce back from this loss pretty quickly. 

As for Chelsea, they have bounced back very well in the past few weeks and have put more space between themselves and the relegation zone, which they will feel they were too close to. If the results continue this way, then they might be able to push for a higher finish in the table than many people thought possible only a couple of months ago...