If Chelsea beat Arsenal and then win at Leicester on Wednesday then the Premier League trophy will be in their possession before the month is out. They looked strong, especially after a narrow win against Manchester United last week, but Arsenal will certainly prove to be strong opposition after winning their last 8 games in the League and also with the knowledge that their home form has been excellent this season. From the team sheet alone, Jose Mourinho's team could be interpreted as simply playing for a result and not necessarily a win as he chose to play without a prolific striker.
Arsenal did register the first chance of the game after they had won a free kick and Santi Cazorla stood over the ball. He took the chance with his right foot but Thibaut Courtois stepped out quickly and easily caught the ball and pulled it into his body. Not long after Olivier Giroud was being pressed tightly by three Chelsea defenders extremely close to their own goal, but he still managed to keep the ball up. Just as he was about to take the shot on, Courtois rushed out to help his defenders and took the ball, quite literally, off his boot.
The 16 minute mark saw Chelsea's first chance of the game being registered when Cesc Fabregas, who didn't get a great reception on his return to the Emirates, played a beautiful looping ball over the top of the Arsenal midfield and defence which Per Mertesacker failed to deal with, which allowed Oscar to latch onto the ball. As it bounced up, Oscar jumped up to meet it and chipped it towards goal and over David Ospina's head. It was heading towards the target but Hector Bellerin was covering and headed the ball out to safety for a corner. This was one of the very few chances that Chelsea had in the first half as they stayed compact and were just allowing Arsenal to have time on the ball, but not get to close to their box. Mourinho had almost set out with the same tactics that he did against United in the previous game.
The half was finished with a chance from each team. The visitors had the first go when Willian slipped the ball between the Arsenal defenders to find Ramires who timed his run perfected to stay onside and he took on the shot first time with the outside of his right boot. Ospina had an excellent starting position though and he was in the perfect place to collect the ball with ease. Arsenal were camped out in the Chelsea third of the pitch for the rest of the half after the Ramires chance and just before the half time whistle went, a host of chances were fired towards Courtois' goal. After the ball bounced around the penalty area falling to the feet of many different players, it was Mesut Ozil who had the most clear cut chance at goal as he turned and curled his shot towards goal. Courtois, like Ospina before, took up a great starting position and easily caught the ball.
The half was definitely dominated with the amount of penalty shouts that were denied for both teams. The first one came within the first 10 minutes of the match when Oscar made a run into Arsenal's box and Bellerin put his arms on Oscar and caught him slightly as Oscar's running leg caught his opponent. It was a weak shout though, and the referee rightly waved it away. Oscar had another shout not long after when he took on the chipped shot over Ospina. The keeper was late coming out to make his clearance and the ball had already cleared him when he clattered in Oscar and taking the midfielder out. It did look to be a stronger appeal than the first, but again the referee waved it away and Oscar made way at half time with suspected concussion due to the challenge.
Fabregas had the third shout for Chelsea when Cazorla stuck out a leg to try and win back the ball for him team. He did try to pull back from the challenge, but he wasn't quick enough and did make contact with Fabregas which caused him to go down. He did make a big deal out of the fall though, which seemed to make the decision clear in the referee's mind that he deserved a yellow card for diving, which was slightly harsh. The last appeal came from the home side after Bellerin had stretched for the ball and kept it in play which allowed him to play the ball back across the box towards the penalty spot where Giroud was shaped ready to turn his shot into the back of the net. Gary Cahill was quick to the ball though and as he went to ground to make the block, the ball bounced back off his arm, but he was very close to the ball and the decision would have been harsh.
The second half was dominated by Chelsea in the early stages, and they were able to push forward after bringing on Didier Drogba as they had someone up field to reach to. Eden Hazard was making the Arsenal defence work hard, but in the spaces on the pitch where it mattered most, he didn't seem to have a magic touch. He got into a decent position on the edge of the box and hit the ball in the general direction of the goal, but he swung at it and the ball went high and wide of the target.
The game had turned into a tactical battle between the two managers as both teams were having long stints of possession which allowed them to dominate the period of the game, but neither looked extremely threatening when they were stood in front of the opposition net. Arsenal had won a few free kicks, and as Chelsea moved into place, they began to look scrappy and not like the level headed defence which so many people had become accustomed to seeing.
Not long after the hour mark, Arsenal put together a good bit of build up play which allowed Alexis Sanchez to come across and put a great ball in from the left. The ball curled back round to Giroud who placed himself near the penalty area, but as he set himself up to take the shot, John Terry got across and time his challenge well to put the ball out for a corner. As a result of this corner, Chelsea were able to break on the counter attack. When they reach the opposition half, the layoff is made to Drogba who is the player positioned on the edge of the box, but his shot is straight at Ospina. Mertesacker did get a chance handed to him after a free kick which Courtois could only palm down into the ground; if any other player had been in his position it could have been nestled in the bottom corner. The defender kept his head down and scuffed the shot and dragged the ball wide of the target. The defending from Chelsea once again was scrappy and it could have cost them a goal.
The remainder of the game didn't present many more clear cut chances and it took until the last minute of added time at the end of the second half for one to actually be registered. Both teams had been pushing forward, then sitting back as the pendulum of who dominated the game swung back and forth, and Chelsea were the team to almost get caught out. A great ball was fizzed across the face of goal, meaning it was difficult for any of the defenders to come and get the ball, but the two Arsenal forwards in the box also looked lost about what to do. Danny Welbeck standing at the far post was the closest to getting his boot to the ball, but the speed of the cross was a bit too much and the chance went begging.
This result means that Chelsea can't win the title on Wednesday, but if they beat Leicester, who have been on an excellent run in the past four games, and win on Sunday, then the League title will certainly be on its way to Stamford Bridge. This result did cause Arsenal to slip a place in the Premier League table due to Manchester City beating Aston Villa, but they know that having a game in hand over their top rivals is definitely an advantage they'll be glad to have at this moment. Who knows, there may still be a few shocks left in these last few games of the season.
Arsenal did register the first chance of the game after they had won a free kick and Santi Cazorla stood over the ball. He took the chance with his right foot but Thibaut Courtois stepped out quickly and easily caught the ball and pulled it into his body. Not long after Olivier Giroud was being pressed tightly by three Chelsea defenders extremely close to their own goal, but he still managed to keep the ball up. Just as he was about to take the shot on, Courtois rushed out to help his defenders and took the ball, quite literally, off his boot.
The 16 minute mark saw Chelsea's first chance of the game being registered when Cesc Fabregas, who didn't get a great reception on his return to the Emirates, played a beautiful looping ball over the top of the Arsenal midfield and defence which Per Mertesacker failed to deal with, which allowed Oscar to latch onto the ball. As it bounced up, Oscar jumped up to meet it and chipped it towards goal and over David Ospina's head. It was heading towards the target but Hector Bellerin was covering and headed the ball out to safety for a corner. This was one of the very few chances that Chelsea had in the first half as they stayed compact and were just allowing Arsenal to have time on the ball, but not get to close to their box. Mourinho had almost set out with the same tactics that he did against United in the previous game.
The half was finished with a chance from each team. The visitors had the first go when Willian slipped the ball between the Arsenal defenders to find Ramires who timed his run perfected to stay onside and he took on the shot first time with the outside of his right boot. Ospina had an excellent starting position though and he was in the perfect place to collect the ball with ease. Arsenal were camped out in the Chelsea third of the pitch for the rest of the half after the Ramires chance and just before the half time whistle went, a host of chances were fired towards Courtois' goal. After the ball bounced around the penalty area falling to the feet of many different players, it was Mesut Ozil who had the most clear cut chance at goal as he turned and curled his shot towards goal. Courtois, like Ospina before, took up a great starting position and easily caught the ball.
The half was definitely dominated with the amount of penalty shouts that were denied for both teams. The first one came within the first 10 minutes of the match when Oscar made a run into Arsenal's box and Bellerin put his arms on Oscar and caught him slightly as Oscar's running leg caught his opponent. It was a weak shout though, and the referee rightly waved it away. Oscar had another shout not long after when he took on the chipped shot over Ospina. The keeper was late coming out to make his clearance and the ball had already cleared him when he clattered in Oscar and taking the midfielder out. It did look to be a stronger appeal than the first, but again the referee waved it away and Oscar made way at half time with suspected concussion due to the challenge.
Fabregas had the third shout for Chelsea when Cazorla stuck out a leg to try and win back the ball for him team. He did try to pull back from the challenge, but he wasn't quick enough and did make contact with Fabregas which caused him to go down. He did make a big deal out of the fall though, which seemed to make the decision clear in the referee's mind that he deserved a yellow card for diving, which was slightly harsh. The last appeal came from the home side after Bellerin had stretched for the ball and kept it in play which allowed him to play the ball back across the box towards the penalty spot where Giroud was shaped ready to turn his shot into the back of the net. Gary Cahill was quick to the ball though and as he went to ground to make the block, the ball bounced back off his arm, but he was very close to the ball and the decision would have been harsh.
The second half was dominated by Chelsea in the early stages, and they were able to push forward after bringing on Didier Drogba as they had someone up field to reach to. Eden Hazard was making the Arsenal defence work hard, but in the spaces on the pitch where it mattered most, he didn't seem to have a magic touch. He got into a decent position on the edge of the box and hit the ball in the general direction of the goal, but he swung at it and the ball went high and wide of the target.
The game had turned into a tactical battle between the two managers as both teams were having long stints of possession which allowed them to dominate the period of the game, but neither looked extremely threatening when they were stood in front of the opposition net. Arsenal had won a few free kicks, and as Chelsea moved into place, they began to look scrappy and not like the level headed defence which so many people had become accustomed to seeing.
Not long after the hour mark, Arsenal put together a good bit of build up play which allowed Alexis Sanchez to come across and put a great ball in from the left. The ball curled back round to Giroud who placed himself near the penalty area, but as he set himself up to take the shot, John Terry got across and time his challenge well to put the ball out for a corner. As a result of this corner, Chelsea were able to break on the counter attack. When they reach the opposition half, the layoff is made to Drogba who is the player positioned on the edge of the box, but his shot is straight at Ospina. Mertesacker did get a chance handed to him after a free kick which Courtois could only palm down into the ground; if any other player had been in his position it could have been nestled in the bottom corner. The defender kept his head down and scuffed the shot and dragged the ball wide of the target. The defending from Chelsea once again was scrappy and it could have cost them a goal.
The remainder of the game didn't present many more clear cut chances and it took until the last minute of added time at the end of the second half for one to actually be registered. Both teams had been pushing forward, then sitting back as the pendulum of who dominated the game swung back and forth, and Chelsea were the team to almost get caught out. A great ball was fizzed across the face of goal, meaning it was difficult for any of the defenders to come and get the ball, but the two Arsenal forwards in the box also looked lost about what to do. Danny Welbeck standing at the far post was the closest to getting his boot to the ball, but the speed of the cross was a bit too much and the chance went begging.
This result means that Chelsea can't win the title on Wednesday, but if they beat Leicester, who have been on an excellent run in the past four games, and win on Sunday, then the League title will certainly be on its way to Stamford Bridge. This result did cause Arsenal to slip a place in the Premier League table due to Manchester City beating Aston Villa, but they know that having a game in hand over their top rivals is definitely an advantage they'll be glad to have at this moment. Who knows, there may still be a few shocks left in these last few games of the season.
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