Wait. Is that this a twist? Is that this a sting, a surge, a volte-face? Or is it simply the way it feels to play Chelsea, opponents so poor they appeared at occasions to be indulging in a form of protest exercise, non-sport, soccer as an act of prolonged standing round ready for it to be over.
It’s a measure of Manchester Metropolis’s dominance that the final week has introduced a peculiar feeling that Arsenal’s season is already over, regardless of nonetheless being prime of the desk. Right here Arsenal went three points clear of Liverpool and 4 away from Metropolis (who’ve two video games in hand) with a efficiency that felt, if nothing else, like a form of liberation.
This at all times appeared prone to be the week of make or break for the title race. However this was additionally simply an enchanting recreation of soccer in its personal proper. Kai Havertz had a beautiful recreation, restored to his ambling false 9 position, one of many nice positives of Arsenal’s season. Martin Ødegaard was chic, such an odd mixture of roughhouse urgent and great surgical passing, like being hounded to demise by a poet.
Ødegaard has led this Arsenal staff, who nonetheless really feel like they’ve been the perfect within the league this yr, have scored essentially the most objectives, received most convincingly. Will it imply something, in the long run, to attain 5 towards a Chelsea staff that collapsed like a cardboard field within the rain? Manchester Metropolis haven’t appeared comfortable. It looks like a battle all of the sudden. Pep Guardiola has been whining, weirdly, about tiredness. They are going to at the least be pressured to win this factor now.
And naturally, it helped that Chelsea had been fairly this unhealthy. How uncommon to win a recreation 5-0 within the ultimate knockings of a title race and but by some means it’s the opposition who really feel just like the story right here. That is how unhealthy Chelsea had been. Even the teamsheet had the sensation of end-times, leftovers, soccer within the post-apocalypse.
Mudryk-Madueke-Jackson-Gallagher. It is a unusual human soup, disparate elements, human expertise as amortised numbers. We’re the stuffed males. We’re the hole males. We’re the Chelsea midfield. Think about not beating this Chelsea staff 5-0.
In a approach it was refreshing. There’s a lot heavy programs soccer round. How liberating to see a staff with no plan in any respect. At one level Enzo Fernández carried the ball ahead 30 yards, then simply appeared to expire of bandwidth, stopping then beginning once more, visibly confused. Conor Gallagher’s solely actual job early on was to dash in and stand in entrance of each Arsenal free‑kick. Properly, it’s a dwelling.
Expertise has been hoarded right here. However why? That is the query Chelsea appear to ask with each sideways move, each shrugging restart. There’s a critical drop off in high quality on this Chelsea staff with out Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto. One odd factor concerning the 18-month mega-splurge was the slender vary of expertise. Chelsea purchased a whole lot of deeply room-temperature footballers. All filler no killer. That is our DNA now: the yeah-maybe participant.
The Emirates had been chilly and somewhat low key at kick-off, nonetheless bruised maybe from the final 10 days. The opening aim got here early on, a product of Thomas Partey, enjoying behind Declan Rice, producing a pleasant fast easy move to Rice who fed it on to Leandro Trossard. The shot simply went by means of Djordje Petrovic, the ball by some means passing by means of his ft as he tumbled backwards like a poorly constructed Jenga tower.
Arsenal dozed and muddled alongside for a bit. Half-time got here and went. And within the house of 10 minutes Arsenal killed the sport. First Ødegaard did one thing lovely, producing a reverse move from a standing begin, fizzed in a flat straight line, wanting the opposite approach, proper into Havertz’s ft in entrance of aim.
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Petrovic blocked, however from the nook it was 2-0, Ben White whacking a unfastened ball into the online as Chelsea’s gamers experimented with the exact limits of how shut you’ll be able to stand to a recreation of soccer with out having any have an effect on in any respect on its final result.
Ødegaard did it once more moments later, a by means of move from inside his personal half curved into the trail of Havertz, who skated away, head up, knees excessive, like some flannel-shorted cinder‑monitor center distance service provider, earlier than smashing the ball excessive into the web.
With 65 minutes gone it was Havertz once more, Chelsea’s defenders feigning football-style exercise as he had time to cease and jink and clip a shot contained in the close to publish. Arsenal’s twenty fourth shot at aim made it 5-0. It wasn’t actually a shot, extra a form of scuffed volleyed cross from Ben White, having enjoyable, attempting a factor.
This may occasionally or might not have been a turning level. Most likely it’s all somewhat late now. However it felt, on the very least, like a press release of life for this staff; and a promise to struggle to the tip.
