Chelsea made yet another lightning start to a match, scoring inside of two minutes thanks to a snapshot from Morgan Rogers just outside the area in the second phase of a set piece, which caught David Raya wrong-footed and squirmed in at the near post.
Our delight quickly turned to growing dread as Arsenal set to task of taking control of the match and repeatedly threatening our goal. They would scramble home an equalizer not much later, but thankfully that would be ruled out for an offside. (Looked
to me more like a foul on Emi Martínez, just like when he was “accidentally” kicked in the head by Gabriel, who didn’t even receive a caution for that flailing leg while down on the ground.)
Arsenal’s pressure eventually did result in a goal, and just like Chelsea’s, there was a bit of fortune about it: Kai Havertz’s shot from just outside the area going between a defender’s legs and catching Martínez wrong-footed and squirming in at the near post. We’ve had a couple opportunities on the counter during that time, but a couple long-range efforts from Palmer and JP were the closest we’d come to actually threatening.
The final 15-20 minutes of the half was played at slightly lower tempo and intensity, but we almost ended it brilliantly with another quick counter that saw Pedro Neto hit the bottom of the post with a curling effort. Unlucky.
Arsenal came out with renewed vigor for the second half, and a bit of brilliant play between Havertz and Martin Ødegaard saw the latter arrive unmarked in the middle of the box, and hammer home with emphasis to give his side the lead.
Alonso made a couple change around the hour-mark, and that seemed to kick us up a gear. Half-chances followed in quick succession, with Arsenal now content to sit back deep and defend and look to counter. But Palmer saw a right-footed effort saved easily, Gusto failed to hit the target when presented with an open shot, while Rogers hammered over from range.
As Arsenal settled in, they became harder and harder to break down. Chelsea gave it our best, but the magic was lacking a bit at the end. Estêvão almost got a hold of one near the very end, but it curled back into the goalkeeper’s reach instead of into the top corner.
Carefree.
- Colwill dropped, officially due to a minor knock; Fofana deployed at left-center back
- Lavia & James as the central midfield partnership as against Fulham; Neto once again at right wing-back as last weekend against Brighton
- Gusto on for the final 30, giving us a midfield comprised of two right backs (Caicedo not fit)
- Estêvão on for Neto for the final 10 or so, as the nominal right wing-back (but really as the right winger in a 3-3-4)
- That’s now 12 in a row without a win against Arsenal
- Next up: Leeds United at home in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday
- KTBFFH
