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Wenger’s Arsenal leans to direct attacking to sink Chelsea

Mourinho was without Diego Costa, and opted with Loic Remy upfront, whereas Wenger handed Theo Walcott the opportunity to lead the line. Both players rely on service from midfield, and though Remy’s link up play is adequate, here, he was underwhelming with his back to goal. Walcott’s inclusion was a tad odd considering Chelsea’s preference to sit deep against the Gunners, but his pace served as a constant legitimate threat, and offered additional space in midfield for the Arsenal midfielders.

The issue, however, lied in central areas. Wenger’s inclusion saw Francois Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey in midfield — the former’s a natural holder, whereas the latter is at his best when he storms forward into attack — as Mesut Ozil was a peripheral figure. Though Arsenal dominated possession for lengthy periods they didn’t create enough chances in open play, and couldn’t locate Walcott behind the Chelsea defence.

Nemanja Matic’s pairing with Ramires also deprived Chelsea of creativity in midfield. Matic’s positioning was cautious due to the threat of Arsenal’s creative players, while Ramires doesn’t offer the penetrating passing of Fabregas, whose impact was scarce in an advanced midfield role. Mourinho’s preference to soak up pressure was logical, but there were minimal chances to counter in transition, and Chelsea’s attack was dull following extensive spells of possession.

More so, the decision to field combative midfields saw both sides attack directly, and the contrast in approaches proved decisive. Without Costa, Chelsea’s most important players are undoubtedly Eden Hazard and Fabregas, but the Blues were unable to get their star performers involved. Fabregas was wasteful in possession in the final third, but Hazard faced double-coverage throughout, and was forced to drop deep to receive the ball – at one point he moved into the left back zone to get on the ball, further illustrating his frustration.

Chelsea’s best moves stemmed through Willian’s ability to evade challenges on the half turn, before storming into Arsenal’s half. First, the Brazilian easily skipped past Nacho Monreal and Ramsey before sliding the ball to Remy in the left channel but his cross was poor. Willian was also involved in Chelsea’s best move of the half, slipping a through ball to Remy down the left again, but Ramires nodded his cross wide of the net.

Arsenal, on the other hand, countered their inability to carve through central areas by quickly facilitating service to their attackers in transition.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s winner followed this template — the ball was quickly switched from the left to Walcott, and he instantly moved the ball towards Chamberlain who isolated Cesar Azpilicueta, before cutting in on his left foot to beat Thibaut Courtois. The Gunners nearly doubled their lead in the final minutes of the first, when a lovely passing move involving Coquelin, Bellerin, Cazorla and Ozil, led to Chamberlain’s heavy touch towards the byline, but Ivanovic desperately cleared his dinked cross to the far post.

“It was important for the team to get that hurdle out of the way,” said Wenger.

“For me? No, because it is Arsenal versus Chelsea, it is not the two managers. It is two teams who play against each other.”

Fabregas moved alongside Matic following Chamberlain’s goal – pushing Ramires to the right — ensured Chelsea sustained possession but he only began to influence the match subsequent to Mourinho summoning Oscar and Radamel Falcao. Within the span of a minute, two moves summarized Fabregas’ offensive threat in a deeper role.

From the halfway line, Fabregas pinged a ball over the Arsenal defence for Falcao — who looked to be offside — but Koscielny’s last-ditch pressure thwarted the Colombian’s chance. Then Fabregas played the pass of the match to an unmarked Hazard, but it was Koscielny again that applied pressure on the Belgian, who skied his shot over the net.

“One team played counter-attack football well,” said Mourinho. “One team played with initiative well but without the sharpness you need to be more aggressive with the ball. The team tactically tried everything.

“My opinion is the team that defends very well, that leaves their philosophy in the dressing room, changes their attitude, plays all the second half with nine players in front of the box, doesn’t concede and scores one goal, from that perspective they deserve to win.

The final half hour saw Chelsea push men forward, conceding space in behind for Arsenal to break into, and though Chelsea’s lack of guile persisted, Courtois made two key saves to prevent a possible thumping in Wenger’s first triumph over Mourinho.

Mourinho’s persistent pragmatism led to dropped points in big games last season, and here, further weaknesses were exploited. Perhaps Hazard endured a rare poor outing, but both forwards were poor, yet for Fabregas’ discipline issues in a midfield duo, it’s evident that it’s beneficial for the Blues and the Spaniard that he features in a deeper role.

Feasibly, Arsenal equally endured issues in open play, but here, the decision to quickly supply the attacking players with service foiled Chelsea’s defence in transition.

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