Hiddink persisted with Cesc Fabregas behind Diego Costa, but an illness to Pedro Rodriguez saw Oscar operate on the left. Chelsea struggled against Everton last weekend due to the lack of creativity in midfield, as Fabregas encounters difficulties playing between the lines, and neither John Obi Mikel nor Nemanja Matic are proactive passers.
Fabregas, however, drifted into deeper areas to dictate the tempo of the match, to outperform Arsenal chief creator Mesut Ozil with his varied movement. Along with recording the most tackles and ball recoveries, Fabregas positioned himself within close proximity of Mikel and Matic to play passes into the channels for Costa, whilst moving into pockets of space to receive possession and run towards goal.
Still, Chelsea’s first attacking move illustrated their attacking intent. Diego Costa chased after a pass in the left channel, which ultimately resulted in Oscar forcing Petr Cech into a near post save.
“I am very pleased with the attitude of the team,” Hiddink said. “I’m also pleased with the way the team tried to play — it was not just reactive, but proactive in the first part of the first half.
“We showed ambition to go forwards. We had one or two good chances through Willian. The team showed its ambition and that was pleasing against an opponent who are very skilful even with one man down.
The game’s defining moment followed the aforementioned template with Willian dribbling past Aaron Ramsey — who has been guilty of leaving midfield partner, Mathieu Flamini, exposed by playing a few yards higher up the pitch — before playing a pass to Costa, who peeled off Per Mertesacker into the left channel, which subsequently resulted in the German’s dismissal. Costa handed Chelsea the lead minutes later, but the key to the Blues’ move saw Willian evade Ramsey before playing a long diagonal towards the left channel for Fabregas.
Arsenal struggled to create chances prior to Mertesacker’s dismissal, and the decision to sacrifice Olivier Giroud for Gabriel saw Theo Walcott move upfront for the remainder of the first half. The hosts, however, refrained from maximizing Walcott’s pace by playing passes into the England international’s feet, and Chelsea’s organization and discipline without the ball nullified Arsenal’s creativity in the final third.
Ozil’s influence was scarce throughout, and Chelsea deserve credit for the German’s quiet outing. With Fabregas making up a midfield trio out of possession, Matic and Mikel were able to alternate tracking Ozil’s movement between the lines, while the vacant Chelsea midfielder tracked Ramsey’s forward runs. Hiddink rectified his side’s poor midfield organization in this respect, and Walcott’s intent to get behind the Chelsea defence — he was ruled offside on both occasions — proved to be Arsenal’s most threatening moments in the first half.
Wenger’s attempt to gain control of the match involved Ozil moving centrally and Walcott returning to the left flank, but even under those circumstances, two narrow offside calls prevented Costa from breaking free down the left channel. Alexis Sanchez’s second half introduction reinvigorated Arsenal’s blunt attack, yet despite evading several challenges towards the box, the hosts failed to test Thibaut Courtois.
Most sides would have been tempted to push for more goals, but Chelsea’s possession was tame, thus negating Arsenal’s likelihood of exploiting space on the counter. Wenger turned to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Walcott in the latter stages of the match, whereas in the final five minutes, substitute Eden Hazard created three legitimate goal-scoring chances that should have increased Chelsea’s lead.
Perhaps Mertesacker’s dismissal was the turning point of the match, but Arsenal appeared clueless in both phases — the reluctance to attack Branislav Ivanovic or play beyond the Chelsea defence was peculiar, whereas Ramsey and Ozil failed to overcome the away side’s power in central areas.
‘We needed pace to go long distances, to go from one goal to the other. We needed to use pace to go forward,” said Wenger when discussing his decision to take off Giroud.
‘He (Giroud) was a doubt, he did not practice yesterday, so it was on my mind, but I had to change a player and that was the most rational decision.’
Chelsea’s caution following Mertesacker’s dismissal was risky considering they were preserving a one-goal lead, but the approach was justified considering their success out of possession. Hiddink’s men exploited Arsenal’s poor midfield organization, negated Ozil’s influence between the lines, and maximized Costa’s strength in the channels, which fully illustrates Hiddink’s excellent approach.
For the first time this season, Chelsea showcased the diligent defending and swift direct attacks — specifically in the first half — that received plaudits in last season’s title winning campaign.
