A well-taken brace from Martin Odegaard and a close-range finish by Gabriel Jesus helped Arsenal to a comfortable 3-1 win over Chelsea that temporarily returns the Gunners to top spot in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s side settled matters thanks to three goals in 16 first half minutes and had plenty of opportunities to further extend their lead after the break before Noni Madueke reduced the deficit just past the hour mark.
While the Blues flirted with a second, the result never looked in doubt on a night when Arsenal returned to winning ways after four frustrating results.
After the game, Oleksandr Zinchenko hailed captain Odegaard for his man-of-the-match performance.
“It’s an incredible season for him, he’s an incredible player,” the Ukrainian told Viaplay Fotball.
“He’s our leader and so important for us on and off the pitch. I’m so happy for him and I hope he’s going to do even better and will score even more.”
– Martin har levert en fantastisk sesong og er en briljant spiller, sier Oleksandr Zinchenko til @ToldnesG etter seieren mot Chelsea, hvor Martin Ødegaard scoret to ganger. pic.twitter.com/iGBa63kAVK
— Viaplay Fotball (@ViaplayFotball) May 2, 2023
Reflecting on the importance of getting back to winning ways, the left-back continued, “It’s an important three points for us in terms of the league table and our mood in the dressing room because we dropped a lot of points in the last couple of game.
“In this league, you need to stay on your feet and be focused every single time as soon as you are on the pitch because you never know what’s going to happen.
“As you can see, you can drop points against teams who are fighting relegation so we just need to be back on our routine and our winning way and let’s see what’s going to happen.
He added: “It was a tough couple of weeks because this team is playing to win everything, every single game, every time we’re on the pitch.
“Sometimes, you need to accept what’s happening and you need to analyse what you have done good and done bad, accept what’s happened and move on. In this league you never know what will happen, you just need to be focused every single time.”
Manchester City face West Ham United at the Etihad tomorrow and know a win will see them leapfrog the Gunners in the table for the second time in a week. All the same, Zinchenko remains hopeful that Arsenal’s shot at the title isn’t over.
“Of course, I do [believe],” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen in this league but first of all, unfortunately, it’s not in our hands at the moment. We need stay focused and prepare as much and as well as we can for the next game.”
You stay focused. Your lack of defensive focus cost Ramsdale the clean sheet.
Zinchenko completely transformed our attack this season and is a huge part of the reason we had a title challenge. Yes he’s not been at his best the last few games (nor has anybody) but let’s not go over the top.
He wouldn’t get picked to play in the left back position for any of the other top teams in the premier league for the very good reason that he’s not a proper left back. Yes, he transformed our attack in the early stages of the season but he has also transformed our defence and not in a good way. And his mistakes are always forgotten about from game to game. Arteta is determined to stick to the system that suits Zinchenko best but it will hurt us because it is becoming predictable, it leaves massive gaps at the back and… Read more »
he was literally picked to play lb for another top team in the premier league last season. the champions, actually.
arteta needs to develop an alternate approach that is also effective. Agree our approach became too predictable and we never found a solution to the opposition long ball then controlling the second ball. We have been susceptible to that approach in the recent run of games. But in context, best season in many years, youngest team in the PL w the youngest manager and the future looks bright. I’ve really enjoyed this season and love the transformation of our club and the atmosphere at Emirates. Brilliant.
“He’s not a proper left back.” Fine, rename the position, he’s a false 3 or something. (I wonder how many Bayern supporters were foolish enough to say that about Philip Lahm or David Alaba–which I suspect was where Guardiola developed the idea). Zinchenko is a technically secure player (with occasional lapses, which tend to be high-risk passes done a little carelessly) who helps us control the midfield and has been crucial to Xhaka’s advanced role, among other things. Inevitably, he leaves space behind for Partey/Gabriel/Saliba to cover. Inevitably that sometimes costs us. Is the price worth it? This is May,… Read more »
Disingenuous mate – what about ‘that’ nutmeg?
What about him being fast asleep for Chelsea’s 3rd?
In both he was right in position, at LB and just botched it!
His ‘lapses’ as you call them are often NOT ‘high risk’ but basic passes when playing out from the back… gifting possession to opponents in our half.
This is May… we are now SECOND in the league, having been in an excellent position to win it. Z has directly cost us at least 4-6 points.
Now… you decide.
Bollocks – he didn’t ‘completely transform’ anything – that is a massive overstatement.
Certainly, he brought some penetrating passing from deep mid-field, a lot of positive energy and allowed Mik to create a double pivot in defensive midfield at times.
But…
he has also kept a far better defensive LB out of the side and he has made numerous really clumsy errors – some of which he/us has/have gotten away with, but lately, a number of those have cost us vital points.
Yes he has been a defensive liability for last few matches.
His strengths and what he has brought to this team this season, far outweigh his weaknesses.
His link up play has been one of the reasons we have set the bar so high that we have, inadvertently, made a rod for our own backs, when anything is less than perfect.
Cut the guy some slack, he has more than earned it.
I don’t agree entirely Q – but do agree that he deserves some slack. After all, it’s not Z who decides he should play at LB. That is on Mik – and I do feel there have been some games where KT would have been the smarter, more strategic selection. Point is – he is NOT our best LB, so why is he playing there for every match? Is there no smarter way to use him for his strengths whilst insulating against his weaknesses. Without Big Willy, I feel Zinch became a luxury we could no longer afford – his… Read more »
I would use them both.
Zinchenko to start and then, when we have established a lead of two or more on 60 minutes, I would exchange and bring on KT to help shut up the shop.
As you can see, you can drop points against teams who are fighting relegation
Like Chelsea
I think Arteta should seriously consider starting Tierney against Newcastle.
Agreed. I love Zinny – but we functioned really well with Jorginho this time, and that extra defensive focus was really welcome. And if nothing else, Tierney (who I also love!) would change things up, and would give Newcastle a bit of a surprise. We needed this “shake-up” of the starting 11 – and throwing in Tierney might be good. People are forgetting how good he actually was when he was on form. Zinny is an offensive masterclass, but it’s not like Tierney suddenly became useless. He was always good for a ton of good crosses, and he *always* puts… Read more »
I’d love to see how we would get on with Tierney at left back and Zinchenko in Xakha’s position. Seems like it would get the best of Zinchenko whilst allowing us be stronger defensively and with the additional attacking bonus of Tierney’s overlapping.
Yes but then we wouldn’t have Xhaka on the pitch and he has been so important to our attacking play this season. The whole reaosn this works is because Zinchenko adds an extra body to the midfield and our attacknig play which owuldn’t be the case if he was in midfield
You’re certainly not wrong – but I’d still like to see us try. We’ve become a bit “stale” (we’ve been found out) and it’d be nice to try something different. We might lose 10% (random number) offensively – but we might gain 10% defensively.
Agree about Chaka. As for Zinchenko, he does and he doesn’t. He can’t overlap so he loses us the ability for an overlapping run down the left hand side. He always plays inside. He doesn’t have great pace, so he can slow us down as well.
We have a number of incisive, attacking passers: Ode, Thomas, Jorginho & Trosser (when they play), even Jesus dropping deep (as he often does)… even Benny Blank can thread the needle at times. Which means that while Zinch can create for us, he’s a extra, a ‘nice to have’ – but NOT at the cost of the defensive frailty that has directly cost us points… on numerous occasions. We might not have gained 3 points on certain occasions without Zinch – but we’ve definitely dropped points with Zinch on others!| He should not be playing LB against the stronger, tactically… Read more »
Yeah but remember against West Ham with Tierney? His passing isn’t of a level to pass out from the back so we just invited pressure every time we lost the ball
I thought Xhaka probably had his most dominant game of the season against Chelsea and I cannot imagine that he won’t start against Newcastle. They held us at home this year by playing very negatively, something they have only done away. I don’t think their fans will let them do that there.
In fairness, yes, Granit was very good, but Chelsk were as bad as I’ve ever seen ’em.
I’ve often said the same – and it’s the subtext to my reply to Q, above… why has Mik not found smarter ways to use Z’s abilities without exposing his (obvious) frailties at LB? Surely, just try him in Granit’s position for 1 or 2 matches? He had the perfect opportunity when Xhaka was ill…
Mik needs to have him spend less time with the media and more time on training his defensive technique and positioning.
He’s a bit loony. I wish he could cobcebtrate throughout the 90