A week is a long time in football and Graham Ruthven analyses what went so right for Arsenal against Chelsea, just days after it went so wrong against Everton.
The kids are alright. Mikel Arteta certainly knows that now having watched a youthful and exuberant Arsenal team turn in a performance that has evaded their more experienced and illustrious teammates in recent weeks.
What Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, David Luiz and the likes haven’t done, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe did.
December had seen the Gunners sleep walk towards danger at the foot of the Premier League table. The tongue had been removed from the cheek with regards to the discussion over whether Arsenal could get sucked into a relegation scrap.
They were well and truly in relegation form. Their underlying statistics were befitting of a team in the bottom three.
This, however, was something different. This was the sort of performance Arsenal fans have wanted from their team all season long. There was energy and drive. Fight and perhaps most importantly, conviction. From the very first whistle, the Gunners had the look of a team willing to do more.
For all that Arteta has been talked about as a tactical mastermind in the making, his team’s greatest flaws have been much more fundamental. Questions have been asked of Arsenal’s commitment. Of their determination to turn around the club’s current situation.
Body language hasn’t been good. The mood around the Emirates Stadium has been even worse.
In the club’s youngsters, though, there are green shoots of encouragement poking through the scorched earth. Arteta’s hand was forced, with Gabriel Magalhaes in self isolation, Aubameyang missing through injury and Luiz and Willian out with illness, but his decision to throw Arsenal’s youngsters in at the deep end could prove to be a turning point in the club’s season. A precedent has been set.
Saka was the best player on the pitch. Of course, the 19-year-old had already proven himself as one of Arsenal’s few consistent performers this season, but this game saw Saka emerge as something of a leader.
Martinelli and Smith-Rowe also helped set the tone for their teammates with their high intensity and high press. The latter was as close to a central creative force as Arsenal have had all season.
Martinelli made more tackles than any other player (three) up until his substitution. Smith-Rowe made more ball recoveries (six) than anyone else. Arsenal were unpolished against Chelsea. This was far from a refined performance, but Arteta surely saw something that had been lacking from his team.
Chelsea, on the other hand, were confronted by many of the factors that will prevent them from truly challenging Liverpool for the Premier League title this season.
Progress has been made since the summer, when the Blues outlined their ambition with over £200 million of signings, but inconsistencies from week-to-week are still too common. There are too many dips.
This result means Chelsea have now lost three of their last four Premier League games, suffering defeats to Everton, Wolves and Arsenal. Rather than targeting top spot, the Blues are now concerned merely with their place in the top four having dropped down to sixth, below Everton and Aston Villa.
Chelsea and Manchester United are frequently used as yardsticks to measure each other by and as things stand it’s the latter who stand taller - to be specific, three points higher in the Premier League table with a game in-hand.
While Chelsea’s summer signings initially looked to have boosted their title chances, now they are giving Lampard more questions than answers. Werner, who was hooked at half time, started the season well, but is now desperately lacking in confidence, failing to score with any of his last 20 shots in his last 10 games.
Kai Havertz only received 16 minutes off the bench. His role as a Chelsea player remains unclear.
Arsenal still have a lot of work ahead of them to turn around their season. This result is only enough to lift the Gunners up to 14th in the Premier League table, a long way from where they want to be.
But Arteta must use what he learned from this match, and specifically what he learned about his young players, to light the way forward.
Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea match report
Mickel Artea swung the axe on his Arsenal team and was rewarded with a 3-1 dismantling of a lacklustre Chelsea.
The stunning result provides the Gunners with their first league win since November 1 and will ease fears of a relegation battle ahead as Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka gave Artea the perfect Christmas gift despite Tammy Abraham's late strike.
The Arsenal boss made six changes to the side beaten by Everton, with Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith-Rowe among those to come in. Gabriel was ruled out after a postive covid test while David Luiz and Willian claimed they felt unwell despite recent negative tests. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was an unused substitute.
Those changes may have lulled Frank Lampard's men into a false sense of security and they were thoroughly outfought by their fierce London rivals and they managed just one shot on target.
Lacazette fired home a penalty after Reece James felled Kieran Tierney before Xhaka banged in a rocket of a free-kick just before the break.
Man of the match Saka's beautiful, or fluke, chipped finish 56 minutes in completed the rout and it could, and should, have been more with Edouard Mendy saving from Lacazette and Mohamed Elneny hitting the bar from close range in the final 10 minutes.
Abraham chested in a late consolation after a VAR review before Bernd Leno saved a Jorginho 90th minute penalty, which would have setup a grandstand finish had it gone in, as Chelsea were condemned to a fourth league loss.