Arsenal 1 - Chelsea 1 match report: not enough

11/10/2024 02:12 PM

The Gunners played better, but it wasn't enough to win.

Arsenal and Chelsea played to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, sending Liverpool into the November international break 9 points clear at the top of the table. The Gunners are playing better but we're rapidly approaching (and may have reached) the point where better isn't good enough. Arsenal need wins if they're going to challenge for the title and the wins aren't coming. They'll have to be nearly perfect in the Premier League from here on in and get a decent bit of help.

It just isn't going Arsenal's way right now. They had a chance to win with the last kick of the match, but Leandro Trossard's sliding touch took the ball away from Kai Havertz, for whom it would have been a tap-in goal. The Gunners conceded an equalizer 10 minutes after Gabriel Martinelli gave them the lead on a defensive miscue that they simply didn't make last season, and on the few occasions when they made those types of errors, they weren't always punished for them.

For me, that's the ultimate explanation for why Arsenal are where they are right now. They just haven't gotten the bounces, the decisions, the injury luck, and everything / anything else you need to go your way to be successful. It's not a particularly satisfying one because there isn't much agency in it, but honestly, I don't think there is much else that Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, and the players can do differently that would make much of an impact.

Really, it might be enough for the "luck" to be neutral instead of net negative. Think about it — Arsenal at, what, 75% strength given injuries, fitness, and form were just slightly the better team against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. That's pretty darn impressive! It's an indicator of how far this team has come, too. In the past, Arsenal would get run over facing similar circumstances. Even wounded, they're in every game.

On Chelsea's goal, nobody picked up Pedro Neto's darting run through the middle and he fired it into the bottom corner. The announcers were critical of Kai Havertz's play, but my first thought was where is the holding midfielder behind him to occupy that space. Thomas Partey had fallen into the defensive line, which created the opening. I don't know whether that's what Mikel Arteta wants his #6 to do in that situation, but judging by the reactions of Gabriel and Martin Ødegaard, somebody blew an assignment.

Recently, I've given Thomas Partey his flowers for solid play. He has been in good form. He was awful today and should be dropped based on the performance. Arsenal, Partey included, did a solid job keeping Cole Palmer quiet. The few times that Partey and Palmer were matched up, Palmer beat him convincingly. It happened at least three times by my count. That simply cannot happen.

Part of the reason I feel Partey should be dropped is that Mikel Merino looked quite good. He's getting more comfortable on the ball in the Premier League, and several times, did really well to turn upfield, dribble into space, and progress the ball. The more I see him play and the more Mikel Arteta deploys him, the more convinced I become he was bought to be cover for Declan Rice and Thomas Partey, with the possibility of supplanting Partey.

You simply cannot escape the fact that since Partey came back into the team, Arsenal have conceded 15 goals in 15 games. In the 15 before he returned, the Gunners conceded just 10. As well or poorly as you think Thomas Partey has been playing, Arsenal have not been as good with him in the lineup as with him not playing.

To put a more positive spin on things, Martin Ødegaard is back and looks set to pick up where he left off. There was a bit of noticeable rust, but the ball he hit to Gabriel Martinelli at the back post for the goal was fabulous. You could also see the effect of Ødegaard's return on Arsenal's structure — he's constantly directing traffic and telling players where to go. Martinelli scoring is a positive, too. He's seemed snakebitten lately, and sometimes all it takes is seeing the ball hit the back of the net to jolt you into a run of scoring. Gabriel was fantastic today — his excellent play is covering for William Saliba's dip in form, which he, himself, has recognized and admitted that he's worn out.

Declan Rice looked less than his normal self, which is to be expected when you're playing through a broken toe with a painkilling injection. Arsenal will worry about Bukayo Saka's fitness after he was forced off with injury — he seemed to be indicating that he had a groin issue. The "good" news is that both should be staying home from England duty to recover.

As I said in the opening, Arsenal are running out of time for their luck to turn around and for their quality to matter in the table. You always want to be playing better and improving, but you also at some point, simply need to win football games. The good news is that the matches should get a bit easier from here. The Gunners have played among the toughest opening schedules in the Premier League. Combine that with the international break to get healthy and rest up and maybe they can turn things around. They've got an uphill battle ahead of them. There's no sugar-coating that.