Chelsea 2-4 Arsenal: Three lessons learnt in abysmal defeat
I hate to say it, but I saw this one coming from a mile away. Chelsea now has just four wins in the last 16 matches against Arsenal. The Blues proved incapable of doing the league double over the Gunners for a sixth consecutive season on Wednesday. Mikel Arteta’s youngsters capitalized on numerous mistakes from a makeshift back line from the home side to come away victorious on the evening. It’s a massive three points for the visitors, who have seen their chances at securing a top four spot rise from the ashes. Meanwhile, Chelsea now must do everything in its power to maintain a healthy lead in third place and avoid the dreaded top four scrap in the coming weeks.
Thomas Tuchel was without a number of key players (notably Mateo Kovacic and Antonio Rudiger) after a win in the FA Cup semifinal at the weekend. He fielded a largely inexperienced back line that consisted of Reece James at right centerback, Andreas Christensen in the middle and Malang Sarr at left centerback. The youngsters—mainly Christensen and Sarr—made Tuchel look like a fool for resting Thiago Silva as they failed to show any defensive awareness against Arsenal. The Blues’ defense was abysmal and they got what they deserved in the end, zero points.
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Here are three lessons we learnt in Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal:
1. Malang Sarr: Hero to zero
Sarr’s first season within the senior team ranks at Stamford Bridge has been a rollercoaster ride. The young French defender began the campaign without an official squad number, but his impressive performances in preseason camp earned him a place in the team. Now sporting the No. 31 shirt, Sarr began the year mostly amongst the reserves or on the bench. He was then given his first opportunities against Brentford and Manchester City in the Premier League. Although those matches were played three months apart, Sarr was excellent in both appearances.
The 23-year-old’s importance to the team grew as the season went on, especially following the season-ending injury suffered by Ben Chilwell. Sarr began to play semi-frequently as Tuchel deployed him as a centerback, a left back and a left wingback. Unfortunately, Chelsea fans were reminded that most fairytales are simply too good to be true as his form began to dip. There was no way the former Nice defender was going to become an integral part of the reigning Champions of Europe’s squad just two years removed from a free transfer . . . right?
Regardless of Sarr’s dip in form over the last few months, he was a warm body on Wednesday night, which was apparently one of the requirements to start against Arsenal. He wasn’t the most criticized defender in the side following a comedy of errors from Christensen in the first half, but it was eventually Sarr’s brainless pass right into the feet of Eddie Nketiah that sealed the deal for the Gunners. There was no way back for the Blues following that mistake as it’s simply too much to ask of an attack to come back from a losing position three times in one night. Sarr has now reached an all-time low in his career after looking like a solid utility man just three months ago.