Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea: Toothless Blues lose in London Derby

The Blues only left the Emirates Stadium with a 1-0 loss, but honestly, it could have been much worse. The first half was nothing short of a disgrace—Chelsea couldn’t string together more than four passes, barely got out of their own half, and looked completely lost under Arsenal’s press.

It was one-way traffic from the start, and when Mikel Merino nodded in from a corner in the 20th minute, it felt like the floodgates could open. Somehow, the west Londoners made it to halftime without conceding again, which was about the only positive.

Both teams were missing key starters, and outside of the opening half-hour, the game turned into a poor spectacle. However, Chelsea were on a whole different level of bad. With Cole Palmer out, Enzo Fernández was pushed into the No. 10 role, and it looked bleak from the start. He looked uncomfortable from the first whistle, and with the rest of the attack standing around like statues, there was no movement, no urgency, and no creativity.

Every decision in the final third was the wrong one—whether it was forcing a bad pass or holding onto the ball for too long. Arsenal’s press deserved credit, but Chelsea made their lives way too easy.

The second half was slightly better, not that it could’ve gotten much worse. Arsenal’s intensity dropped, which allowed CFC to finally put a few passes together, but there was still no real attacking threat. There was no big push for an equalizer, no sustained pressure, just a slow, lifeless performance that felt like the team had accepted the loss long before the final whistle. Romeo Lavia made a brief cameo in the final ten minutes, and at this point, all that matters is keeping him fit to actually contribute in the season’s final stretch.

With that, Chelsea’s winless away run continues, dating back to early December against Spurs—who just so happen to be their next opponent after the international break, this time at Stamford Bridge. Hopefully, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke will be available, because this attack needs all the help it can get.

Despite the loss, Chelsea remain in fourth, barely holding on with a one-point cushion over Manchester City, who dropped points to Brighton on Saturday. Though if you look back, only five points separate fourth from tenth—it’s genuinely insane how tight it is.

One bad result, and suddenly, you’re out of the Champions League race entirely. This team cannot afford another performance like this, because the margin for error is getting thinner by the week.