Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea: 3 Blues talking points

Leandro Trossard broke the deadlock within five minutes, slotting a low finish past the near post after a powerful run from Declan Rice. The first half was open, and there could have been more goals.

At halftime, the game was still evenly poised, but Arsenal dominated their London rivals in the second half. White doubled the lead from close range, catching Chelsea off guard from a short corner. Havertz then scored against his former club, calmly finishing under pressure after a superb pass from Martin Odegaard.

The German got his second goal midway through the second half, his low shot beating Petrovic inside the post. The visitors' misery continued as Odegaard played a delightful ball over the top, and White, seemingly attempting to square it across the goal, volleyed perfectly into the far corner.

#PochettinoOut

Mauricio Pochettino may become the newest casualty of Chelsea's ongoing search for a successful manager selected by the board. Despite the absence of Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto, who added to Chelsea's long list of injured players, a 5-0 loss is simply unacceptable. Frustrated Chelsea supporters have turned against Pochettino after witnessing his team perform poorly once again. The match was viewed as a significant opportunity for Chelsea to make a statement in the final weeks of the season, but they once again failed to seize it and suffered a heavy defeat against their London rivals.

The things that Poch says in his press conference also get on Chelsea fans' nerves, like for example; Pochettino, in his conference the other day, when the news broke that Palmer was ill and missed training and is doubtful for the game against Arsenal, stated that this isn’t “Cole Palmer FC” but Chelsea FC, indicating that the team doesn’t revolve around the soon-to-be Blues’ player of the season. Well, after the loss, in typical fashion, he blames Palmer's injury for why the attack looks static. One would say, yeah, he’s not wrong, but there’s another issue. Carney Chukwuemeka has been fit for some time now and hardly ever gets a look in for no particular reason. He was an unused sub against City at Wembley on the weekend and once again at the Emirates, instead opting for Conor Gallagher in the No. 10 role, which leads me to the next point.

Attack on mute without Cole Palmer

Every single one of Chelsea’s attackers was nothing short of an embarrassment, which goes to show how important Palmer is to this club. Mykhailo Mudryk looked lost as usual, not knowing what to do with the ball and poor out of possession. Noni Madueke is a bit the same but a bit better, but not up to Chelsea standards. The midfield pairing of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo was catastrophically shambolic once more and never looked comfortable. Nicolas Jackson seems to do everything right but bottles it at the critical moment, in front of goal. Despite these issues, Chukwuemeka was an unused substitute for the losses to Man City over the weekend and Arsenal on Tuesday evening. He has accumulated less than 45 minutes of playtime over the past two months despite being fit to play.

Kai Havertz haunts his former club

Chelsea appeared to have pulled off a coup by convincing Arsenal to pay up to £65m for Kai Havertz. The UCL winner silenced his doubters (and haters) with a quick-fire brace against his former club. The Germany international is a player whose confidence fluctuates. When things aren’t going well, he tends to dwell on his mistakes and can let them affect him. However, when things are going well – like now – he emerges as a well-rounded and highly effective player.

The one-time Blue was outstanding against his former club, relentlessly pressing and capitalizing on dangerous positions. He could have scored even more if Petrovic had not made some decent stops.