Arsenal vs Chelsea: 5 things learned in the trapdoor of hope

Arsenal nearly pulled a point or three out of Stamford Bridge but, in the end, failed. Here are five things we learned in the process.

Arsenal looked to be on the doorstep of a major thumping when Chelsea eviscerated them for two quick goals in the opening twenty minutes of the game. The Gunners were dejected and helpless, mere puppies to the lions of Chelsea.

Missed chances riddled the attack and snoozing riddled the defense. There was very little hope to be found.

That is, until Henrikh Mkhitaryan bucked up and did something about it, scoring one goal and creating another in quick succession. So quick, that it looked as though the momentum would carry the visitors to some much-needed points.

Only half-time killed the momentum and, just like that, we were playing for a draw. Until Chelsea snuck in at the death and stuck the dagger in, pulling a late goal from more poor defending and taking the full pointage.

In the process of the match, the learning continued. Here are five things we learned from another loss.

5. This defense is just plain weird

It was always going to be hard to fix the entirety of the defensive woes from last year, but you might have hoped that we’d fix some. I’m not sure we have. Or, if we have, we’ve merely relocated them to other areas.

Shkodran Mustafi was good. He really was. And that is the last good thing I can say about the defense. From wide angles, we were absolutely destroyed by superior fullbacks and wingers on the other side of things. It was embarrassing.

And somehow, someway, this club still manages to fall asleep on balls over the top. I don’t know how it’s possible.

I don’t know what else can be done to help repair this defense, but needless to say, it still isn’t working. It isn’t even just a simple, recurring mistake either. It’s multiple mistakes across the board, between many different players.

It needs help, that much is certain.

On to No. 4.