Arsenal vs Chelsea: More pleasant surprises, please

Mikel Artet cited some “pleasant surprises” coming to the forefront against Bournemouth, so if Arsenal could keep that up against Chelsea, that’d be great.

After the Bournemouth match, the impulse reaction may have been to be a bit disappointed in the result, Arsenal deserved better than a 1-1 draw. They played their hearts out, which is such a rarity these days.

But when you stop and appreciate the long game that we’re playing, you can begin to compartmentalize all the positives that we saw. Or, as Mikel Arteta described them—”pleasant surprises.”

These pleasant surprises involved carrying out his tactics for the full 90 minutes, a sturdy midfield with a purpose, a plethora of created chances, and more. There was just a lot to be excited about, all of which we would love to see more of against Chelsea.

But we’d also like to see some more pleasant surprises as well. Midfield solidity, created chances and defensive competence were my three big takeaways against Bournemouth. Assuming that carries over to Chelsea, I want to see some other things spring up.

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First of all, I want to see fullbacks who act like fullbacks. This is a big ask for two guys who aren’t fullbacks, but Ainsley Maitland-Niles is pretty much a fullback at this point anyway and Bukayo Saka could resolve a lot of stress if he can learn to be one.

Those two were pulled all over the place against Bournemouth and Chelsea won’t be as forgiving if they can do the same.

We also have to see better finishing. In all likelihood, we will have Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out there at the very least, and these are two guys who can absolutely put the finishing touches on the ball. Aubameyang has a history of it. Pepe does too, and he’s in form for the first time since his arrival.

These are the pleasant surprises that I believe we can see, but there are more that I’m hesitant to name because they feel… unlikely.

A clean sheet, for instance. How nice would a home clean sheet against Chelsea be? It would definitely be a surprise. And it would definitely be pleasant.

A Mesut Ozil masterclass? He was on the cusp against Bournemouth. We haven’t seen him at his free-flying best in years. Literally, years.

There’s potential here to see some special stuff. And I hope that after, Mikel Arteta has so many more pleasant surprises to talk about.