Chelsea 2-4 Arsenal: 4 massive positives from top four revival

‘Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in’. Yes indeed, going full Al Pacino in The Godfather: Part III, Arsenal successfully reeled a reeling fanbase back into the cause with a stunning 4-2 win over Chelsea.

When the lineup was announced and the task of keeping their Champions League bid alive was being placed in the hands of Eddie Nketiah, Rob Holding and Mohamed Elnenypr, it was almost worth a chuckle.

Every now and then you come across a picture of a team lineup with a caption saying something along the lines of ‘remember when [team] took this side to the FA Cup semi-finals?’. At some point in the future this very team will be looked back on.

Fortunately, with nothing but fond memories.

Chelsea 2-4 Arsenal: 4 massive positives as Gunners keep Premier League top four dreams alive with magnificent victory at Stamford Bridge

Predatory instincts and composure from Eddie Nketiah came either side of a beautifully taken Emile Smith Rowe goal where he elegantly cushioned the ball into the bottom corner beyond Edouard Mendy, although nerves weren’t truly settled until the very final moments.

A contentious penalty call – contentious as it has really split the field – ended with Bukayo Saka calmly smashing the ball across goal to send an already jubilant away support into raptures.

Near enough every side has a bogey team and, somehow, Arsenal are Chelsea’s. That’s now three in a row unbeaten at Stamford Bridge, and only three wins in the last 16 meetings between these sides in all competitions for the Blues.

What has partially been lost amid the chase for a top four place is that this was a London derby. As beneficial as it is to the cause, just beating Chelsea at any time or at any place is a feeling worth cherishing. A special night for all involved was understandably littered with positive notes.

1. Mikel Arteta’s Changes Work

As is so often the case one hour before kick-off, there was a Springfield Nuclear Power Plant scale meltdown when it was announced that two changes had been made from the Southampton defeat, with Rob Holding and Mohamed Elneny coming into the fold.

Would it be a back three? Would White be a right-back? It turned out to be a combination of the two, before eventually shifting to a back five.

It would be a lie to say the majority were filled with confidence. But the changes worked superbly, even if Holding tried his very best to unravel them in the opening 30 or so minutes.

Having the alterations prove successful is one thing. Having them work under the circumstances surrounding the manager is another. There were some already saving the drafts of their #ArtetaOut tirades. After coming under such heat for the past three games, while Arteta will never, and has never, put himself ahead of the club in any way, this victory will mean as much for him as it does the team.

He isn’t afraid to make the big calls. We’ve seen them work for him as well as be detrimental to the team. It was absolutely the latter on this occasion. For the sake of success and narrative these changes couldn’t result in a fourth straight defeat. They just couldn’t and…they didn’t.

Leaning on experience, aerial ability, calmness and structure with his tweaks, Arteta asked a lot of his players, and they delivered.

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2. Arsenal Deliver Under Pressure

Some aspects of the team have been overly criticised. They’re only young. But that youth still has to deliver as they are the ones representing this football club – and that means performing under pressure. Just as it does for Arteta.

This is where the team have fallen short before. One need only look at April’s of seasons gone past to witness months of hard work be undone in the face of adversity. When the pressure is piled on, it has proven too much.

In the case of Arteta, he’s shown himself to be a fantastic coach and manager when the ball is rolling. When it comes to crisis he is more guilty of anyone at failing to find solutions. Oftentimes he over-complicates or remains too stubborn. On this occasion he too delivered under pressure.

And this was more than just pressure: Arsenal hadn’t lost four consecutive Premier League matches since 1995 and their thin hopes of securing a top four place were on the line as they traveled to the ground of none other than the European champions.

If you’re looking for a pressured environment, three successive defeats and multiple players out injured is about as clear of an example as one could ask for.

This team pulled through in glorious fashion and they deserve immense credit for it. They showed unbelievable fight, determination and character, as well as composure when it mattered at both ends of the pitch.

Crisis? What crisis?

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3. An Arsenal Striker Scored a Goal

Hopefully Lacazette enjoyed his seat on the bench because there is no way he is getting up off it when Manchester United head to the Emirates on Saturday. Not a chance.

Having netted just 12 goals in the 11 matches since losing to Manchester City on New Years’ Day, the very real problem facing this team has been one of productivity. There have been chances, just not the requisite number of goals to go with them.

Scoring just two from the previous 73 shots on target – one of which was hugely deflected – prior to Wednesday night, coming away from Stamford Bridge with four on the scoreboard is much more than a welcome relief. It is a potential solution.

Nketiah was magnificent on the night beyond just running channels and keeping a cool head in front of goal, and now Arsenal have something to cling onto for the rest of the campaign. Those who’ve watched Nketiah’s career will know he could easily produce a 4/10 next match, but at least Arsenal know he can also come up with a 9/10. That’s not the solution, but it is a solution.

A pretty fine one, too.

Of course, this was a very different game to the previous three. Arsenal had less of the ball, and this gives them the platform to play through teams, which is when they’re at their finest.

This is transitional team with technical craft and speed in dangerous areas. Chelsea and their dreadful back three helped play into Arsenal’s hands. Nobody is dispelling that.

But purely for confidence’s sake, it’s three points in the bag, three goals from open play scored and one striker leaving with two to his name. A near enough perfect night.

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4. Bukayo Saka Shows Courage From the Penalty Spot

The last penalty Saka took was saved. It was the final of three missed spot-kicks that consigned England to defeat in the Euro 2020 final, their first major final since they won the World Cup in 1966.

That defeat leaves a scar. It still does. It likely always will. Imagine how it feels for the guy who took it.

So for Saka, then, who became the scapegoat by so many as he was last up to the plate, to demand the ball as soon as Jon Moss pointed to the spot on Wednesday was another glowing example of the bravery and maturity of this young man.

He chose to take this penalty, a decision that even caught the manager off guard.

"“I thought that Gabi [Martinelli] was going to take it,” Arteta said in his press conference, “And when I saw that Bukayo took it, honestly, my first thing that I thought was back in the summer and what happened. “But again, I said to you guys, when that happens to Bukayo, that happened for a reason and he learned so much and he matured so much, that’s why he’s having the season that he’s had. For him to have to the courage to say ‘I’m going to take it again’ because I’m sure it was in the back of his mind, for me it’s ‘chapeau’ even if he had missed it.”"

You could see what it meant to him when he smacked the back of the net, perhaps even more so as his standing foot slipped just as he planted it and he could so nearly have double kicked it. How agonising that would have been.

We say it every week but this 20-year-old man is special. A gem of a footballer and a hero of a man.