Arsenal 4-0 Chelsea: 3 talking points as Gunners end US tour on a high

Arsenal thumped Chelsea 4-0 in the Florida Cup Final. First-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard sent the Gunners on their way before Bukayo Saka and Sambi Lokonga each added a goal in the second half to complete the rout.

Mikel Arteta fielded his strongest possible XI with new recruit Oleksandr Zinchenko starting at left-back. William Saliba partnered Gabriel in the heart of the defence, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka started in midfield, while Gabriel Jesus led the line.

Arsenal dominated the opening exchanges as Chelsea couldn’t deal with the high press, and with just 15 minutes gone, Arsenal had the lead. After a poor giveaway from Trevoh Chalobah, Xhaka threaded a delightful ball to Jesus, who took it under his control and dinked it over the onrushing Mendy to give the Gunners a deserved lead.

The dominance continued as Arsenal doubled their lead. A neat ball from Gabriel Martinelli found Martin Odegaard, who took a touch and fired across Mendy to put the Gunners in the driving seat firmly.

The second half was relatively uneventful until the 65th minute when Arsenal added a third through Saka.

The rest of the half was rather uninspiring, but in injury time, Arsenal had a fourth. A delightful cross from Cedric found Lokonga all by himself at the back post, and the midfielder headed home.
It was a complete performance from Mikel Arteta’s side as they ended their US tour in style.

3 talking points from Arsenal’s 4-0 victory over Chelsea in the Florida Cup

The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.

1. Gabriel Jesus sublime again

It’s a common theme, isn’t it? Our number 9 again covered himself in glory with another brilliant performance. He led the line with aplomb as his pressing caused Chelsea all sorts of problems in the first half.

His goal was a thing of beauty. After being picked out perfectly by Xhaka, Jesus took a touch and cheekily dinked the ball over an onrushing Edouard Mendy to give Arsenal a deserved lead.

What he has been able to do this pre-season has been nothing short of remarkable and what he brings to the Arsenal attack is something else. Every other player thrives off his energy and commitment as he tormented Chelsea from the opening whistle.

The season can’t come soon enough.

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