3 positives & negatives as Arsenal ease past Chelsea 3-1

Positive #2: Jakub Kiwior

I’ll admit, when I saw the lineup and realised we were starting two left-footed centre-backs, I was a little concerned. However, Kiwior eased my doubts very quickly and looked assured throughout the match. He and Gabriel marshalled Aubameyang excellently, resulting in the Gabon international being substituted at half-time, and Kiwior resembled William Saliba far more than Rob Holding.

Arteta heaped praise on the 23-year-old after the match:

"“He looked ready, he looked fresh, he looked really determined. He’s been getting better and better every single day, not only in training but his interaction and his language. He’s more settled and he’s a player that I really like, that’s why I signed him. “He has the potential at his age to be great and he had a big task against the players he had to face today, and I think he didn’t really well.”"

The only question I would pose is this: if Arteta had such little faith in Holding that he felt the need to start a potentially controversial centre-back pairing of two left-footers in this game, then why wait until the title is no longer in our hands to do so?

Negative #2: Gabriel Magalhaes injury

A massive worry from the game was the injury that Gabriel sustained. Equally as worrying as the injury itself, was the fact that the same issue had forced him to the ground three times before he eventually left the field. The Brazilian has been fantastic this season, in my opinion even better than Saliba, and if we were to lose the defender whilst the Frenchman is still out, our defence would become far, far weaker.

In his post-match press conference, Arteta admitted he was “a bit concerned” as Gabriel is not the type of player to retire early from a match unless he absolutely has to. If we are to have any chance of catching Manchester City, then we will need the 25-year-old back at the heart of our defence as soon as possible.

Continued on the next slide…