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

Positive #3: Still in the title race

Of course, none of us expect to be crowned Premier League champions at the end of the season given the current circumstances, but we must do everything we can to stay in the race. The only thing more frustrating than conceding the initiative to the Sky Blues will be if they unexpectedly slip up between now and the end of the season and we are not there to take advantage of it. After all, they are not machines (we don’t think), and this is still football so anything can happen.

The words of Granit Xhaka after the match certainly suggest that is what the players intend on doing:

"“As a team, we put in a good effort today after the four games we didn’t win, and I think we needed the three points. It was very important. “We needed a reaction for the fans, for ourselves as well to come back with confidence and hopefully we can continue like this for the next four games.”"

Negative #3: No clean sheet

Another game, another goal conceded. Starting with our draw at Anfield, we have shipped 12 goals in just five games, keeping a worryingly low amount of clean sheets in that time – none.

Chelsea are toothless in attack, and in truth, did very little to trouble our defence all game, but that only makes the fact we were unable to keep them out all the more frustrating. There is, of course, the Saliba factor, however, defending encompasses the entire team, and as a collective unit, we must defend with far more rigour.

Ultimately, Chelsea scoring did very little to change the game, but that will not always be the case.