Arsenal are still five points clear at the summit of the Premier League after battling past Chelsea at The Emirates.
The Gunners had to rely on their defenders to both keep Chelsea out and score the goals, as William Saliba and then Jurrien Timber both bundled in from corners.
Chelsea had a late goal disallowed but Arsenal took the spoils and will take confidence from not playing at their best and still managing to see off a local rival.
Was Bukayo Saka robbed of Man of the Match against Chelsea?
There was plenty to take from the clash, so we’ve looked at THREE things learned from the game if you’re an Arsenal fan.
Arsenal’s attackers have got to start producing
It’s fine for Arsenal to be scoring from set-plays and it seems to be their way of getting points on the board when things aren’t going too well.
However, this doesn’t shy away from the fact that Arsenal’s attacking players need to really step up over the title run-in.
Bukayo Saka produced a decent enough performance out wide but he no longer looks the constant goal threat we’ve seen in previous campaigns. Eberechi Eze was also quiet, while the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres remain inconsistent.
There will come a game where the set-pieces aren’t getting it done and that’s when these players need to bail Arsenal out. Right now, it’s just not happening.
Declan Rice could be running on empty very soon
We’ve all become accustomed to seeing Declan Rice cover every blade of grass and once again today, he was one of the stars of the show.
However, there was a key moment when Rice chased back a loose pass towards his own goal and he had to sprint fully to beat Pedro Neto to the ball before overhitting his own back pass out for a corner.
As the cameras panned, Rice looks visibly exhausted to the point some even thought he might be injured.
Rice, of course, carried on but it is a worry how much work he gets through. It was no surprise to see Christian Norgaard replace him and we might well need to see Rice rested at some point to prevent burnout.
Honest answers only: Is our attack really good enough to win the Premier League?
Arsenal’s set-piece fortune will fall short one day
We can debate all day around if set-pieces and success from them are good for the game or not but Arsenal have mastered it for now.
Scoring from them seems to come natural for the Gunners and it’s almost a surprise now if we don’t see Arsenal find the net from one on a weekly basis.
Nevertheless, as we noted above when talking about Arsenal’s attackers, there will be a game when this does not come off.
Sure, Arsenal will create chaos and there’ll be chances from them. But there’ll come a game where it just doesn’t go over the line and in a title race this close, it might be costly.
Arsenal need to keep doing what they’re doing. But they also need to find goals from elsewhere or risk seeing City overtake them once more.
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