As if anyone needed reminding, Arsenal’s 2-1 home triumph over Chelsea in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi final proved once again that London is, and always will be, red. Arsene Wenger might have watched his team misfire out of the fate, but they recovered nicely to tie the match early and then take the lead for good in the second half. It was a positive performance for every nearly every Gunner on the pitch, and Arsenal will now move on to face Manchester City in a widely anticipated League Cup final.
In-match Adjustments Key To Wenger Besting Conte
The Gunners opened the match with the same team that had dismantled Crystal Palace on Saturday, hoping to win the battle in the midfield against the duo of N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko with sheer numbers. However, Chelsea pressed high early on, stunting the Arsenal build up until Eden Hazard was allowed to walk through a gaping hole in the middle of the Arsenal defence to put Chelsea in the lead. Wenger immediately sprung into action, pinching Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal into more of a central back 3 when Chelsea had the ball, with Arsenal assuming a 5-3-2 shape in defence. For the rest of the first half, Alex Iwobi slid back into a left wing back position, tightly marking Victor Moses on his overlaps down the Chelsea right. This worked to block the channels that the Blues had taken advantage of to open the match, but Iwobi dropping deep constricted their width in attack, and Mesut Ozil was battered repeatedly as he became the only reliable outlet for the Gunners to get out of their end. Clearly, a better balance was needed in the second half, as the Gunners were a fortuitous goal away from entering the locker room trailing after 45 minutes.
The second half saw several slight tweaks to the Arsenal formation, as they retained their 5-3-2 shape without the ball, but Alex Iwobi was replaced in the back line by Mohammed Elneny, who slotted between Mustafi and Koscielny, allowing Iwobi to be more of a threat on the counter. Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette switched places for periods in the second half, giving Ozil wider options to play passes through the lines as Chelsea opened up more, looking for a goal. Arsenal were for more balanced and maintained their spacing much better after the break, forcing Chelsea to chase the ball after Xhaka’s goal gave the Gunners the lead.
Arsene Wenger May not get the credit he deserves for this performance, but he showed the ability to be proactive and creative when trying to solve a very tough Chelsea team. He has beaten Antonio Conte now in a cup competition twice, plus another in the Community Shield to open the season. Even a usual source of derision for the Frenchman, his substitutions, were solid in this match, as the muscle-bound Sead Kolasinac and the relentless Aaron Ramsey are two of Arsenal’s best players to help close out a physical match. Wenger seems to do this every time it looks as though his job could come under serious consideration, pulling incredible performances out of his team whenever their backs are truly against the wall.
Iwobi Fighting Well For Place
Of all the players in the current Arsenal starting XI, Alex Iwobi is the natural choice to be replaced by Henrikh Mkhitaryan once the former Dortmund man makes his debut. Iwobi had been inconsistent for most of the season, but since the turn of the year he has really turned a corner. He looks to have the same burst again that made him so electrifying when he first broke into the team, and he has given the Gunners a reliable outlet in the final third, even contributing a goal in the romp over Crystal Palace last weekend. Despite his good form recently, his shooting has been an undeniable weakness this season, and his effort tracking back has a tendency to fluctuate from match to match.
In a sense, Arsene Wenger can’t be sure what he has yet in Mkhitaryan, whether he resembles the world beater at die Schwarzgelben or the more pedestrian, tricky but inconsistent player he was in Manchester. He is likely to get to play a much freer role than he was allowed under Jose Mourinho, and realistically his performance should improve. When full of confidence, Mkhitaryan is a superior goal threat to the young Nigerian, which Arsenal will need from that left flank after Alexis’ departure. That being said, the team are playing passionate, team-first football right now, finally clear of the giant distraction in the shape of their old number 7, and Iwobi has been a big part of that. He has earned Arsene Wenger’s trust to help fill that void, but there will be plenty of games (and positions) for Mkhitaryan to play should Wenger elect to keep Iwobi in the side.
Xhaka Gets Back To Wembley
On a day when an interview with Granit Xhaka was published in the Evening Standard where the Swiss international spoke of his love for Wembley Stadium, it was his goal that ultimately sent the Gunners back to the “Home of Football” for yet another cup final. He continued an attacking run all the way into the box to capitalise on an Alexandre Lacazette deflected cross, finding the back of the net on a reflexive poke with his left foot, beating Chelsea goalkeeper Wily Caballero. Xhaka has been one of the most heavily criticised Gunners this season despite generally solid performances in the centre of the pitch (granted, with a few memorable mistakes mixed in with his extraordinary amount of touches), but he has really come alive in the last two matches. Mohammed Elneny entering the team as a simple holding midfielder has been a huge factor, giving Xhaka more freedom in the final third to get forward.
Perhaps misunderstood by many fans who thought they were getting a proper defensive midfielder when he signed, Xhaka has brought a slightly unique skill set that escapes a definitive position. He has an incredible array of passes at his disposal and a great engine, but he is neither quick nor fast and doesn’t have the escapability and dribbling skills of player like Jack Wilshere. Defensively, he isn’t a clever or rangy tackler, but he is a tough customer in the midfield, not afraid to get stuck in with anybody while always being the first in to have a teammates back in a conflict. His feet have definitely improved this season in his second year of Premier League level conditioning, and his decision making is still a work in progress, but Xhaka was a captain for Monchengladbach and Wenger had spoken in the past about his intelligence and desire to do the right things on the pitch for his team. Hopefully there is even more to come for Xhaka in his new, more advanced role.
Lacazette Improving With Competition (Potentially) on the Way
Despite Alexandre Lacazette failing to score for the 10th time in 11 matches, the striker still managed to put in a decent showing leading the now Sanchez-less line for the Gunners on Wednesday. It was notable, however, that the Frenchman’s reactions to not receiving a pass in rhythm or to a run not being spotted were ever so slightly more theatric than they had been previously. You could see him look skyward after a few such runs, as if asking himself why he bothers trying. Still, his movement within the framework of the Arsenal way of playing has made significant strides since his debut. He has improved his linkup play considerably while becoming more decisive in his dribbling when he drives toward goal and at defenders.
In December and into January, Lacazette clearly fell off the pace as he was not accustomed to the loaded holiday schedule in England. His conditioning has steadily improved this season, and he is no longer starting to flag noticeably in the latter stages of the match. However, the recent talk of a transfer for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could potentially striker, who only just became the club’s most expensive signing last summer and plays the same position as the Dortmund striker. He has played some wing in his career, and would likely be the choice to move if Aubameyang was signed, but he would be probably be reluctant to leave the position where he has had a tremendous amount of success the last 5 seasons. Wenger has said that good players can play together in matter which positions they play, but it will remain to be seen what happens to Lacazette once another top quality attacker enters the fold.
The Mighty Manchester City Awaits
Last season’s FA Cup triumph for the Gunners was capped off by a brilliant run in the semi final against Manchester City and the final against Chelsea. Both finals have seen Arsenal go head to head with the presumptive Premier League title winners, and they will probably be underdogs again in this match. City may have lost their bid for an undefeated season in the league and their pursuit of Alexis Sanchez in relatively quick succession, but they are still far and away the best team in the league this year and demand the Gunners’ respect. Arsene Wenger will have his work cut out for him against the lauded tactical wizardry of Pep Guardiola and his high-flying side, but the old manager had quietly had a nice run of success recently against his fellow heavyweight managers in cup competitions. The final at Wembley will undoubtedly be can’t-miss football, no matter who might be favoured to take home the trophy.
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