The Nigeria international and Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi was all to behold has he proved the hero in the first half, getting a goal for the Gunners at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.There were four goals in the dramatic first half. Pedro (9) and Alvaro Morata (20) capitalised on woeful Arsenal defending to put Chelsea 2-0 up, as both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed sitters for the visitors after each goal.
But Arsenal found themselves level at the break through Mkhitaryan’s 20-yard effort (37) and Iwobi’s close-range finish (41), with both sides visibly neglecting their defensive duties.
Arsenal crumbled again late on to allow Chelsea the winner, continuing the Blues’ 100 per cent start in the Premier League under Sarri.
Chelsea initially had the run of Arsenal and were ahead through Pedro as Hector Bellerin was caught high up the pitch, allowing Alonso acres to square for his Spanish compatriot in even more space. He duly swept past former Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech.
What Iwobi said after the match
Arsenal midfielder Alex Iwobi: “We started shaky, I don’t know, maybe we didn’t know what to do, but we picked ourselves up and got going. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take all our chances.”
On the manager’s half-time talk: “We were on a high. The message was to keep it going, keep our head and don’t lose ourselves. We fought hard for him.”
On new boss Unai Emery: “We enjoy training, everyone is buying into his ideas. It all takes time, a new manager, a new system and the fans and players know that.”
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (5), Azpilicueta (5), Rudiger (4), Luiz (4), Alonso (7), Kante (6), Jorginho (8), Willian (6), Barkley (7), Pedro (6), Morata (7)
Subs: Kovacic (6), Hazard (7), Giroud (6)
Arsenal: Cech (7), Bellerin (3), Sokratis (4), Mustafi (4), Monreal (5), Xhaka (3), Guendouzi (5), Mkhitaryan (6), Ozil (4), Iwobi (6), Aubameyang (6)
Subs: Torreira (6), Ramsey (6), Lacazette (5)
Man of the match: Jorginho
FACTS
Chelsea have won five of their last six home league games against Arsenal, with the exception being a 0-0 draw last season.
Arsenal have failed to score in four of their last five Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge.
In all competitions, there were two meetings between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge last season, with both finishing 0-0Prior to that, Chelsea had scored in 12 consecutive home matches against the Gunners in all competitions.
In all competitions, Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in their last two away games against Chelsea. They’ve not kept three in a row away at Stamford Bridge since January 1924.
Arsenal and Chelsea have met 52 times in the Premier League. In the first 26 meetings, Arsenal had a 54% win rate (W14 D9 L3), while Chelsea have won 54% of the last 26 (W14 D7 L5).
Arsenal lost their opening Premier League match against Manchester City – they haven’t lost both of their first two games in a season since 1992-93 (vs Norwich and Blackburn).
