Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea Player Ratings: Arsenal Get the Spoils of the London Derby as Chelsea Falter
Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 at home in the Matchday 29 of the Premier League, thanks to the only goal from Mikel Merino. This result has them 12 points away from the table toppers Liverpool. Chelsea on the other hand, faced their eighth defeat of the season and failed to get ahead of the pack of UCL contenders. They remain in fourth place as of now, two points above sixth place Newcastle United.
Arteta made two changes to the Arsenal side, with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Gabriel Martinelli both back in the side at left-back and right-wing respectively. Chelsea on the other hand received a huge blow as their talisman Cole Palmer was out of the squad with an injury and as a result, Maresca went with an experimental side, slotting Reece James into midfield and moving Enzo Fernandez into an attacking midfielder position.
Leandro Trossard got an early chance to score after a pullback to the edge of the box, but he hit it wide. Sanchez’s poor clearance towards Martinelli almost cost them the goal, but they were lucky that Martinelli was unable to convert it. Later, Chelsea defenders surprisingly paused for a moment after Timber breezed past Cucurella, which was deflected onto Sanchez who clumsily parries it out towards Rice, who hit it over the ball despite getting ample time to shoot.
The Gunners continued their dominance continuously attacking and playing on the front foot. Their pressure paid off when Merino made a clever run into the box during a corner routine, heading it in to the far corner. Chelsea played the half on the back foot, often misplacing their passes with sloppy plays and went the whole half with only one shot on target, from which they almost scored as Raya spilled it without blocking it out properly.
Arsenal continued to sustain their high intent attacking football, as they effortlessly moved towards the Chelsea’s box. The derby got spiced up as players were getting into hard tackles and bookings. Arsenal almost doubled their lead as Merino fired another shot from the back post with a volley after receiving a fantastic cross from Martinelli, but Sanchez kept it out with a big save. While Chelsea improved a little bit from their first half, it was not enough to make a difference. Arsenal played it smart in the late minutes, wasting time effectively to ensure the win and the clean sheet.
Arsenal will play against Fulham in the next game week, as Chelsea will invite their other London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge.
Now, here are the player ratings for Arsenal vs Chelsea:
Arsenal Player Ratings
GK- David Raya – 6/10
While he did not face many shots during the game, he fumbled the shot of Cucurella and was fortunate that the ball did not roll into the back of the net.
LB- Myles Lewis-Skelly – 7.5/10
The young full-back found it comfortable to breeze past Chelsea’s attackers on multiple occasions and defended his flank with ease too.
CB- Gabriel – 7/10
He did not give Neto any sort of space, thanks to his excellent one v one defending. He took one for his team as he got himself booked trying to stop a promising Chelsea attack.
CB- William Saliba – 7/10
A calm, commanding presence in the backline, sniffing out dangers and engaging in physical duels with the opposition attackers.
RB- Jurrien Timber – 7/10
His forward runs were terrific and one of them almost got his side a penalty, which was unfortunately not given. His defensive performance did not go unnoticed, as he dispossessed Chelsea’s attackers on multiple occasions.
CM- Declan Rice – 7/10
He could have given his side the lead earlier than expected, but he failed to connect his hit properly. Normal service ensured in his midfield performances, as he did well to dominate the midfield battle.
CM- Thomas Partey – 5.5/10
He was lucky not to get booked for a studs up challenge on Pedro Neto. But, he deservedly got one later in the match.
CM- Martin Odegaard – 8/10
While he was not at his best with his creativity from open play, it was an inch-perfect delivery from him from the corner kick to assist the opening goal of the evening.
LW- Leandro Trossard – 6.5/10
The attacker could have scored a goal himself, but he either hesitated to shoot it himself or played it safe by passing it to the nearest player.
ST- Mikel Merino – 8/10
A midfielder by trade, but he stepped up big time playing as a striker, scoring the opening goal with a sumptuous header during a corner kick.
RW- Gabriel Martinelli – 7.5/10
He was getting into some exciting, goal-scoring positions, but he was not clinical enough to convert those chances into goals.
SUB- Ethan Nwaneri – 6/10
The young attacker got to stretch his legs late in the game, to protect the lead and provide rest to Martinelli.
SUB- Kieran Tierney – NA
The fullback was put in during the closing stages to provide rest to Odegaard, who was also on a booking.
Manager- Mikel Arteta – 7.5/10
Despite being out of the title race, it is a good result for his side to sustain their second place as the teams below them are slowly closing the points gap. While the forwards could have been more clinical, it is understandable as it is not their preferred set of front three. He did not use his bench to rotate players and trusted his starting eleven to close the job.
Chelsea Player Ratings
GK- Robert Sanchez – 5/10
He was very fortunate to not concede a goal after a mistake he made while clearing the ball out. He looked clumsy the whole evening, struggling to command his space
LB- Marc Cucurella – 6.5/10
The fullback got skinned by Arsenal attackers during multiple instances, but on the other hand, he almost got his name on the scoresheet.
CB- Levi Colwill – 5/10
The centreback was aggressive on some occasions and rightfully entered into the books of the referee.
CB- Benoit Badiashile – 5.5/10
He struggled to deal with Martinelli in some occasions and as a result put the pressure on his defense.
RB- Wesley Fofana – 5/10
He was engaging in physical duels and almost got himself into trouble after his altercation with Declan Rice. He could have been sent off and was lucky that the referee looked the other way and only gave him one yellow for the whole evening.
CM- Moises Caicedo – 6/10
Despite not shining outright, he had some moments of quiet brilliance, winning the ball back and engaging in ground duels.
CM- Reece James – 5.5/10
The fullback played in midfield today and despite some good looking passes here and there, the captain failed to make an impact as it felt like that position was failing to get out his best attributes.
CM- Enzo Fernandez – 6/10
He played in an advanced position in the Cole Palmer role, but he was neither flashy nor creative.
LW- Christopher Nkunku – 5/10
It was a bland, spiceless performance from him, as he was never an offensive threat throughout the match.
ST- Pedro Neto – 5/10
The forward was not playing in his natural position and struggled naturally. The lack of service did not help either and it ended up as a disappointing affair.
RW- Jadon Sancho – 4.5/10
A very anonymous performance from him, almost invisible in occasions. He failed to influence the game creatively nor was visible making defensive contributions.
SUB- Tyrique George – 6/10
The young attacker was put in to provide a different perspective to the Chelsea attack and had one good moment where he almost assisted Cucurella.
SUB- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 5.5/10
He entered the fray in his place of Nkunku for the Blues to make a difference, which he failed to do.
SUB- Romeo Lavia – NA
The midfielder was a natural replacement to James, who was struggling in the match.
SUB- Malo Gusto – NA
The right back was put in for his fresh legs as a cover to Fofana, who got booked
SUB- Tosin Adarabaiyo – NA
He was the replacement for Badiashile and was given responsibility to add solidity to the backline.
Manager- Enzo Maresca – 4.5/10
The lack of Cole Palmer in the starting eleven was clearly evident as it was a very disappointing performance from his side, struggling to maintain possession and create meaningful chances. The substitutes were too late to make a meaningful impact.
The Sportsdunia Player of the Match goes to Arsenal’s Mikel Merino.
Q: What was the scoreline of Arsenal vs Chelsea?
A: The scoreline of Arsenal vs Chelsea was 1-0.
Q: Who scored the only goal in the Arsenal vs Chelsea?
A: Mikel Merino scored the only goal in the Arsenal vs Chelsea.
Q: Who was the best player in Arsenal vs Chelsea?
A: Mikel Merino was the best player in Arsenal vs Chelsea.
Q: Who was the worst player in Arsenal vs Chelsea?
A: Jadon Sancho was the worst player in Arsenal vs Chelsea