Arsenal recorded their first league win in over 9 matches as they defeated their arch-rivals Chelsea 3:1 to bag three Premier League points in a much heavily contested london derby.
Arsenal had last won a league match against Manchester United on November 1 2020, thanks to a penalty netted by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after Paul pogba brought down Bellerin in the box.
Mikel Arteta’s side were good value for their lead with Alexandre Lacazette getting the ball rolling.
Reece James tripped Kieran Tierney which presented Lacazette with the chance to score from the spot and the hosts never looked back.
Granit Xhaka then struck an excellent second as he curled in a free-kick from 25 yards.
Any second-half rally from the Blues was quickly ended as Bukayo Saka’s cross come shot looped in over a bemused Edouard Mendy.
Here are five talking points from north London derby.
Arsenal’s defiance
Arsenal yet again produced a display a million miles removed from the lethargic performances we’ve seen in recent weeks.
Pressure was, and still is, rightly mounting on Arteta. His side though showed that their quality is not in question and neither is their character.
Despite the absence of several first team regulars like Gabriel Maghaeles, the hosts put in an excellent showing, especially in the first-half.
Chelsea are miles off
Talented? Yes, they have it in abundance. Title contenders? Not even close.
Lampard’s side returned to winning ways on Monday night against West Ham at Stamford Bridge, but they did not put in a 3-0 performance.
It came after two successive defeats but it seemed like normal service was resumed at the Emirates.
You don’t win anything with kids?
Sir Alex Ferguson made a mockery of this now famous quote at Manchester United. Arteta seemingly did the same on Saturday night as he rung the changes.
Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli were all pivotal to Arsenal’s win and may have secured their starting berths for the foreseeable future.
Arteta knew he needed to do something different given his side’s recent fortunes.
He can’t revert to type because he hasn’t been at the club long enough nor has he enjoyed a period of sustained success to turn to.
The Spaniard is still learning on the job to an extent and is experiencing his first major blip.
It was a bold call to drop some of his more established stars and give the younger generation an opportunity.
Lampard can’t find the formula
Summer spending sprees bring with them several things – new opportunities, potential combinations and pressure.
Get the latter two right and pressure never really factors, get them wrong however and quickly questions get asked.
Lampard may soon have to come up with some answers.
His conundrum seems to be that he has a squad of potentially title winning players he just can’t find a title winning formula.
All the best star-studded teams, no matter the depth of their squads, know realistically what their best starting XI is.
Why can’t Timo Werner fire and is he totally nullified on the wing? How on earth has Kai Havertz not hit the ground running? What actually is the best midfield three?
Arteta benches Auba
It has been coming for weeks in fairness, only the striker’s reputation and previous success afforded him such leeway.
Aubameyang was left out by Arteta with youngster Gabriel Martinelli preferred in attack.
The Gabonese international has only scored three times in the league, and one of those was from the spot.
For large periods of his career in north London he has been the man Arsenal turned to in difficult times.
But now he is having to deal with the horrible narrative that stems from his decision to sign a hefty new deal in the summer.
Arsenal have paid the price for putting Mesut Ozil on a mammoth deal, they must be fearing a sense of deja vu.
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