"Revived memories of their finest days" - Media reaction to Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea

By grvadmin

Arsenal secured their fourth win in a row with an excellent 3-0 win over London rivals Chelsea, on Saturday evening. Goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil won the game for the Gunners, all inside the first 45 minutes. The visitors looked lost defensively, and left Antonio Conte with plenty of work to do in order to make his side solid again.

Here’s what the media made to the convincing 3-0 win for Arsene Wenger’s men:

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Dominic Fifield wrote in the Guardian that Arsenal will be over-joyed to get the points, in a game that suggested troubled times were ahead for Conte’s side:

“The din from the majority that greeted the final whistle here was an outpouring of joy after five years largely spent dreading this derby. Arsenal, so rampant as an attacking force, have become the latest contender to expose ruthlessly just how far Chelsea have fallen off the pace in the period since they claimed the Premier League.”

The Blues conceded two to both Leicester and Liverpool, before the defeat to Arsenal. Any ideas that Conte was going to make the side as solid as his Italian team at the Euros straight away were proven quickly wrong. While this Chelsea team have big names, it seems that there are issues still at the heart of the team.

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Many media outlets chose to focus on the nature of how poor Chelsea played.

Andrew Dillon and Jim Sheridan reflected in the Sun:

“Conte’s Chelsea bullied and outplayed by their North London rivals in one-sided derby at the Emirates.”

Chelsea failed to have a shot on target throughout the game, and rarely looked close to mustering a comeback.

Sami Mokbel from the Daily Mail was concerned about the nature of the defending:

“Antonio Conte’s defence needs major surgery. The Blues back-four were lost at sea without John Terry, who missed this clash through injury.

But at 35, Terry’s career is drawing to a close. To say Chelsea need three new first choice defenders isn’t an overstatement.

The next two transfer windows are likely to be busy for Chelsea.”

Sami was more impressed with the performance of Alexis, who now moves onto five goals this season:

“Arsene Wenger’s experiment of playing Alexis Sanchez through the middle is working a treat.

Another goal, taking his season tally to five, and an assist was further proof.

Wenger famously turned Thierry Henry from a winger into a striker. A second transformation is coming along nicely.”

Phil McNulty, for the BBC, wrote all about the positives of this Arsenal side:

“Arsenal, for all Chelsea’s obvious frailties, were simply untouchable from back to front in a magnificent first 45 minutes that revived memories of their finest days.

The Gunners showed pace, skill, pressed Chelsea into submission and probed weaknesses ruthlessly in the manner of a team at the top of its game.”

Arsenal now face Basle on Wednesday night in a game where they will wish to carry on their form, while Chelsea have a week to improve their defending ahead of their next league fixture.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Martin Hills