Crisis? What crisis?!

CHELSEA 3 – ARSENAL 5

Well that went well, didn’t it?

The perfect way to end a week which has been dominated by the pretty poor performance of the speakers at the AGM (with the exception of Arsene Wenger). And a reminder to those who had forgotten just what Arsenal are capable of. Throw in the obvious satisfaction of beating one of our fiercest rivals, and you reach the sum of a lot of delighted Gooners tonight.

It didn’t always appear it was going to be like that though. At half time I was nervous, edgy, annoyed and braced for another half of exceptionally average defending, more Chelsea goals, and another away defeat. Luckily, I was wrong.

The second half performance was one of the best halves of football I’ve seen us play in recent years. OK yes, there are still a lot of areas to work on (mainly the defence), but everything seemed to click going forward.

Theo Walcott was particularly impressive; I thought it was his best game of the season by far. In the first half he created two golden opportunities, both of which were squandered by Gervinho and Robin van Persie respectfully, but it took nothing away from the vision and execution Walcott provided. He was on the ball, keen and eager. And best of all, his decision-making was a lot better than what we’ve previously seen this season. His goal was exceptionally well taken too, if a little fortunate, but the finish was fantastic. Beating Petr Cech at his near post is not an easy achievement.

Our midfield trio of Mikel Arteta, Alex Song and Aaron Ramsey were also outstanding today. Arteta at times was unnoticeable, but that’s not always a bad thing. His passing rate was excellent (94%), and he’s growing into a similar role that Luka Modric possesses at Sp*rs – not going to get huge figures in the goals and assists column, but provides the basis on which we can build attacks. He can hold when he needs to, and can push forward equally. He’s a very good technical player, and is doing a great job in the team.

Aaron Ramsey was one of the stars of the show. He’s seriously improved over the recent weeks, and now looks very comfortable in the dreaded “Cesc role”. The pass for the first goal was fantastic and clinical. The latter being an element he is really emphasising in his play right now. He’s assisting, and he’s scoring as well. Wenger kept faith with him, when a lot of people wrote him off. With no Jack Wilshere, and with the loss of Fabregas and Nasri over the summer, someone had to step up. Ramsey has stepped up, and he’s getting better and better every week.

With all these positives though, I do need to take a quick step back and lower the mood somewhat. As, once again, we had a shocker defensively. Inside the opening minutes, both our flanks were exploited leading to great chances for Chelsea’s attack. Fair enough, Johan Djourou is playing out of position, and Andre Santos is still adapting to the English game (and looking a little unfit). But there were holes there, and both first half goals conceded were very avoidable. Per Mertesacker looked very uncomfortable, and particularly with The Racist’s goal, he should have done a lot better job with his marking. 

Santos improved admirably in the second half. In the first half his tackling was dreadful, but it was a lot better after the break and he made some crucial tackles on the left which often turned defence into attack within seconds. His goal was well taken too. Maybe Cech should have done better yes, but it was a composed finish from a player still new to the surroundings he’s playing in. He’s clearly a talented footballer, although slightly concerned about his defensive ideals…

The stand out defender though was Laurent Koscielny. His game has improved leaps and bounds lately, and he’s established himself as Arsenal’s first choice centre back in my opinion this season (although that’s largely due to Thomas Vermaelen’s injury too). He made a couple of incredibly crucial blocks in the area, interceptions, clearances and was a commanding presence in an obvious fragile back four. Surely he will be paired with Vermaelen once he’s fully fit again, and that will be a very good centre back pairing. Per is a good player, but he is still adapting to the pace of the English game, with his low mobility an obvious hindrance.

Save the best till last though. Once again, the man of the moment was Robin van Persie. Not only is he an exceptionally talented footballer, but his leadership skills are also more and more noticeable these days. He leads by example, speaks exceptionally well, and is a brilliant role model. He’s inspirational, and he’s ours. Whatever he wants, we should give it to him. Losing Cesc was devastating. Losing RVP, would be worse. 

It was a hat trick of the highest class. The first was a simple tap in, after some great work by Ramsey and Gervinho, and it was a classic Arsenal goal. The Racist brilliantly assisted the second, after he graciously assumed his usual position of on all fours and allowed RVP through, to coolly round Cech and pass the ball into an empty net. It was exceptional composure in a big, big moment. The third goal was a standard counter attack, but the finish again was a great strike. Cech probably could have done more for this one too (common theme here), but I’m not complaining.

All in all, it was a brilliant second half team performance. The serious doubts at the interval were quickly abolished. Chelsea had never conceded five goals at Stamford Bridge in their eight year history. They have now. Their lovable chairman Bruce Buck called for them to “beat the crap” out of us. They didn’t. I don’t like Chelsea at all. They have gained success purely out of having dirty financial muscle. I respect Man United, I respect Liverpool. I even respect Sp*rs more than I do Chelsea. So stuffing them at their place was all the more enjoyable for the reasons above.

It was the perfect place to provide Wenger his 500^th win, too. Are we now capable of going on and challenging for the title? Maybe a little unlikely, but I’m sure Wenger will state the belief is there that it’s possible. It certainly throws open the race for third, as well as fourth. Using true Wenger-like language, I believe we have what it takes to make the Champions League again next year. The squad have shown real improvements over the past few weeks, and they should be confident of inflicting further defeats on other clubs. I know I am.

Roll on Marseille on Tuesday.