Arsenal bounced back from a disappointing defeat against West Ham United to beat Chelsea convincingly at the Emirates Stadium and keep their top four hopes alive.
Even in mid-January, this was a must-win game for Arsenal. A defeat would’ve left them nine points behind Chelsea, three points behind Manchester United and a potential 10 points behind Tottenham Hotspur (depending on Sunday’s result). Even with a few months to go, overtaking two of those teams would be a massive task.
The players seemed to understand the importance of the game, putting in one of their best team performances of the season. Scoring twice in the first half, Arsenal then managed to grind out the victory in the second, without ever really looking like throwing it away.
It was one of Arsenal’s hardest-earned results, with the team covering more ground (121.7km) than in any single match since Opta started tracking the stat in 2013/14.
Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the match.
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Aaron Ramsey 9
Ramsey was given a specific task by Unai Emery, and he executed the gameplan excellently. His job was to man-mark Jorginho and shut down Chelsea’s main man in their build-up play, which he did without any problems.
The Welshman also added to Arsenal’s offensive threat, and the two strikers ahead of him certainly benefitted from his presence. However, his main job was to stop Jorginho, and he did so almost faultlessly.
Alexandre Lacazette 8.5
Lacazette’s goal was top class. He could easily have gone down after Pedro snapped at his ankles in the box, but instead, he stayed on his feet and fired into the net from the tightest of angles. Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane could learn a thing or two from that piece of play.
The striker also made a few interceptions and clearances, putting in a shift like everyone else on the team.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8
Aubameyang almost scored one of the goals of Arsenal’s season so far, but his overhead kick flew just wide. The striker worked really hard for the team, making three fantastic tackles. He perhaps could’ve done better with one shot in the first half, and he struggled a bit to link up with his teammates, especially when Lacazette went off.
Nonetheless, he put the effort in and did his job, and he was a threat despite his limited touches.
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