Chelsea Edge Past Dogged Arsenal in Five Goal Thriller
Despite the valiant efforts of Alex Iwobi and his Arsenal teammates, Marcos Alonso’s late strike handed Chelsea a narrow victory in Maurizio Sarri’s first home match as Blues manager. Arsenal had come back from two goals down but with nine minutes left the Spaniard struck to seal all three points from a lively encounter at Stamford Bridge. Pedro put the Blues ahead after nine minutes by sweeping in an Alonso cross on the counter, before Alvaro Morata doubled the lead with a smart finish following Cesar Azpilicueta’s long ball. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang spurned a glorious chance just moments before Morata’s strike, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan also blazed over from a fine position in the box after the Gunners went two goals behind. But Unai Emery’s side continued to cut Chelsea open and they hauled themselves level in dramatic fashion, scoring two goals in four minutes as Mkhitaryan drove in fiercely from the edge of the box before Iwobi converted the Armenian’s cut-back before the break. After half-time, Ross Barkley brought an impressive save from Petr Cech and N’Golo Kante saw a promising shot blocked by Sokratis, while Aubameyang had a goal correctly ruled out for offside on the break. Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga almost spilled a cross straight to substitute Alexandre Lacazette, and Kante might have done better with a close-range header in the box. But Alonso made no mistake with a tidy finish from close range after substitute Eden Hazard’s run and pass across goal set up the winner. The game was a heavyweight Premier League clash for the managerial newcomers Sarri and Emery - and they were provided with plenty of food for thought after an engrossing 90 minutes. Emery is perpetual motion in his technical area, pacing it constantly from almost the first minute, a blur of gesticulations and dramatic effect with cajoling and encouragement throughout. The Spaniard is still trying to put his imprint on this Arsenal team after the end of Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign and he is very obviously a hands-on figure. It is also clear from the manner in which Arsenal got back into the game - even though they ended defeated - that his new players are fighting for their manager. Sarri, dressed casually in a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, was far less animated than Emery but was still keen to get his message across and it is already clear he is determined to repeat the brand of attacking play that made his reputation as he makes his mark at Stamford Bridge. These two experienced managers will add plenty of character and colour to the Premier League’s A-list cast of managers - and both will have much to keep them occupied.