GUNNERS STRIKE AT THE BRIDGE TO GIVE TUCHEL THE BLUES
THREE days before Wembley and this was a timely lesson for Chelsea on complacency from the team who beat them in last season’s FA Cup final. The Blues have been mightily impressive under Thomas Tuchel in reaching both the domestic showpiece and the Champions League finale. Nothing yet is won, however, and at this elite level the quality doesn’t have to slide far before games sway in the balance. For all their failings under Mikel Arteta, the Gunners have won their last three games against Chelsea. They have won three league games in a row and are clinging to the hope of qualifying for Europe next season. Emile Smith Rowe scored the only goal to punish a mistake by Jorginho on 16 minutes, sealing Arsenal’s first win at Stamford Bridge for nearly a decade. ‘I’m very pleased, we haven’t won here in ten years so it’s very good to get the result,’ said Arsenal boss Arteta. ‘It’s a gift because we were pressing through with the right attitude and organisation so you force mistakes. ‘We had good organisation, moments when you come here against Thomas Tuchel you will suffer, it’s not realistic to come here and think you will play them off the park. The attitude of the boys and the team was extraordinary. ‘I am very happy — it’s good we won one football game so I’m happy.’ Tuchel must now find a way of lifting his players ahead of the FA Cup final against Leicester City on Saturday evening. ‘We were not sharp enough, not the same energy as usual,’ admitted the Chelsea boss. ‘We are responsible, I am responsible, we are all in this together so it was not enough to win the game. ‘I’m not happy with what I saw, I have my responsibility because I picked the line-up, but the performance was the performance. ‘We didn’t have a shot for almost the whole second half, then we had a big one, maybe we deserved this today, we learn something.’