Gunners roar at last
DURING the season of indulgence, this certainly provided Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta with some food for thought.
Not necessarily just the result; this Arsenal’s first victory in eight Premier League matches — but, rather, how his team managed it yesterday.
Out went Gabriel, David Luiz and Willian for a myriad of Covid and illness-related reasons — and in came inexperienced trio Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe and Pablo Mari.
When young Smith Rowe was substituted in the 65th minute, he was replaced by fellow academy youngster Joe Willock as Arteta put faith in his fledglings.
The result: an energetic, dynamic, more industrious Arsenal. But above all else: an Arsenal capable of casting high-fliers Chelsea aside when no-one really gave them a prayer.
The sort of Arsenal their head coach may have thought he’d never see.
So the question is: does Arteta persist with this youthful team? The easy answer to that question appears to be yes.
Why would he want to change it after this result? This was by far and away the best day Arsenal have enjoyed in many months.
It was the first time they’ve scored three goals in a Premier League match since the openingday win over Fulham.
But you would imagine Arteta will not be looking at it quite so simplistically. Dropping senior players for a sustained period of time can often be fraught with difficulties.
There’s plenty to ponder: the impact on the dressing room, their influence on the pitch.
Assessments of Arsenal’s more experienced s t ars have been scathing this season; some of the criticisms totally justified.
But Arteta shouldn’t be so quick to disregard his experienced stars. Indeed, under the same thought process his striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was on the bench for the victory over Chelsea as he recovers from a calf injury, would struggle to get back into this team.
We know that isn’t case, much like Arteta will realise we haven’t seen the end of either Willian or Luiz either. The tardiness of Arsenal’s final 10 minutes would certainly have been enough t o refocus Arteta’s mind as his youngsters wobbled.
In saying that, however, the temptation to persist with this formula will be tough for Arteta to resist following this emphatic win the Spaniard hopes will totally reinvigorate Arsenal’s dismal season.
And so it should, this resounding performance — bursting with enthusiasm and zest — arguably the Gunners’ best Premier League performance and result of the season.
But youth alone will not be enough for Arsenal to dig themselves out of the hole they find themselves and Arteta won’t be negligent of the necessity for balance.