FT: ARSENAL 1-2 CHELSEA
Both managers will have learned a lot about their sides ahead of the forthcoming Premier League season, with Thomas Tuchel sure to be the happier happy of the two after his side narrowly edged it in the end.
Mikel Arteta will be particularly disappointed with his side’s defensive display, after they repeatedly gave the ball away while attempting to play out from the back, with goalkeeper Bernd Leno the primary culprit.
They were also caught out by the pace of the Chelsea front-line on multiple occasions, with Ziyech and Abraham both failing to convert glaring opportunities to put the game to bed in the second half.
The Gunners showed promise in the first half, with Partey in particular pulling the strings in midfield and Tierney and Aubameyang combining well on the left.
But once Partey had to be withdrawn due to injury, Arsenal noticeably struggled in midfield and Chelsea were able to create chance after chance, which they somehow continually failed to convert.
Joe Willock was unlucky that his thunderous effort which whacked the underside of the crossbar and went into the goal was not awarded, while Arsenal also had a couple of penalty shouts which were ignored.
Despite losing, however, Arsenal fans will be encouraged by the the performances of their new signings, who all had a positive impact on the game after coming on.
Ben White made a goal-saving block, whilst Nuno Tavares delivered some very good crosses from the left flank.
Albert Lokonga also looked promising in midfield and Arsenal fans will look forward to seeing more their new signing in the coming weeks, possibly out of necessity if Partey’s injury rules him out.
Chelsea were without key players Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Jorginho, but the supporting cast put in a good performance to win what was a very open and competitive game.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek in particular played well in midfield for the Blues and will hope that he’s done enough in pre-season to convince Thomas Tuchel that he’s deserving of another chance at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal take on Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in a week’s time, meanwhile Chelsea face the same opposition on Wednesday as part of their charity friendly series in support of Mind.
As we saw today, however, when Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs are coming up against each other, the term ‘friendly’ can only be used very loosely…