Good time for the 'good people'
There were some obvious standout performers from Arsenal's 4-2 win over Chelsea on Wednesday night, but before we get to them, it's worth focusing a little more on the unsung heroes. As the Gunners top four challenged careered off course over the past few weeks, one of the things that it made it feel perhaps more terminal than previous bumps in the road this season, was how much it had exposed the perceived lack of depth.
Injuries to Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu disturbed what previously appeared to be a solely upward bound trajectory at the Emirates, and the quality gap between the starting XI and the squad players had seen Arsenal's form drop off a cliff. However, with their backs truly against the wall at Stamford Bridge, it was the second string who came to the fore.
Of course Eddie Nketiah will grab the headlines, but a special word has to go to Mohamed Elneny who was superb at the base of the midfield. Romelu Lukaku was anonymous throughout the game with only Aaron Ramsdale managing as few touches as him, and this was largely down to the work Elneny did in cutting off the supply line to Chelsea's number nine.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Saka's penalty, Nketiah's display and top four hopes
Nuno Tavares meanwhile had his second solid game in a row. He was admittedly ball watching for Cesar Azpilicueta 's strike, but his alertness to intercept the Spaniard's misplaced pass essentially made the Nketiah's second, which ultimately proved to be a blow Chelsea couldn't recover from.
Rob Holding also recovered from a shakey beginning to the game to produce a creditable backs-to-the-wall type performance as Arsenal sat deeper towards the end of the match on what was his first start in any competition since January.
After the game Mikel Arteta was keen to highlight the performance of those who he had turned to in difficult times. highlighting their character to maintain professionalism despite limited opportunities to play. "If you see the training session we had on Sunday after the defeat, if you see Mo Elneny, Rob, Nicolas Pepe, how they trained, I think it’s the reason why we won," the Spaniard said in his post-match press conference.
"I said to them before the game, that to good people, good things happen and we have some really, really good people in that dressing room and that shows when they are not involved, not in the good moments. They have performed today because of how they look after themselves and how much they care about the team."
While there can be little doubt that Arsenal do need to bring in reinforcements if they are to close the gap to a side like Chelsea, the commitment of this current crop to the aim of qualifying for the Champions League cannot be called into question. When the Gunners needed them, their second string stood up.
Nketiah sends transfer message
When footage was shared on social media revealing that Alexandre Lacazette was back in the squad for Wednesday night's match, many assumed that Eddie Nketiah would be the one to miss out. The England under-21 had not exactly played badly while filling in during the 1-0 defeat to Southampton while Lacazette was recovering from COVID-19, but given the established pecking order at the Emirates, it seemed hard to see him starting.
Mikel Arteta will be thanking his stars that he did as he popped up with two goals that appear to have put Arsenal right back in the top four race. What was particularly interesting about the strikes was the fact that they were goals that he could score, but Lacazette most likely could not.
Yes, Nketiah was fortunate in the way Andreas Christensen miskicked his backpass to Edouard Mendy for the first goal, but can you imagine Arsenal's number nine having the tenacity to press so high up the pitch, and then the mobility to race away and finish with precision. The second was similarly fortunate, but it's hard to picture Lacazette being such a proactive focal point in the middle of the box that he would have been able feed off such scraps.
It perhaps makes you wonder why we haven't seen the 22-year-old sooner, and after the game Arteta revealed exactly why. "If there is one player that I have been unfair with I think it’s him," the Spaniard said. "He has given me every right to do something different, and if Eddie doesn’t play more, it’s my fault and because as a manager I missed something or I haven’t had the courage to play him more. Today he showed me more how wrong I was."
In fairness there were still things that reminded those with doubts exactly why they have them. In one night at Stamford Bridge, Nketiah equalled his entire Premier League goals tally for Arsenal since June 2020 with two strikes, while his trampoline-like link up play surrendered possession cheaply in the build up Timo Werner's initial equaliser.
Despite Arteta's public pleas to convince him to stay, the Hale Ender appears to have already made his mind up over what he wants to do with his future. Almost immediately after full time he retweeted the link to an interview he had done earlier this week calling for more opportunities to show his ability on the football pitch and admitting that he is far from certain of being an Arsenal player next season.
Regardless of his performance at Stamford Bridge, the reality remains that most Gunners fans have probably made their peace with that. But between now and the end of the campaign there is still a job to do. Nketiah is a shoe in now to start against Manchester United this weekend, and with the prize of Champions League qualification on the line, the hope will be that he can live up to the big billing that he's given himself.
Saka exorcises ghosts of the summer
Bukayo Saka was not supposed to take the penalty that sealed Arsenal's first back-to-back away victories over a big six opponent since 2012. In fact as Mikel Arteta revealed after the game, there was a general panic among the Gunners bench as the 20-year-old stepped up to take the spot kick.
"I thought Gabi was going to take it and when I saw that Bukayo was going to take it," the Spaniard said. "Honestly, the first thing I thought was back in the summer and what happened." By this point everyone is well versed with what that is.
Saka had to go through something at just 19-years-of-age that no one should have to go through at any stage in their life, as he was subjected to a tirade of racist abuse after missing the crucial penalty kick in England's EURO 2020 final. That is something that has haunted him consistently since. Even on Wednesday night vile and tasteless chants of "you let your country down" could be heard from some sections of a Chelsea fanbase who booed him during the reverse fixture at the Emirates in August.
Regardless though the Hale Ender has risen above it to improve upon a season that was good enough to see him earn a starting spot in England's first successful international semi final in 55 years. Saka now has more more goals and assists than any player under the age of 21 in the Premier League, and has hit double figures in his first uninterrupted season as a forward.
Still, it would have been easy for him to shy away from the penalty at Stamford Bridge. Bigger players have done so. After missing a spot kick in the 1999 FA Cup semi final, Dennis Bergkamp never took one again for Arsenal. Saka, however, appears to be made of stronger stuff.
As he nestled his kick into the top right corner a weight appeared to lift off his shoulders as he exorcised the deamons of last summer. The Arsenal squad, as has been the case since that day in July, were delighted for him and lapped up as much time celebrating as they could.
"I said to you guys, when that happened to Bukayo it happened for a reason," said Arteta reflecting on a huge night in the 20-year-old's nascent career. "He learned so much and he’s been through so much that’s why he’s having the season he’s having today. For him to have the courage to say ‘I’m going to take it again’ – because I’m sure it would have been in the back of his mind – for me it’s top order, even if he missed it."
Top four back on
Perhaps it's the fatalistic nature of the modern football observer, but as Arsenal slumped to a third consecutive defeat, it did seem as though the chance of qualifying for Champions League football had slipped away. Tottenham had opened a door by losing to Brighton earlier in the day but the Gunners had done their best to slam it shut again.
Sure, technically it was in Arsenal's hands if they won every won of their games between now and the end of the season, but look who they had to play! The European champions, one of the most expensively assembled squad in the Premier League and the Europa League semi finalists - and that was just the next three matches!
The most optimistic of fans surely didn't give Mikel Arteta's men a chance as they rocked up, depleted and deflated to Stamford Bridge, but the Spaniard's message to his players before kick off was clear. "I said to them if you want to be playing Champions League football you have to come to these big stages and beat the top teams," he revealed after the game. "Tonight we’ve done it"
By doing just that the Gunners are now well and truly back in the race for the Champions League. If we've learnt anything about this top four race, it's that nothing can be taken for granted, but with the way Manchester United played against Liverpool on Tuesday, Arsenal would surely fancy their chances of getting a result in their upcoming match on Saturday. Following that is a trip to a West Ham side whose heads will likely be turned by the Europa League semi final legs which sandwich that fixture. Suddenly things are looking a little rosier.
What's clear though is that the Gunners have the will to achieve their goal. "They’ve been really disappointed because they have the hope, they can see it there that after a long time for the club and they see that it’s there for the taking," Arteta revealed after the match.
"Then you get one disappointment, two and even the third one, they say ‘we don’t deserve to lose the matches. We have 23 shots, they have two and we are losing the matches’ For some of them it’s difficult to understand. But in the gap we mentioned in this game, it’s gonna make you suffer because when you expect something, something different happens and this is the beauty and why we are all here."
At this stage of the season momentum is gold dust and with a win in a derby like that one Arsenal will certainly have plenty. Suddenly this thin Gunners squad has been given an extra bit of juice that may just be enough to get them over the line.
