Arsenal looking ready to rock
Unlike when these two sides clash in the Premier League, the relatively equal split of Arsenal and Chelsea supporters in Orlando meant that this game had something of an even feel going into it at kick off. Come full time though it was clear that only one side was on top.
Thomas Tuchel was brutal in his post-mortem of the game as he cited the reasons for the difference between the two. "I saw today a team in Arsenal who are mentally committed to an idea of playing, a level of exhaustion, a level of physical commitment that we could not match," the German surmised in his press conference. "Also, a level of mental commitment that we lacked because we have a lot of players who are thinking about leaving and looking at their options. We have players that have left and I think at the moment that's obvious."
While Chelsea pick apart the debris of their car crash of a State-side tour, Arsenal's could not have gone much better. The Blues find themselves in a position where they are still unaware of who will be in their squad come the start of the Premier League season and without too much certainty of how they will set up tactically on a regular basis. Historically this has been a state of crisis reserved for Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta's side look primed to make a quick start to the campaign.
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What is most noticeable about the Gunners is how well coached they look. The tactical set up of a 4-3-3 is clear, as it more or less has been since December, and the new arrivals have not altered that. Players know where they need to be on the pitch and areas of weakness from last season suddenly look a strength.
Arteta, though, was unwilling to get carried away, despite a run of five consecutive wins in preseason in which they have scored 19 goals and conceded just five. "It was a friendly match," the Spaniard said in his post-match press conference. "As you could see there are a lot of positives to take from the game. The way we played, the intensity we showed, the way we were trying to show who we are as a team.
"But at the same time, it’s just a test match. Don’t get carried away. There are still a lot of things that we have to get better at and do better. But I think it’s good to get some momentum, finish the tour in the right way, give some enjoyment to our fans and everybody that’s been contributing to make this tour happen. Now it’s time to go back to London, to focus and keep making improvements and steps forwards."
This is probably a wise stance to take from Arteta as he seeks to keep his players feet on the ground. But as people not in the camp, we can certainly allow ourselves to cast an anticipatory glance at the early fixture list and see that it looks pretty favourable. The Gunners play just one 'big six' team until October, by which point the Premier League season will be eight games in. They look ready to take advantage of the hand they've been dealt, even if it is only still July.
Zinchenko gets his wish
Going into the game the main team news headline was whether Oleksandr Zinchenko was going to be thrown into the Arsenal starting line up from the off. Mikel Arteta had seemed to hint that the Ukrainian would not be ready so soon after his arrival from Manchester City, but as starting XI filtered through ahead of kick off it became clear that he was going to get his chance.
Arteta's reservations about throwing his new signing in remained, but it was revealed after the game that it was the player who was pushing to make his bow as quickly as possible. "He was desperate to play and I knew that," the Spaniard said in his post-match press conference. "It was a maximum 45 minutes but you could see straight away he was comfortable. He understands everything that I want, he understands the process and I thought he had a really good game."
The Arsenal boss was spot on when it came to his assessment of how quickly Zinchenko has adapted tactically to things at Arsenal. With Ben White playing the inverted role usually reserved for Takehiro Tomiyasu over on the right hand side, Zinchenko pushed up high in the Kieran Tierney role. However, what really makes the Ukrainian such a perfect fit for Arsenal was the fact that when White got forward on the right hand side, he was tactically intelligent enough to then tuck into midfield on the left.
This duality to the Arsenal attack, combined with the central threat now provided by Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus, means that Arteta finally has the unpredictability that he has always been craving. Chelsea simply couldn't cope as the Gunners came at them from all angles in the first half in particular, and Zinchenko was a key part of that.
The 25-year-old himself certainly enjoyed his first start and spoke highly of his new teammates and coaching staff for helping him to adapt so quickly. "It’s a massive pleasure to be here and I’m so happy with the result," he said after the game. "In terms of the game, of course we did well ,but there is still a couple of things we can improve. I need to adapt as soon as possible and I am already starting to feel my team-mates really well and I am enjoying it here. Thanks a lot to the lads, all the coaching staff and to the medical staff for the warm welcome. That helped me a lot."
The Ukrainian is not resting on his laurels though. Despite the bland taste of Florida Cup victory, he is someone used to the sweetness of Premier League success, and is keen to bring Arsenal back to that feeling with him. "4-0 is a great result but don’t forget this is a friendly game and in the Premier League it will be completely different," he said. "I hope the result will be the same but we need to work hard."
Saliba ready for the Premier League
Zinchenko was of course part of a back four missing key players in Tomiasyu and Tierney. Had Arsenal been without those players last season, then it would have been a full blown crisis, but courtesy of the addition of two players in the squad, they suddenly seem capable of dealing with significant absences.
As previously mentioned, Zinchenko gives the team multiple tactical options, but the addition of William Saliba has been key as well to weathering this injury storm. The Frenchman has enabled Mikel Arteta to move Ben White over to right back, but unlike last season, the Arsenal boss can do so without fear of using that all important ball progression at the heart of his defence. Having started life as a No. 10, Saliba is confident enough to play out from the back, but this is not the only area of the pitch where his composure can be felt.
Saliba had almost the perfect game defensively. Even when briefly under pressure when caught out of position when marking Timo Werner high up the pitch, the Frenchman glided back into position to stop the onrushing Raheem Sterling from going through one-vs-one with Aaron Ramsdale. Even after being one of just two players to play the full 90 minutes in the 33 degree heat and 92% humidity, it honestly would have been surprising if Saliba had sweated a drop.
His rapid adaptation has delighted his manager who took the opportunity once again to praise the youngster, but challenged him not to rest on his laurels. "I am really pleased to see the way he is playing, the way he has adapted to the team, the maturity that he's shown at 21-years-old, carry on doing it. We will keep developing him, he has a huge potential, he is already a top player and we have to make him even better."
There were some doubts over whether Saliba would get his chance to impress in the coming season given his lack of seniority in the squad, but Arteta's final verdict on his preseason will have delighted Arsenal fans who have been waiting years to see the Frenchman in action. "He looked ready to me today," the Arsenal boss said. After three appearances on this US tour, it's hard to disagree.
Jesus shows his importance yet again
On such a positive night it seems almost remiss to focus on any negatives, but the injury to Gabriel Jesus was a rare low point. The Brazilian picked up a knock in the first half, and speaking after the game Mikel Arteta revealed that he was not willing to risk his new man.
"Yeah he got a knock in the first half, in his quad I think it was, and it wasn't very comfortable to continue," he said. "Obviously we didn't take any risks today."
Immediately after going down the Brazilian was whisked off and replaced by Eddie Nketiah. That is a sign of how important Jesus has become to Arsenal in the space of less three weeks.
As has been the case throughout this preseason, the 25-year-old was excellent yet again. Prior to this match Odegaard teased that the pair's connection was solidifying at a rate of knots and that was on full display in the Camping World Stadium as he constantly looked to slide him in behind the Chelsea backline. The assist to his opening goal ultimately came from a quick bit of thinking from Granit Xhaka though, as the Swiss midfielder slotted through a right-footed pass that Jesus went on to finish impudently.
Whereas last season Arsenal simply did not have the option to spin in behind to cause chaos to opposition defenders they now have Jesus buzzing around every which way like the Tasmanian Devil wreaking havoc wherever he goes. It's safe to say the Brazilian has been a game changer.
Arteta revealed after the game that he feels there are no limits to Jesus' potential this season based on what he's seen from the 25-year-old in his early time with the club. "What I can guarantee you is that he is going to do everything that he can to be the best player that he can, that's it," the Spaniard said.
With the Brazilian clearly so vital to everything Arsenal want to do this season, the hope will now be that any injury sustained is as minimal as possible.
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