5-0! Kai Havertz went on a big kill, Arsenal bloodied Chelsea, and denied Manchester City a fourth consecutive title
Last weekend's win at Wolverhampton Wanderers put Arsenal back at the top of the Premier League table, but with just one point ahead of Manchester City with a game in hand, the Gunners are not in the driver's seat to win the title given the consistency of the Blues' sprint. In midweek, the 29th round of the Premier League kicks off, with Arsenal hosting Chelsea, who have just exited the FA Cup and decided that all four of them are empty. Leandro Trossard broke the deadlock in this game, Kai Havertz and Ben White both scored twice, and Arsenal thrashed Chelsea 5-0!
In order to secure the lead with all three points, Arteta continued to play in a 4-3-3 formation, with Raya continuing to defend the final pass, Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel and Tomiyasu in defence, and the midfield trio of Odegaard, Thomas and Rice, with Kai Havertz playing as a central striker and Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka on the wings.
Mauricio Pochettino came on 4-2-3-1, with Jackson continuing as the lone arrow, Conor Gallagher up front, Enzo, Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk all in action, Madueke coming in at right midfield, and Cucurella, Badiashile, Disasi and Gilchrist, with Petrovic in goal.
After the start of the game, Arsenal playing at home was full of momentum. Only 4 minutes into the opening period, Rice advanced to the edge of the penalty area, took advantage of the situation to split the ball on the left side, Trossard cut in from behind, and shot into the far corner from a small angle, Arsenal played a dream start, 1-0! Trossard is worthy of being the key man for Arsenal, and he has scored in the last two key games for the title.
In the 15th minute, the Gunners made a comeback. Odegaard picked up a cross from the edge of the penalty area, and the landing point was just right, and Tomiyasu Kenhiro headed high. Two minutes later, Saka made a mistake in returning the ball and sent a corner, Gallagher crossed, Badiashile crossed in front of the point, and Disasi hit the ball in front of the goal!
In the 22nd minute, Tomiyasu Kenhiro made the ball on the left side of the front, Rice stopped the ball and passed in one go, and shot hard from the front of the penalty area, grazing the crossbar slightly higher. In the 26th minute, Saka steals a cross from the right, Trossard volleys on Disasi and deflects, Petrovic turns the tide and blocks the ball.
Back on the right, Madueke broke through on the right and sent the front triangle to the back post, Cucurella's burst shot was blocked, and Enzo hit again from outside the box and grazed the post out of bounds. In the 41st minute, Conor Gallagher broke through from the right and crossed, Jackson headed high in front of goal, missing a good chance to equalize, and Arsenal were able to return to the dressing room with a one-goal advantage.
Back on the pitch, Arsenal quickly killed the suspense of the game. In the 52nd minute, the Gunners tactical corner kick cooperation, Rice's volley from outside the penalty area was blocked, and Ben White scored from a small angle, 2-0!
Five minutes later, Gabriel made a steal at the back, Odegaard mastered a diagonal counterattack, Havertz scored a powerful shot into the top corner, and Arsenal killed the game 3-0!
In the 65th minute, Thomas shared the ball in front, Saka cut the ball, Havertz responded in the middle, stopped the ball to get rid of it in one go, and shot decisively, the ball hit the post and went into the net, completing the brace, and Arsenal led 4-0.
Kai Havertz made history as the first Blues veteran to score a brace against Chelsea in the Premier League. In the 70th minute, Saka knocked back the triangle on the right, Odegaard followed up with a pass, and Ben White volleyed straight into the dead corner, 5-0!
5-0 bloodbath against Chelsea, Arsenal withstood the pressure, kept the top spot in the Premier League standings, and rejected Manchester City's fourth consecutive title with practical actions. However, Arsenal obviously do not take this lightly, because they will face Tottenham Hotspur in the next round, and the north London rivals will definitely do their best to stop the Gunners.