Boxing Day Massacre

 “That was shambolic.” Post-match reaction from Younes, of the YouTube channel Younes Talks Football

The set up was about as good as it gets in the Premier League. Arsenal sat in 15th place in the table, in apparent disarray, Mikel Arteta under close examination, without a league win since way back in November. They look up from the canvas and see Chelsea approaching, not in top flying form, but still a very good and dangerous team. A win for Chelsea and they would jump to second in the table, at least temporarily. On paper the ingredients predicted a Boxing Day London Derby dominated by Chelsea. Some Chelsea supporters probably thought it was going to be an easy afternoon stroll around the Etihad, maybe a two to nil or three to nil victory and three important points.

This Chelsea supporter was worried, but not because I feared the Gunners. My worry was with the law of averages paired with Chelsea’s record of dropping points in key fixtures, a problem that has existed over the past few seasons. We did this self-immolation dance under Maurizio Sarri, and in Frank Lampard’s first season at the wheel. What I mean by key fixtures are those matches where a win moves us up the table a few places. Over the past two seasons, we’ve haven’t fared well in those situations. Chelsea are not Liverpool or Manchester City -- we don’t put a hurt on other teams. In fact, what we habitually do is make mid and lower table teams look better than they are. 

If the Gunners were going to rise up and show some life, this was the fixture for that resurrection. A London Derby, a big game, and a significant result if they can get one. Arteta went with a group of his younger players. Among others, Aubameyeng and Pepe sat, and defender David Luiz wasn’t in the side. 

Chelsea have reverted to a side-to-side, front-to-back, brand of football that is really annoying. There’s far too much of this unproductive movement. Time and again the ball went to the wings, and from there it was crossed into the box by the likes of Reese James, who had a poor game, and Ben Chilwel, back from an ankle injury. Tammy Abraham, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic were the front three for Chelsea. We put little pressure on Arsenal when we had the ball, never got a passing rhythm established, or mounted any sustained run of possession to get the tempo where we wanted it. We kept losing the ball in midfield, an area of the pitch we should have dominated with Kovacic, Mason Mount, and N’Golo Kante. When we created opportunities with the ball the crosses we put in were tame or off target. It was like firing a toy cannon. 

I didn’t panic when Arsenal went ahead one-nil via a Lacazette penalty kick. We gave up a penalty and paid for it, something that happens to teams all the time. I thought going behind a goal would light the torch, but Chelsea kept playing to the sides and backwards, and through another error we conceded a free kick in a dangerous area. Xhaka, who was out of favor with Gunners fans for a time, buried his kick in the top corner. At the half the improbable score line was Arsenal 2 and Chelsea 0. 

Even down two goals I thought Chelsea had the wherewithal and talent to come back and get something from the match. They needed to up the tempo and intensity, press high and win the ball back quickly. One of Chelsea’s best players for that role is Mateo Kovacic, but what does Frank Lampard do? He takes Kovacic off and puts Jorginho on! Also coming off is Timo Werner, replaced by Hudson-Odoi. That left me scratching my head. 

The change of personnel didn’t work in any case, as Arsenal scored a third goal through young Saka. Two goals, maybe a comeback is possible, three, no way. Chelsea had done it yet again, dropping key points at the most inopportune time. This penchant is in Chelsea’s DNA. We were so poor that our first shot on target didn’t arrive until the 80th minute. That’s shocking. 

Jorginho placed a cherry atop Chelsea’s misery when he did his hoppity-hop move and missed a penalty kick. Had Werner been on the pitch he would have taken that kick. 

It’s clear that without the passing ability and creativity of Hakim Ziyech, Chelsea are one dimensional. It’s rare to see Chelsea attack down the middle of the pitch. Christian Pulisic is the player most likely to do so, but he needs runs from other players to create space for himself. Chelsea have dropped three of their last four Premier League matches, a worrying signal that Frank Lampard and his staff better find some answers. This is December and the matches keep coming. We sometimes allow Lampard a pass because of his status as a legendary Chelsea player, but if Chelsea continue the way they are now -- flat, lacking intensity, energy and urgency -- Lampard may find himself under the gun. The club spent big money in the summer transfer window, bringing Werner, Kai Havertz, Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, and Edouard Mendy aboard. Havertz looks like a man lost at the moment, while his German compatriot Werner might struggle to hit a target as wide as the English Channel. 

I didn’t bother looking for our position in the table. I know we fell further behind Leicester and Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool and Southampton. The Premier League is unforgiving. December in the PL is like an iceberg. Pity the club that collides with it.