- Chelsea v Arsenal: The referee and the home/away difference
- Chelsea v Arsenal: the injuries and the transfer costs
- Arsenal / Chelsea Tackles, fouls, cards and why Chelsea are perhaps a little boring
- Chelsea v Arsenal: the augurs all look good for Arsenal
- Chelsea v Arsenal: the referee, his team, and what’s happening with yellow cards this season
By Bulldog Drummond
So here we are on the final preview of the Chelsea game, in which we look at penalties and the possible team.
In term of penalties Arsenal have had five, the most of any team this season. Arsenal have also scored all five. Chelsea have received two penalties, scored one and missed one. In all Arsenal have received 25% of the penalties awarded this season… nine clubs have yet to get a penalty at all. Three clubs have missed a penalty: Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Arsenal are also adopting a policy of swapping who takes the penalties: five players have taken the last 11, and this swapping around looks like a distinct policy, aimed at confusing the goalkeeper, who will of course have been briefed about who might take any penalty awarded, and where he is likely to put it. Saka remains the player who has taken the most, others taking them include Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli.
This is quite an unusual ploy, but then a lot of what Arsenal are doing is unusual, and clearly some of it is there to baffle the opposition: obviously the keeper doesn’t know who is going to take the penalty until the last moment. Even the player who picks up the ball when the penalty spot is pointed to is not always the one who takes the kick.
Looking at penalties, the club that got the most last season was of course Manchester City, with 10 (nine scored), Arsenal got four, three scored. Of the clubs getting a fair number of penalties Fulham had the worst record in scoring getting five into the net out of nine awarded. Bournemouth were the only club not to get a single penalty out of the 99 awarded. 74 were scored and 25 missed.
This season Arsenal with their five penalties noted above, are out on their own. Liverpool have had three (missing one), Chelsea two, again missing one.
So let us move onto the team.
The BBC tell us that “Arsenal will continue to monitor Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard. They are both nursing hamstring issues, while William Saliba – who is managing a toe problem – is also an injury concern but Jurrien Timber is the only confirmed absentee.” They also tell us that Arsenal “are vying to win four consecutive league games versus Chelsea for the first time, in what will be the 173rd league fixture between the sides (all in the top flight).”
That aim is somewhat above that of Chelsea who are trying to get three consecutive league victories against anyone at all, for the first time since a run of four from September to October last year.
And here’s another one. “Arsenal can become the first team to win their opening four away games in a top-flight season without conceding a goal.” And one more to wrap it up. “Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli are both one short of 100 Premier League appearances.”
The Evening Standard at least at the time of writing gives us a Chelsea line up, but ignore Arsenal.
Raya;
White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko;
Partey, Rice, Odegaard;
Jesus, Havertz, Martinelli.
Talk Sport go with
Raya;
Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Zinchenko;
Odegaard, Rice, Havertz
Jesus, Nketiah, Martinelli.
Football.London not only give a team but have run a simulation to get the score, and they have done it without the mindlessly stupid claim that they are using a supercomputer (which given they are not investing several million quid in the project they clearly are not doing). The score they come up with is 4-0 to Chelsea. (Honest!) The team is
Raya;
White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko;
Partey, Rice, Odegaard;
Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Sports Mole give us
Raya;
White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko;
Odegaard, Rice, Partey;
Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli
and they predict Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2.
And at that point I think we’ll leave it. Have a great game – catch up with us again tomorrow.
So, when the chief of referees, or mouthpiece, can’t remember who it was, justifies no 2nd yellow against a City player in the Arsenal City game 2 weeks ago, he says it’s quite normal, would have been kind of harsch, etc etc etc. So the boss explains the rule, right ?
Considering this, the Everton-Pool! referee sent off Young with a second yellow just 15 minutes after the first, will he be stood down for not following the rule as laid out 2 weeks earlier….. ?
Then. thinking about it, this was not against Arsenal, so there is a sub-rule that applies.
Just pathetic incompetents that is what PGMOL are.
penalty for Chelsea…what a joke. Palmer takes it…shouldn’t even be on the pitch.
Chelsea won 27 duels, many very ‘limit’, Arsenal 19
We are being outmuscled, the ref lets Curucella play like he is an airport guard putting his hands on Saka searching for a weapon.
We are just kids being kicked and at a loss as how to react.
And I guess the wet pitch and ball are not helping, but both teams have the issue.
Not much going over the wings and Sterling plays with Zinchenko.
And through the middle nothing works.
Wonder what coaching change will happen….
Havertz for height and ESRfor penetration ?
Amazing…every decision in the last 3 minutes of extra time went Chelsea’s way…
on german TV : incoherent refereeing, ignored penalty, yellow cards ignored and others given where there was nothing.
Chelsea could do what they want, especially Cucurella – his yellow at the end was visibly so he was booked. But far too late.
Lucky we came out of this hold-up not losing.
At least they kept believing and never stopped trying. And Leandro…I should write Leonardo such was his goal – a piece of art.
And we are still unbeaten.
Chis
I agree with everything you say, except:
‘We are being ‘out muscled’.
I don’t think it’s being ‘out muscled’ when your opponent is allowed to foul you at will without punishment, whilst any retribution on your part is called a foul. It’s like this notion we get bullied, or at least did, especially under Wenger. We didn’t get ‘bullied’ we got assaulted. Gary Neville made a big thing about how “we (man Utd) bullied Arsenal”. No they didn’t, they tried to kick us off the park, and were, by and large, allowed to do so, game 50 being the perfect example. United had systematically kicked Reyes to pieces. RVN nearly broke Cole in half yet Ashley Cole was booked for his first foul. When a referee gives much more latitude to one side than the other it’s very difficult to know what to do.
The way I see it, our guys know they just cant get in to a battle, because it will always be us that end up with 10 men. It’s been like that for years.
Anyway, back to the match. Not at our best but never gave up and may prove to be a decent point, and best of all, still unbeaten.