First-leg victory at Stamford Bridge displayed the hallmarks of another vintage Gunners team who refused to be bullied
Nobody said it had to be pretty. And for large portions of Arsenal’s 3-2 win at Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday, it certainly was not. But for Mikel Arteta and his players there was a beauty in the physicality, the remorseless levels of aggression.
Arsenal won because of what they did without the ball. Yes, there were nice moments from them in possession, most obviously Martín Zubimendi’s goal for 3-1. His gliding run from right to left inside the penalty area, especially the fake-to-shoot move that removed the Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana from the equation, the composure amid the maelstrom, before the execution, was jaw-dropping.
Yet the biggest takeaway was that maelstrom, the sense that Arsenal had expected a scrap and refused to countenance anything other than winning it. There was a chest-out power from them, evident in the duels but more than that, in the battle to close the spaces, to mass men around any opposition player who got on the ball.
When Chelsea, bravely, tried to play out from the back, each pass felt fraught in the face of the pressure; they had to be perfect to avoid dangerous turnovers. In fairness, they showed plenty of skill and personality in this regard. But still, getting out was precarious, draining.
