Arsenal crushes Chelsea 5-0: A declaration of war to Man City

The memory of the defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena was soon erased by Arteta and his team. It even motivated the Emirates team to focus on a desire that has lasted for 2 decades: to bring home the 4th Premier League title in history.

Inspired by Havertz, Trossard

Arteta never won the Premier League as an Arsenal player. After the stumble 12 months ago, his desire to be crowned English champions has not cooled at all. It even reached a climax on the day Arsenal beat Chelsea by the biggest margin in history. It was a reversal of the two teams' positions compared to a decade ago, when Chelsea humiliated Arsenal with a tennis score (6-0) in 2014.

If we had to point out who was the witness to the reversal between the two most successful teams in London, it would be easy to say: Kai Havertz. The midfielder, born in 1999, enjoyed the Champions League title with Chelsea in 2021, but the change in the upper echelons 12 months later killed the German's inspiration to play. He moved to North London last summer not only to find smiles and inspiration to play, but also to aim for new glories at the Emirates Stadium. After a slow start, Havertz's double against his former team was a confirmation of what Chelsea lost when receiving 65 million pounds in transfer fees from Arsenal. Coach Arteta's steadfast faith in Havertz was rewarded with a shining moment that could be a turning point for Arsenal's chances of winning the Premier League this season.

In addition to Havertz, Leandro Trossard is another reflection of the contrast between Arsenal and Chelsea. The former Brighton player was only brought in by the Emirates Stadium team as a plan B after they failed to recruit Mykhailo Mudryk in the winter transfer window early last year. Who was the team that stole the Ukrainian striker from Arsenal? It was Chelsea, thanks to billionaire Boehly agreeing to spend up to 88.5 million pounds. Trossard only cost Arsenal about a third of that (27 million pounds). The contrast was seen on the pitch when Mudryk had another disappointing match and left the field after two-thirds of his time on the pitch. On the contrary, Trossard was the author of the early opening goal for Arsenal and coach Arteta has the right to be proud of the misfortune with the good fortune that his team recruited a quality product at an affordable price.

Not afraid to challenge Man City

Arsenal's lead at the top may be temporary. Manchester City, Arteta's main rivals, will play Brighton tonight and are two games behind Arsenal. Pep Guardiola's men are experts at seizing the opportunity to win the title and they are ready to turn Arsenal's pursuit efforts into a waste once again.

On the other hand, Arsenal this season is a more mature version of the weakness seen last season. Coach Arteta believes that the attitude of his players this season is an important difference: "The gap is very small and when you can't play better than the opponent, what do you do? You need to know how to react and face your moment. We have worked hard for the last 9 months. You have to first believe in yourself and persevere in doing what you need to do, that's all."

So, while waiting for Man City to somehow collapse and not be able to regain the top spot, what should Arsenal do? Their schedule is considered heavier than Liverpool and Man City, not to mention having fewer matches. Arteta and his team face another London derby this Sunday, against Tottenham, an opponent with better motivation and form than Chelsea. Then there is the trip to Old Trafford to play MU on 12/5, a match that is not easy to predict when it is still unclear at that time how many chances Erik ten Hag and his team have to qualify for the European Cup.

At least there will be no signs of a lack of focus from Arsenal in the title race this season. Although having to stop in the Champions League is a bitter end, it will help the Emirates team avoid fatigue from the legs of Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz or Declan Rice, who have had to work hard on many fronts for most of this season. Arteta and his team will not need to fear anyone, as long as they can maintain their impressive form, having lost only 1 of 14 Premier League matches since the beginning of the year.

Question marks over Gabriel's injury

A worrying question mark for manager Mikel Arteta was that centre-back Gabriel had to make way for Jakub Kiwior with 15 minutes to go against Chelsea. It is not yet clear whether the injury is serious or not, but Arteta is hopeful Gabriel will be fit for Sunday's North London derby against Tottenham.