Match Reaction v Chelsea (home).

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Well done, pressed them consistently in the first half very professional in the second half.

Mental Kos took a day off for this one with somebody sane next to him and great he was.

Gutting about Bellerin which is likely to be a bad one.

Chelsea. :lol:

Emery. :bow:

Took a lot of stick this week but that'll quieten it down for a bit. Only Man Utd next in the Cup. :sick:

[SMatthews]

Concerned about this Bellerin injury. Could have a huge effect on the rest of our season.

But great work and defending. Kos and Sok (almost a palindrome) need to be our centre two for the rest of the season.

Great goal from Laca and Ramsey was also superb.

[LDG]

:scarf:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Jenas is miserable. :lol:

[GP]

SWEET CAROLINE!!

[WMUG]

SWEET CAROLINE!!

Doot doot doot.

[Xhaka Can’t]

We need to make this count. We wasted the result against Spurs. We can’t afford to lose any momentum gained from this.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sarri conducting his interview in Italian, then a bit of English and then Italian again after speaking English throughout the season. :haha:

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Good performance and clearly the better team won. I thought our game against the Chavs earlier this season was one of our best performances (and one of Emery's) and we were unlucky to come out with nothing- however Emery has out-manoeuvred Sarri again, and hopefully we move on strong from this just like last time with the run.

Now I hope today quitens those who seem to have something against Laca or that our 2 strikers should start the game. All round both their contributions were excellent but as some of us keep saying about Laca, he adds something special that makes him pivitol in this team which generally lacks character (not today though). Off my head the the closest player I could compare him with is Heskey, and usually when Emille was up for it you just knew the defenders would have a torrid time and Liverpool would score (even if he wasn't the one on the scoresheet). It was clear who had the easier chances but look who scored that important goal that got us going.

The defence was better, 3 at the back is not needed when 2CBs play the way Sokratis and Kos did. Special mention for Kos today who brought back memories of how he use to be at his pomp when partnered with Verm.

Everyone lifted their game today but if had to rate the performances that carried us over the line it would be, Captain Kos, Laca, Auba and Ramsey (brilliant tactical nous by Emery ensuring Jorghinho was useless in the game).
Also the pressure we applied from the front and offset ensured defending was easier today- why we don't do this often is beyond me.

[Chippy]

Well done, pressed them consistently in the first half very professional in the second half.

Mental Kos took a day off for this one with somebody sane next to him and great he was.

Gutting about Bellerin which is likely to be a bad one.

Chelsea. :lol:

Emery. :bow:

Took a lot of stick this week but that'll quieten it down for a bit. Only Man Utd next in the Cup. :sick:
Really good win, great to see us beat the Chavs.
Looks like a cruciate knee ligament injury for Bellerin. 6 months :(

[Marc Overmars]

A good defensive performance and a clean sheet. :yikes:

Well done guys, needed those points.

Bellerin going off in a bad way soured the win though. A big loss.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Was absolutely freezing in the stand, but it was worth it!

It was really weird to see us defend that well. I won't get used to it but it was nice to see. Absolutely gutted about Hector.

[AFC Leveller]

Bellerin is crucial to the way we play, such an effortless guy the way he patrols the right hand side. We don’t have anyone close to him and will miss him.

[Mac76]

It was really weird to see us defend that well. I won't get used to it but it was nice to see. Absolutely gutted about Hector.

if Emery can't now see that Kos and Sokratis is a much better partnershiop than anything featuring Mustafi, he never will

and yes we could probably afford to lose Hector less than anyone else in the side in some ways

[SMatthews]

if Emery can't now see that Kos and Sokratis is a much better partnershiop than anything featuring Mustafi, he never will

and yes we could probably afford to lose Hector less than anyone else in the side in some ways

It’s part of the reason we looked so poor over the Xmas period.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Time will tell.... he looked really shaky when he first came back, but I actually think Koscielny has been good for a few games, despite the recent results.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Good analysis on Sky on how different players performances affected the outcome of the game.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11611672/arsenals-win-over-chelsea-shows-a-winning-formula-for-unai-emery

I still think with the kind of defence we have the best thing we can do for them is to lead from upfront like we did yesterday. Didn't even realise it was the same trio that ensured the reversal against the Spuds in the 2nd half- in fact it was practically the same team that ended that game, bar Kos of course (Holding played).

[Bumble]

Good performance - Good result. Chelsea were awful and their manager really had a go at them so generally that should be them downing tools now in protest.

[Özim]

Great result, Lacazette was brilliant, playing those two up front is a must. Ramsey was good too we'll need to find an adequate replacement for him.

Defence was very good but Chelsea were toothless, but then when your relying on players like Giroud you're always going to struggle to get goals.