Liverpool add Arsenal woes 3-1

If you leave out your best player and top scorer, the one whose contract runs out in 16 months and who has the biggest clubs in Europe wooing him, then generally you have to be right; even if you do have 20 years of credit on which to fall back. 

Arsene Wenger’s decision to start without Alexis Sanchez looked bizarre even before kick-off. Ten minutes into this game it looked utterly incomprehensible. 

Arsenal were as lame and lax as they can be at their worst and they have recently tested the low-water mark of those kind of performances. 

Without Mesut Ozil as well, as a potential vision of a future Arsenal it was decidedly disconcerting. And once Sanchez did come on at half-time and Arsenal improved immeasurably, Wenger’s selection just looked ever-more perplexing. 

Not only will it have angered Sanchez, who looked like a schoolboy in detention on the bench, but it damaged the team and the fight for the top four, perhaps decisively. 

For Liverpool’s win took them back into the Champions League positions and above Arsenal. Wenger has been in worse positions and recovered and has a game in hand. But still, you fear for the reception this team might receive if they repeat this first-half performance against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night. That might be enough to convince Wenger his time is up. Impatience is turning into hostility among some Arsenal fans. 

And even though the team were much improved in the second half and at times looked like grabbing an unlikely point, ultimately they were well beaten. 

Wenger knew what was coming. ‘I have no special regrets,’ he said. ‘The only regret is to have lost the game. The thinking was that we had to go more direct. We wanted to play two players who are strong in the air because we decided to go more direct. ‘After that, to bring Alexis on in the second half. Everybody will come to the same conclusion but I’m strong enough and lucid enough to analyse the impact. I don’t deny he is a great player. 

A decision like that is not easy to make but you always have to stand up.’ Wenger essentially argued that it was a poor collective performance which undid them in the first half and a good collective performance which lifted them in the second. But that ignores the catalyst effect Sanchez has on all around him: Danny Welbeck came alive; Alex Iwobi seemed a yard quicker; Olivier Giroud a yard taller. 

For Jurgen Klopp, different challenges are to be confronted. Liverpool, lambs at Leciester, were yet again lions against major opposition at Anfield, which is no way to earn credentials as a proper team, though habit appears to be deeply ingrained into their psyche. ‘I don’t like the fact that inconsistency is part of the deal in development,’ said Klopp. ‘But usually you lose against the big teams. Obviously we have chosen another way. But it’s still part of the deal. We had a really hard week. Directly after the Leicester game I found a few words and I was not asking for friendship. 'The next day we analysed, which was nothing to enjoy, for me or the boys. But there was a point in the week where we had to finish the Leicester game. And only if you are really silly do you let the bad things have more influence than the good things.’ They clearly heeded that part of the lesson. 

Arsenal were bad but Liverpool were also excellent. Adam Lallana and Sadio Mané stood out but there were plenty more contributing. That said, Arsenal folded at the slightest sign of pressure. The opening goal typified them. They put together a neat passing sequence in which Liverpool couldn’t get close to the ball. You might have convinced yourself they had the upper hand, though it ended with Granit Xhaka over-hitting a pass for Nacho Monreal. And then, from the resulting goal kick, Laurent Koscielny failed to win a header and Lallana flicked on to Sadio Mané. His cross should have been cleared but Hector Bellerin comically let it through his legs, so that Roberto Firmino had time and space to score. He took a touch which almost killed the chance but did eventually decisively put Liverpool in the lead. 

The trouble with Arsenal is, even after nine minutes, you never feel there is any coming back from such a setback. There was brief moment when Oxlade-Chamberlain shimmied inside and hung a cross in with which Olivier Giroud almost connected. 

But that wasn’t representative. Petr Cech saved them when Philipe Coutinho hit a great striker for the edge of the box on 29 minutes but they weren’t going to hold out: that much was clear. The ease with which James Milner drifted forwards unchallenged on 39 minutes, found Emre Can who swept the ball onto Roberto Firmino was embarrassing. The Brazilian found Mané on the edge of the box and he provided the perfect finale to the move with a clinical finish. Even then, it needed Cech again to bock Coutinho on the stroke of half time to prevent further humiliation. 

Then came Sanchez and having one of the world’s best players on the pitch somehow lifted Arsenal. On 49 minutes Monreal sent in a cross which Giroud headed goalwards and Simon Mignolet got a touch onto the cross bar. But it was at least a sign off fresh hope for Arsenal. For once, it wasn’t unfounded. Sanchez’s aggressive intent found an outlet on 57 minutes when he played in Danny Welbeck. The angle was tight and Mignolet was fast approaching but with a deft chip, Welbeck lifted the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. Arsenal were by no means looking secure. 

When Coutinho crossed on the hour, it took a fine interception from Shokdran Mustafi to prevent Firmino tapping in. But they were at least better. And they should have been playing against ten on 78 minutes, when Can managed to hack down Theo Walcott and somehow avoid a second yellow card. 

Still, this brittle Arsenal side never truly convince. When Adam Lallana swept a ball to Divock Origi in injury time and the Belgian sprinted away down the left to provide a perfect cross for Georginio Wijnaldum to add the third, it made the scoreline as decisive as much of the performance had been.

Arsenal deny Chelsea but José Mourinho’s side edge closer to title

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/26/arsenal-chelsea-premier-league-match-report

By the end, there was the unmistakable feeling that all Arsenal were doing was delaying the inevitable. The earliest Chelsea can win the title now is at home to Crystal Palace next Sunday and, if not then, the following week against Liverpool. The only question is when the coronation happens but the real detail is that the victory parade has already been arranged for 25 May – and there was nothing Arsenal could do here to make that feel even the slightest bit premature.

Instead, we had the result that everybody could probably have predicted when they saw José Mourinho had started with a team devoid of an orthodox centre-forward. Chelsea, once again, showed their qualities of structure and defensive organisation and it is now five games since Arsenal last managed a goal against them. Arsène Wenger has still not beaten Mourinho in 13 attempts and Chelsea stubbornly refused to be drawn into the kind of match that would suit their opponents.

“Boring, boring Chelsea,” Arsenal’s supporters taunted. Mourinho came prepared into his press conference. “Boring?” he asked. “Ten years without a title – that’s boring.”

As put-downs go, it was one of his better ones. Yet he could hardly deny Chelsea’s conservatism. The tactic was to keep at least half a dozen players behind the ball and insure themselves against the counterattack, Wenger’s weapon of choice. Chelsea are grinding their way to glory but, boy, they are good at these smothering techniques.

John Terry made it seem implausible he was not even on the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award, leading Mourinho to describe it as the greatest performance he had seen from his captain. César Azpilicueta excelled at left-back and at the final whistle the fist-pumping told its own story. Branislav Ivanovic launched himself into the air. Terry let out a cry of pent-up emotion. Gary Cahill embraced Azpilicueta. That sturdy quartet of thou-shall-not-pass defenders punched the sky and screamed their delight in a collective appreciation of their own work.

Did Chelsea come for the scoreless draw? No, Mourinho always wants to win but the priority was certainly to hold the fort – and there is no better team in England when it comes to subduing high-calibre opponents. It is the first time Wenger’s team have dropped points at home since November and we have to go back to the previous February to find the last occasion they did not score a league goal at home. Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez and their other danger men had lots of the ball but there was always that formidable bank of blue shirts ahead of them.

The paradox, perhaps, is that Chelsea could also reflect the game might have turned out very differently but for the moment, a quarter of an hour in, that provided the game’s biggest controversy. David Ospina, Arsenal’s goalkeeper, was certainly fortunate not to be punished after charging from his goalline, missing the ball and clattering into Oscar. Héctor Bellerín prevented Oscar’s looping effort from bouncing into the goal and Chelsea had every right to argue it should have been a penalty.

Wenger admitted afterwards his team had been lucky but Chelsea lose an element of sympathy because of the other occasions they resorted to deceptions to try to win a penalty. Oscar can just about be given the benefit of the doubt after an optimistic fall in front of Bellerín but Cesc Fàbregas deserved all the condemnation that came his way when he wafted his leg in the direction of Santi Cazorla, then plopped to the ground in the vain hope that the referee, Michael Oliver, might be conned. All of Mourinho’s grievances will be undermined as long as his players try it on this way.

Arsenal had complaints of their own bearing in mind the incident later in the first half when Cahill’s left arm blocked Cazorla’s goal-bound shot inside the penalty area. Özil was Arsenal’s greatest threat in the first half. Aaron Ramsey’s link-up play with the overlapping Bellerín was another feature but, with less of the ball, Mourinho’s team still created the best chances of that period. Fàbregas’s pass for Oscar’s opportunity was the outstanding moment and, seven minutes before the interval, Ramires ought to have done better after Willian’s pass.

Oscar had to go off at half-time, taken to hospital and still suffering the effects of the collision with Ospina, and Didier Drogba took over as their centre-forward to give the team a more orthodox look.

Fàbregas took up a more attacking position and Willian switched to the right, with Ramires dropping inside to partner Nemanja Matic. Yet their tactics rarely deviated. At one point Willian led a promising break and there was only Drogba and Fàbregas who showed the faintest interest in supporting their colleague. The rest hung back.

Fàbregas had a mixed afternoon on his first game back at his old club. A lot of passes were misplaced and, in the worst moments, it felt as if the protective mask he is wearing to protect a broken nose must be hampering his vision.

Fàbregas eventually removed it after one lapse. There were boos every time he touched the ball and, unforgivably, one Arsenal supporter decided the minute’s silence for the forthcoming 30th anniversary of the Bradford City fire was an appropriate time to abuse an old favourite. Equally, many applauded him when the Spaniard was substituted late on.

The more important matter for Chelsea was that they had edged another point closer to where they want to be. The substitute Danny Welbeck could not adjust his feet quickly enough with a stoppage-time chance and Chelsea’s celebrations at the end were so jubilant it said one thing: they knew.

Man of the match John Terry (Chelsea)

Monaco reaches CL quarters despite 2-0 loss to Arsenal

MONACO (AP) — Monaco withstood Arsenal's onslaught to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League despite a 2-0 home defeat on Tuesday, advancing on the away goals rule after drawing 3-3 on aggregate.

Following a 3-1 humiliating defeat at the Emirates three weeks ago in the first leg of the last 16, Arsenal needed to score at least three times to become the first team in the history of the Champions League to progress after losing at home by a two-goal margin.

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal some hope when he broke the deadlock in the 36th minute. Substitute Aaron Ramsey then ensured a nervy finish with a clinical finish into the bottom corner from Layvin Kurzawa's poor clearance in the 79th.

Despite those efforts, Arsenal still bowed out of the round of 16 for the fifth season in a row.

"We've always gone out to Bayern Munich and Barcelona at this stage but, no disrespect to Monaco, we thought we'd have a good opportunity to qualify. But we gave ourselves a tough test from the first leg," Ramsey said. "It's nearly again, but it's not enough."

Arsenal dominated all aspects of the game at the Stade Louis II to overrun the best defensive team in Europe with a dazzling attacking display. It was a complete contrast to the Londoners' lackluster performance in the first leg that sealed their fate.

Although Monaco managed only one shot during the first half, the 2004 runners-up made it to the quarterfinals for the third time. There will be two French clubs in the last eight for the first time in five years after Paris Saint-Germain ousted Chelsea from the competition last week.

"It's always difficult to turn a three-goal deficit around," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who coached Monaco for seven years. "Tonight we did not seize all our chances, and we were made to pay for our first-leg inadequacies."

In the night's other match, Atletico Madrid beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 on penalties after the teams drew 1-1 on aggregate. Atletico won 1-0 on the night.

Despite their need for goals, the Gunners made a cautious start and let the hosts take control.

Monaco created the first chance after Anthony Martial got past a defender on the left side of the box to serve up a fine cross to Dimitar Berbatov, with the Bulgarian forward glancing the ball on for Joao Moutinho, who curled his shot wide.

Monaco's bright opening spell did not last long, though, and Leonardo Jardim's players struggled until the final whistle.

"At 2-0 down, it was really hot. I was constantly looking at the clock on the giant screen but the minutes passed very slowly," Monaco midfielder Nabil Dirar said. "We tried in vain to catch them on the break. Our football might not be enjoyable to watch, but we are a real team, we are united."

Arsenal's first chance came in the 15th minute with a dangerous move that ended with a header from Giroud that brushed past the post.

A good block from Kurzawa then denied Santi Cazorla's acrobatic volley after Giroud turned in a cross from the left, and Laurent Koscielny struck the bar from a free kick flicked into his path, although the referee had flagged him offside.

Arsenal's efforts were finally rewarded when Danny Welbeck played a ball for Giroud behind the Monaco defense. The France striker was initally denied by 'keeper Danijel Subasic but was lucky to see the rebound fall for his right foot, and he made no mistake with a rising shot into the roof of the net.

Monaco's defense began to cave in, letting an unmarked Welbeck fire from the edge of the box two minutes later — only for the former Manchester United player's attempt to be blocked by Aymen Abdennour as he lay on the pitch.

The second half started at the same high tempo, with Monaco players struggling to cope with the pace and movement of Arsenal. Jardim added some fresh blood by bringing on Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, who had scored Monaco's decisive third goal in the first leg.

The decision paid off as the Belgian winger burst across the pitch in search of an opening and dribbled past two Arsenal players, only to fluff his shot from the edge of the box.

Ramsey made it 2-0 with 11 minutes left after substitute Theo Walcott's side-footed his shot against the post and Kurzawa sent the ball back to the Welshman, who arrowed his shot into the corner.

Subasic made another decisive save when he denied Alexis Sanchez's header and Monaco players parked the bus during the five minutes of stoppage time to end manager Arsene Wenger's perfect record against French clubs in two-legged ties.

Arsenal blasts Galatasaray 4-1, qualifies to the next round

Galatasaray 1 Arsenal 4: Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski doubles ease the pressure on Arsene Wenger

By Jeremy Wilson, Turk Telekom Arena

11:22PM GMT 09 Dec 2014

After the boos, jeers and abuse in Stoke on Saturday, this match will be remembered for an authentic wonder goal from Aaron Ramsey that actually prompted gasps, cheers and applause from both sets of fans.

Ramsey may have as many as 15 years left in front of him at this level but it is doubtful whether he will ever strike a ball more sweetly than the 35-yard first-time left-footed volley that put Arsenal 3-0 up. Typically understated, Ramsey was content to agree that it was “up there with my best” as he left Istanbul on Tuesday night.

The ball was still rising when it hit the back of Sinan Bolat’s goal and, after a brief pause to compute what had happened, the spontaneous appreciation from many of the Gala­tasaray supporters told its own story.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, later admitted that Ramsey was so far out that he had initially not even wanted him to shoot. “I felt at the time it was not the right decision, but he proved me wrong,” he said.

The wider significance was of Ramsey showing further clear signs of his best form. His goal on Saturday against Stoke had been his first in 18 games and, after both he and Lukas Podolski had earlier put Arsenal into a 2-0 lead, his spectacular second here was also sufficient to effectively seal victory in only the 29th minute.

Following recent stutters, a 4-1 win will help to ease tensions among the club’s fan base although, this being Arsenal, there was an inevitable caveat. Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini both came off at half-time with respective tightness in their hamstring and groin, with Wenger at pains to stress that his two fit remaining central midfielders should be fine for the match against Newcastle United on Saturday.

Wenger was also delighted by what he called a “strong response” to the 3-2 defeat by Stoke City on Saturday although the “Arsene, thanks for the memories but it’s time to say goodbye” banner did also make its way to Istanbul on Tuesday night.

Arsenal were guaranteed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League for a 15th successive season before Tuesday night’s match. Having finished as runners-up in Group D, they again face the prospect of meeting one of the tournament favourites when the draw is made in Nyon on Monday. Real Madrid, Porto, Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Monaco and Paris St-Germain are among the potential opponents.

The usual intimidation and electric atmosphere of any match against Galatasaray in Istanbul was rather compromised on Tuesday night by the sight of a half-empty Turk Telekom Arena. Galatasaray’s poor form earlier in the competition had meant they were unable to lift themselves off the bottom of the group even in victory but, after replacing Cesar Prandelli with Hamza Hamzaoglu as interim manager, they had gone into the match on the back of consecutive wins. They had lost only four of their previous 20 home matches in Europe but the lethargy of the crowd was soon evident in the players’ performances.

Arsenal, by contrast, had begun with nine full internationals even while leaving the likes of Alexis Sánchez, Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud, Kieran Gibbs and Santi Cazorla back in London. In fielding a front three of Lukas Podolski, Joel Campbell and Yaya Sanogo, Wenger had also selected people with much to prove.

Podolski has been the most vocal of those Arsenal players demanding more of a first-team opportunity and, within three minutes, he had his chance. Ramsey had made a powerful run from midfield and, with Galatasaray right-back Tarik Camdal having wandered out of position, fed Podolski in space just inside the penalty area. The angle was tight but there are few footballers in the world who can generate more power than Podolski and before Bolat could even set himself, he had smashed his finish into his near-post top corner.

With nothing to play for, Galatasaray were willing to keep pushing forward in fairly kamikaze style and, while Hakan Balta missed a wonderful chance to level, they were hopelessly open to Arsenal’s attacks.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was looking far more effective playing from a central midfield position and, after Podolski made a rare tackle to win back possession, had the chance to run at the Galatasaray defence. It created further space, with Ramsey peeling off to the left and side-footing his finish beyond Bolat.

The chances kept coming. Podolski was again given time and space to unleash his thunderbolt of a left-foot shot and he rattled the crossbar after being fed by Ramsey.

The Wales midfielder then created a chance for Campbell that was deflected over and another opportunity for Podolski, who forced a fingertip save from Bolat. Campbell took the resulting corner and it appeared to have been headed to safety deep inside the Galatasaray half. Step forward Ramsey, who smashed his spectacular volley into the top corner.

Ramsey himself even looked shocked by the quality of his finish and simply began laughing rather than celebrating.

The ease with which Arsenal were creating chances prompted eyes to turn to Dortmund, where a draw would allow Wenger’s team to top Group D if they won by six goals. Wenger admitted that at half-time he felt it was still possible but the need to rest Ramsey and Flamini ensured a loss of momentum. “It was too much for us to hope we could score six but I have no regrets with the players I left at home,” Wenger said.

Ramsey and Flamini were to be replaced by two academy midfielders in Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Gedion Zelalem. The experience will benefit the 17-year-olds but Arsenal did lose their control of midfield. Only a brilliant block from Per Mertesacker denied Umut Bulut but Galatasaray got the goal that their second-half dominance had merited when Wesley Sneijder curled an 88th-minute free-kick past Wojciech Szczesny. The three-goal lead was then almost immediately restored with Podolski’s second of the night.

Rooney leads Manchester United in beating Arsenal 2-1

Arsenal 1-2 Manchester United: Kieran Gibbs own goal and Wayne Rooney strike seals victory for Louis van Gaal's side

Even when they raised some late hope, with Oliver Giroud, back from injury, striking an exquisite half volley in added time, it was illusory. 

The fact that they could contrive to lose to such a weakened United side in a game which they might have had wrapped up within 20 minutes was stupefying. And their sheer absence of ruthlessness indicates just how fragile they have become: a mentally-flawed team that has turned losing games from dominant positions into an art form.

‘It was a game that we dominated for 80 per cent of the time and it’s a long time since we have dominated games against Manchester United like we did today,’ said Wenger.

‘But we were not efficient enough in the final third and we made a mistake at the back. We had plenty of chances: their keeper is man of the match and that tells you the story of the game.’

Louis van Gaal’s brazenness is generally characterised as genius; it looked closer to madness in those opening 20 minutes as United flailed in defence. A back three of Paddy McNair, Chris Smalling and Tyler Blackett was encouragement enough to Arsenal and within 15 minutes United had also lost Luke Shaw to injury.

Wenger’s side attacked like a team that knew they were in the ascendancy, Alexis Sanchez leading the way, playing with an intensity which was exhilarating. 

The chances came in a flurry: a free header for Per Mertesacker; a header over from Danny Welbeck after superb play from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; a shot from Jack Wilshere, after he drove through a vacant United midfield.

But principally there was Wilshere’s chance on 15 minutes, created by Sanchez chasing down David De Gea, whose consequent weak clearance reached only Welbeck, who fed Wilshere. 

Charging through United’s defence again and this time less than six yards out with only De Gea to beat, Wilshere hesitated before shooting into the United goalkeeper’s body: it was a terrible miss.

‘I was not pleased with the way we had played in the first half,’ Van Gaal said. ‘I have to say the first 25 minutes we gave the ball so easily away, it’s not possible for a top team. Arsenal created a lot of chances, but fortunately we have a very good goalkeeper in David De Gea

‘If Arsenal had score in the first 20 minutes, it would have been another game and then maybe I would have had to respond to all the questions because I had chosen three defenders - but now I can laugh.

Wilshere’s miss proved significant, as United slowly began to settle and Wilshere it was who was un-nerved enough on 30 minutes to butt his head into Marouane Fellaini’s chin. He was lucky to stay on the pitch, let alone not even earn a yellow card.

Arsenal started the second half well, with Oxlade-Chamberlain delivering a delightful ball for Welbeck, who found his way blocked again by De Gea. Try as he might, Welbeck could not punish Van Gaal for his lack of faith in his talent. And shortly after Wilshere had to depart with an ankle injury after a terrible challenge from McNair.

And yet Arsenal are always only a moment away from calamity. An Ashley Young cross on 56 minutes was directed at a marginally offside Fellaini but Kieran Gibbs and Wojciech Szczesny got themselves in a terrible mess, colliding and knocking each other over. Antonio Valencia fired in a relatively harmless cross, but Gibbs inexplicably lifted his leg while still grounded.

With his goalkeeper still struggling, winded and injured, Gibbs diverted the ball into his own net. Worse for Arsenal, Szczesny had to come off immediately after the goal with Emiliano Martinez replacing him. 

Suddenly Smalling looked a leader, making crucial interceptions and pulling McNair and Blackett into shape. There was a Sanchez header on 63 minutes and a fine Santi Cazorla strike on 69 minutes, but then Arsenal lost the ball on the edge of the United box on 86 minutes - they are never more of a danger to themselves than when on the attack - and Fellaini swept the ball to Angel Di Maria. He advanced it on to Wayne Rooney, who finished with a cool confidence. Wenger was unimpressed.

‘It was just after a corner and we were not cautious enough,’ he said. ‘I don’t know why we had nobody at the back at all.’

It might have been 3-0, Di Maria chipping wide when he seemed sure to score from another breakaway. Giroud then provided his late riposte, but such finery could not disguise Arsenal’s failings.

‘There’s discordance between possession and the chances we create and our results,’ said Wenger. ‘It’s very difficult but we have to keep faith in what we do.’ 

Chelsea masters Arsenal in London derby 2-0

Costa is embraced by John Obi Mikel after scoring his goal. The Spanish striker was a peripheral figure but scored when it mattered at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal: Gunners undone by Eden Hazard as Arsene Wenger continues to suffer against Jose Mourinho 

A one-man team? Chelsea are so much more than that this season. Those who believe the title race rests on the hamstrings of Diego Costa may have to reconsider after this.

For a good 75 minutes, Arsenal snuffed out Costa’s threat. It did not matter. Chelsea were still on course for victory, through the quite brilliant Eden Hazard.

Just when Arsenal began imagining they might get a point from the game, a perfect long pass by Cesc Fabregas killed them. 

Outstanding at the back, tireless through midfield, this Chelsea team is the real deal.

They are five points clear of their nearest rival, Manchester City, after seven games going into the October international break and if that margin is repeated through the season the title comes to Stamford Bridge before the first blossoms of spring.

As the Premier League does not get won by gaps of 25 points, that is unlikely to happen, but finding a way of stopping Chelsea in this form is easier said than done.

Not least because when Thibaut Courtois, arguably the best goalkeeper in the League, gets injured, his replacement is Petr Cech, arguably the second best goalkeeper in the League. Chelsea’s strength in depth sets them apart.

Jose Mourinho has built a powerful squad, full of options and nuance. This was not the 6-0 monstering of Arsenal from last season, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Aside from a Jack Wilshere shot that struck Fabregas’s hand, inspiring a penalty shout, Arsenal did not really threaten. They had good possession, minus the cutting edge, and Danny Welbeck was made to work too hard to have an impact. He ran and ran, but barely got a touch in an area that mattered.

Chelsea cut to the heart of the matter at least twice. Once, when Hazard burst into the penalty area, again when Fabregas set up Costa for his ninth goal in seven Premier League games.

There were two other occasions when Chelsea could have extended their lead, and both were Hazardous. In the 58th minute, the Belgian broke down the left and hit a cross which Mathieu Flamini almost deflected into his own net but for the outstretched hand of Wojciech Szczesny.

Although his goal was a penalty, what preceded it was quite lovely, the breakthrough coming in the 27th minute with a touch of the mazy Maradonas.

Hazard jinked his way through Arsenal’s defences before Laurent Koscielny dashed across and felled him with a clumsy tackle that earned a booking and the inevitable gesture towards the spot by referee Martin Atkinson. Hazard slipped the ball low to the right as Szczesny dived the wrong way.

And then, with 12 minutes remaining, came the moment every Arsenal fan had dreaded. Fabregas, playing his first game for his new English club against the one that made his name, struck the sort of pass that used to define matches in the red and white of the Gunners.

It wasn’t a long ball. That sounds too crude. It was accurate and intelligent and left Costa (left) free of Arsenal’s attention for once, setting him up for a chance that was only ever going to end with the ball in the net. On Costa ran, outstripping the defence before drawing Szczesny and lobbing him, deftly, to put the result beyond doubt.

A lesser team than Chelsea might have been rattled by the misfortune of goalkeeper Courtois after 10 minutes. Then again, a lesser team than Chelsea would not have been summoning Cech from the bench. Arsenal’s stand-in, for instance, was Emiliano Martinez, a 23-year-old Argentinian who spent much of last season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. Cech spent it being the Premier League’s best goalkeeper.

Arsenal were rumoured to have wanted him this summer, but Chelsea would not sell to a rival on this occasion. This match showed why. Losing Courtois proved no loss at all. His replacement was as good, just older.

Courtois soldiered on for 13 minutes before conceding that, yes, an earlier collision with a charging Alexis Sanchez had affected his vision. He took the full weight of Sanchez’s thigh to the head and at first looked out cold, splayed like a boxer on the receiving end of a sucker punch. Revived, Courtois continued, but a break in play saw him sit down and call for treatment, and there appeared to be evidence of bleeding in his right ear. 

There has been much discussion of late about the treatment of head injuries, but one of the complications is that players tend to disguise the extent of any problem.

Courtois would no doubt have been asked whether he had lost consciousness and whether he could see straight, and would have replied to the medical team’s satisfaction, either being too brave, too foolhardy, or both.

Are football’s rules sufficient? As medical staff are club employees the suspicion will always be that they are under pressure to keep the team at its strongest, although this is a grave slur against any professional carer. A compromise would be to have independent doctors, appointed by the League, at each game making the call on head injuries, and for replacements to be provided without this counting as a substitution. Yet how long before that advance was abused by an unscrupulous coach looking to make a change without cost?

It could happen. Put it this way: who would have believed the circumstances of rugby union’s Bloodgate scandal before it occurred? 

He marched down the touchline towards the incident, encroaching on Chelsea’s technical area in the process. This upset Mourinho, who attempted to stop him, at which point Wenger placed both hands on the Chelsea manager’s chest and gave him a shove.

For a split second, Mourinho seemed a little concerned, as if he might have to summon John Terry or Didier Drogba as back-up. Instead, the fourth official stepped in and restored order, although Wenger did seem keen to go back for seconds. He retired to his corner, an amused smile on his face, with the look of a man who had taken round one on points.

Wenger later said if he had wanted to properly push Mourinho, he would have gone at it a lot harder. He doesn’t know his strength, that boy. Worryingly, Chelsea probably do.

Arsenal, Tottenham draw for North London derby 1-1

Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rescues Gunners after Nacer Chadli's strike but Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey limp off

The Emirates is rarely a place for fiery passions but the home fans make an exception here for north London derbies.

Those Arsenal fans roared their team on in confident expectation. They knew the victory should be theirs. Their team had largely dominated against their neighbours. They had by far the better of the attacking play and they had a sprinkling of delightful offensive players in Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla, a trio who would grace almost any team, anywhere in the world.

Only Younes Kaboul and Hugo Lloris, giants in the Tottenham defence, stood between them and three points. Surely the goal would come? Surely such an array of talent would be enough to overpower Spurs? 

And yet it was not to be. Arsenal’s infamous brittleness had cost them again. Games they should win, they draw; games in which they ought to be competitive, they end up being comprehensively beaten. It is almost pointless to single out the individuals — yesterday it was Mathieu Flamini, losing the ball in front of his own penalty area — as almost all the team are serial offenders.

Spurs will be grateful for their draw. But until Arsene Wenger can address the vulnerabilities he has in shielding his defence — and he shows no sign of wishing to do so — there will be many more Groundhog Days like this. 

There was much speculation as to whether Ozil would return to his favoured central role — or be shunted out to the left. As it was, he started out wide, but swapped the position regularly with Jack Wilshere, the two of them undertaking the wide left duties as though it were an undesirable job-share.

And this derby felt a very Anglo-Saxon affair early on. Certainly the tackling was of a certain vintage. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere received yellow cards, all too keen to make their impression — literally — on Tottenham, before Erik Lamela added his own Latin mark, cautioned for a late challenge on Kieran Gibbs.

And the football was of variable quality in that first half. What there was, was mainly created by Arsenal. Danny Welbeck was the first to inject some class into the game with a lovely flick past Jan Vertonghen and, leaving the Belgian in his wake, he was only denied by the assiduous covering run of Kaboul.

Welbeck shot unconvincingly at Lloris on 22 minutes but it wasn’t until 28 minutes that Arsenal conjured another clear chance. Aaron Ramsey raced down the right and released Welbeck, who touched the ball back to Wilshere, who in turn struck the ball ferociously from the edge of the box with Lloris well positioned to save. 

Mesut Ozil responds as Arsenal overwhelms Aston Villa 3-0

Aston Villa 0-3 Arsenal: Ozil stars as Welbeck bags first Gunners goal

A three-minute blitz from Arsenal took Aston Villa to pieces in the Premier League on Saturday.

Mesut Ozil, the subject of much criticism before the game, scored one and then assisted Danny Welbeck's first Gunners goal before Aly Cissokho put a third into his own net.

Paul Lambert's side had previously been one of the division's best defences but had no answer to Arsenal's incredible flurry.

Villa's preparations had been hampered by a virus hitting Lambert's squad and the Scot was forced into a late change when Ashley Westwood pulled out of the warm-up to join Nathan Baker as one of two players absent from the XI that had defeated Liverpool at Anfield.

Arsenal were also required to change their team before kick-off, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain starting and Alexis Sanchez named on the bench.

 

It was Villa who appeared least affected by their enforced switch as they quickly claimed the initiative. Fabian Delph forced Wojciech Szczesny into a smart save early on with a fine effort from the edge of the area before Arsenal had to defend two corners to keep themselves level.

 

Welbeck wasted the visitors' most presentable opportunity of the opening exchanges, firing over from 25 yards with the Villa defence backpedalling. 

 

Alan Hutton and Aaron Ramsey then traded harmless long-distance efforts but it was Ciaran Clark who failed to take a golden opportunity when he headed straight at Szczesny after meeting a curling free kick delivery from the left.

 

And Villa were left to rue that miss just past the half-hour mark, as Arsenal forged ahead in some style.

 

A fantastic Welbeck through-ball allowed Ozil to escape the hosts' defence for the first time in the match and he made no mistake in side-footing the ball past Brad Guzan.

 

Welbeck and Ozil then reversed roles, the German sliding a perfect pass across the box after being released on the left-hand side, which the forward gleefully smashed home.

 

Incredibly, Arsenal were not done there and Cissokho made it three goals in three minutes when he inadvertently turned home another low ball from out wide while attempting to clear.

 

The goals took the sting out of a previously buoyant home crowd, allowing Arsenal to cruise into the break 3-0 up and, though Lambert looked to turn the tide of the match at half-time by introducing youngster Jack Grealish in place of Andreas Weimann, Arsenal continued to control possession.

Chances were few and far between in the second period, with Villa looking to limit the damage and the visitors happy to hold onto a comfortable lead.

Arsenal did just that in the end, earning their first league win in over a month to move within three points of leaders Chelsea ahead of their clash with Manchester City on Sunday.

Dortmund tops Arsenal 2-0 on Champions League opening game

Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Arsenal: Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fire hosts to victory on humbling night for Gunners

And right here was the reason the Champions League seedings have got to change next year.

Arsenal are about as close to being among the top eight teams in Europe as Borussia Dortmund’s mighty and magnificent Westfalenstadion is to a wet Wednesday at Gresty Road, Crewe.

They were outclassed in Germany, outplayed, at times torn apart, reduced to an imitation of a team that UEFA blithely placed in Pot 1 when the draw was made earlier this month. Arsenal have no business sitting beside the champions of Europe and the Goliaths of the strongest European leagues right now.

They have been allowed to make the most of an impressive run of qualifications and the odd foray into the last eight, but this can no longer hide the reality. The scoreline did not flatter Borussia Dortmund. Their margin of victory could have been doubled, even trebled, without complaint. 

Their opening goal, in the final minute of the first-half, was their 15th attempt – and if anything their chances after half-time were better, if less frequent. They totalled 22 by the time referee Olegario Benquerenca of Portugal called a halt to a very one-sided contest.

Quicker, sharper, more intelligent, with greater determination at the back, quite simply Dortmund should not be this far ahead. Jurgen Klopp is a fine coach, but he presides over a club that is constantly battling to keep its finest players, often without success. The best are picked off, by Bayern Munich or the elite of England’s Premier League – Arsenal would fancy their chances of getting a player out of Dortmund every time, as they once did with Tomas Rosicky.

Yet the Germans were on a different plane. Only mistakes in front of goal stopped this being a painfully sobering rout. As it was, even the appearance of a 19-year-old rookie, Hector Bellerin, at right back cannot excuse Arsenal’s inferiority. Nothing that happened was Bellerin’s fault; and Dortmund were missing Marco Reus and Mats Hummels.

Yes, Arsenal had the odd chance, too – but even this meagre resistance raised more questions than answers, all falling to new signing Danny Welbeck, who did little to refute Louis van Gaal’s criticisms of him. The Dutchman, not reluctant to back his judgement even in the worst of times, may be saying that he told us so.

Arsenal were desperate for a striker to supplement the injured Olivier Giroud, but their problems run deeper than that. Mikel Arteta was deployed to guard the back four, but that is not his natural role and it showed. 

Dortmund were too quickly into the heart of Arsenal’s defence; any team of attacking quality will enjoy playing against them now. Arsene Wenger was once invincible with men like Patrick Vieira in midfield. It seems incredible that he no longer finds such physically imposing figures relevant to how Arsenal play.

The goals summed up Arsenal’s malaise. The first was horridly soft and come from a bungled visitors' throw-in. Possession was lost, the ball was cleared and Ciro Immobile picked it up inside his own half. 

Manchester City and Arsenal draw 2-2

Martin Demichelis’s late goal earns Manchester City a 2-2 draw at Arsenal 

By the end, there was unmistakable disappointment on Arsène Wenger’s face and a heavy sense of regret engulfing the stands about Arsenal’s failure to capitalise on those goals from Jack Wilshere and, brilliantly, Alexis Sánchez that had turned the game upside down in 11 second-half minutes. Yet they will also know it might have been worse on a day when both sides could easily have won or lost and that culminated in a rare show of temper from Manuel Pellegrini.

Martín Demichelis’s late header ultimately spared Manchester City a second successive defeat but they still had time to hit the post twice during that wild, chaotic finale when their opponents seemed to be doing everything possible to contrive a way to lose. Samir Nasri, facing his former club, was denied a stoppage-time winner because of an offside flag and City also had justifiable grievances that the referee, Mark Clattenburg, missed Wilshere’s handball inside the penalty area.

Arsenal limped to the finish but it would be unfair to reproach them too heavily when, earlier in the game, they had played as though affronted by their record against the top sides. Wenger and his players had been reminded all week about their sorry run of results in these high-importance fixtures but there was no sense of a side with an inferiority complex. They played with high skill and intensity and, more than that, they had to show considerable personality after going in behind at half-time to Sergio Agüero’s breakaway goal.

To recap, this is an Arsenal team that had taken 26 points out of a possible 90 against the teams they want to consider as bona fide rivals over the past five years. They set off like a team that wanted to show that statistic must be a glitch in the system, but for a long time after Agüero’s goal they found it difficult to get any momentum back. Vincent Kompany was a formidable opponent, as he always is in the big games, and David Silva’s nimble artistry between midfield and attack frequently troubled the home side.

It was a test of Arsenal’s character and, midway through the second half, they passed it with distinction. Wilshere equalised in the 63rd minute after running on to Aaron Ramsey’s pass, eluding Gaël Clichy and clipping a lovely diagonal shot above Joe Hart, and what followed was sensational.

This was one of Sánchez’s better performances from his brief time at Arsenal and it was a majestic volley with which he gave Arsenal the lead, even if Hart might have done better.

It was just a pity for Arsenal that everything started to unravel from that point. Wenger talked of conceding a “cheap goal” and he must have been startled by the carelessness of his team in the moments before and after Demichelis thudded a header past Wojciech Szczesny straight from a corner. “We did something remarkable to come back,” Wenger said. “The only disappointment for me is that we couldn’t keep the lead.”

Instead, there was enough late pressure from City to feel they could have added one final, dramatic twist. Aleksandar Kolarov drove one shot against the upright and then another substitute, Edin Dzeko, was denied by the other post.

Dzeko had been on the pitch, Pellegrini said, because City’s manager was convinced Clattenburg would end up sending off Agüero. Fernandinho and Frank Lampard, two of City’s other booked players, had already been withdrawn and it was rare to hear Pellegrini be so critical of a referee’s performance. Uppermost in his mind was that there were “clear fouls” before both Arsenal goals. That was an exaggeration but, overall, he was justified to say Clattenburg had a “very bad day”.

Lampard had been held back for this game so Yaya Touré could have a break after playing for Ivory Coast in Cameroon on Wednesday but the 36-year-old looked his age on a difficult City debut. His yellow card, for sliding into Ramsey, had exposed his lack of match fitness and the game was played at an unforgiving speed.

To start with, Arsenal had the clear edge but Danny Welbeck, on a debut that showed his good and bad, opted for the lofted shot, the dainty little pitching wedge, when he ran clear early on with the chance to open the scoring; as Wenger acknowledged, it was almost certainly the wrong choice of club. The ball came back off the post, rebounding into Hart’s arms, and even at that early stage it was tempting to wonder whether the £16m signing might regret that wastefulness.

Sure enough, City broke in the 28th minute. Agüero went for the same ball as Mathieu Flamini in midfield and, as the ricochet spun it to the right, the Arsenal man hesitated, believing it was going for a throw-in. Jesús Navas had read the trajectory of the ball and as soon as he started haring down the line Arsenal were in trouble. His cross was beautifully weighted and Agüero had eluded Flamini to show his expertise in the penalty area.

Arsenal lost Mathieu Debuchy in the closing stages to a badly sprained ankle and they were looking dishevelled in those moments when the champions went searching for the winner. They very nearly found it but Arsenal, on the balance of play, had done enough before that point to think that it would have been unwarranted.