5 Reasons Why Arsenal Got So Humiliated Against Chelsea

1. Chelsea's Overall Domination

While Arsenal themselves were mostly responsible for this loss, credit must be given to Chelsea, who took the chances that came their way. € The stats don't lie. Chelsea scored more goals (6) than Arsenal had shots on target (5). Chelsea's five offsides sharply contrasts with Arsenal's one, indicating their enthusiasm to make the runs and deliver the final product, demonstrated perfectly by 21 year-old Mohamed Salah, who latched onto a peach of a lobbed through ball from Nemanja Mati‡ and slammed it past Szcz™sny for his first Chelsea goal. In the other key departments, Arsenal's stats, in truth, did not pale much when compared to Chelsea. With a pass completion rate of 85%, it was only 2% lesser than the Blues. Chelsea's successful tackling rate of 25% was way below Arsenal's 41%. Posession-wise, it was almost the same (51% v 49%). However, Chelsea made full use of their opportunities, making sure their passes were not intercepted and their shots, on target. Their passing rhythm was smooth and consistent throughout the match, unlike Arsenal, who didn't manage to establish much of a pattern to get their offense going, having to stop every few seconds to re-access their options. Although Chelsea's successful tackling rate might suggest the defense was poor, that was certainly not the case, as Chelsea's back four chose to contain the Arsenal players to prevent them from playing the ball, and then launch quick counter attacks down the flanks. Gary Cahill and John Terry had a good understanding going on, something we did not really see much in the previous season. With a tight defence, coupled with clinical finishes on the offensive end and sleek passing movements, a dispirited Arsenal team simply had no chance at all to play their usual game, succumbing to a painful mauling in stunning fashion. What else contributed to Arsenal's loss? Let me know in the comments section below.