FT: Chelsea 0-4 Arsenal; Watch extended goals, highlights and super Mendy saves
Arsenal rounded off their US tour with a resounding 4-0 victory over London rivals Chelsea in the Florida Cup.
The Gunners were dominant from the outset, taking advantage of a Chelsea outfit that looked undercooked and unsure in their fresh 4-2-3-1 system. The Blues struggled to build up in the face of a rampant Arsenal press, and Mikel Arteta’s men were able to sustain pressure as a result.
Arsenal were the best team on the pitch from kick-off and they continued their domination throughout the first half. With sharper passing, better movement on and off the ball and the Blues being unable to figure out how to fill gaps in a back-four, the Gunners easily found scores via Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard at minutes 15 and 36, respectively.
Back on the 3-4-3 in the second half, Chelsea were much better. Playing with a familiar tactic helped the team just as much as Arsenal not being as keen to score as they were in the first half, with the Blues dominating possession but not doing nearly enough to create chances against their opponents tonight.
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Gunners continued to look the more likely scorers in the opening exchanges. Oleksandr Zinchenko – on his first appearance was getting forward well on the left and had a shot charged down when he found space inside the box.
Shortly afterwards though was a goal, what a finish it was. Granit Xhaka fired a first-time pass into the path of Jesus, who advanced on the keeper and casually dinked the ball over him for the opener.
The second was another well worked goal. Martinelli held onto possession just long enough for Odegaard to make his run into the box, before slipping the ball into his path. The captain did the rest, sliding his shot low into the corner
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Bukayo Saka added the third goal in the second, despite the Replay constantly highlighting offset, it was counted
Lokonga heads past Mendy unmarked after being picked out by a superb Cedric cross from the right flank to make it four
That will likely be the last action of a thoroughly one-sided contest.
Opinion
Chelsea will be concerned about such a poor display.
Arsenal exposed a weak backline with Kalidou Koulibaly only playing a few minutes and other new signings yet to arrive.
They also looked toothless in attack without a main striker. Gabriel Jesus, whom they were once interested in, subsequently stole the show.
Another problem has been all the travel and high temperatures during the Blues’s United States tour.
Thomas Tuchel has complained about that and how distracting his involvement in transfers has been.
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