Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea: Player ratings as Odegaard fires Gunners to Premier League summit

Nazir Hamzah May 3, 2023

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Goals from Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus in a first-half blitz fired Arsenal to a 3-1 victory at home to Chelsea on Tuesday night, sending the Gunners back to the Premier League summit.

Wounded after a four-game winless run that may well have derailed their Premier League title bid, Arsenal started firmly on the front foot. Chelsea arrived at the Emirates in even worse form, with manager Frank Lampard admitting that his side are “low on confidence and low on performance” after five consecutive defeats.

The Gunners penned the visitors into their own defensive third, pressing fiercely and feverishly to settle any nerves. Chelsea had completed seven passes outside their own half by the time Odegaard stroked Arsenal into a deserved lead on 18 minutes.

Mikel Arteta made a change to each line of Arsenal’s outfield lineup in a bid to “recharge the batteries” but it was a familiar duo that dovetailed again after half an hour. In a near-carbon copy of the opening goal, Granit Xhaka swept the ball across the pitch, evading the purely holographic blue shirts to pick out Odegaard for a crisp first-time finish.

This particular combination of expensively assembled blue shirts struggled to adjust to the movements of their teammates, so had little chance of dealing with Jesus’ tireless tiptoeing. Hovering with menace between the lines, Jesus darted to the back post to bring down Ben White’s cross, rolling it back for Xhaka to stab towards goal. Jesus was first to the rebound, sweeping Arsenal into a 3-0 lead within three minutes of Odegaard’s second.

Arsenal cantered out from the interval with the same energy and eagerness, twice going close to extending a suffocating advantage reflected by the oles that cascaded around the Emirates ten minutes into the second half.

The ultra-aggressive approach of the hosts offered Chelsea sporadic opportunities to break. Ben Chilwell had forced a good save from Aaron Ramsdale in the first half and Noni Madueke clumsily failed to even make an attempt moments before reducing the deficit. Sneaking behind Oleksandr Zinchenko onto Mateo Kovacic’s lofted pass, Madueke unconvincingly bobbled the ball beyond Ramsdale to add an unexpected whisper of jeopardy to the final 25 minutes.

Chelsea offered a late flurry of forward activity which never truly threatened Ramsdale’s net, allowing Arsenal to return to winning ways and the top of the Premier League table – until Manchester City’s clash against West Ham on Wednesday at least.

Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)

Arsenal are running riot against Chelsea! 🔥

Xhaka x Odegaard link up once again for the skipper to get his brace! 🥵

And then Gabriel Jesus smashes one in from close range to extend the lead even further within minutes! 👀 pic.twitter.com/5TE3nGJHhn— 90min (@90min_Football) May 2, 2023

GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10 – It may get lost in the flurry of Arsenal goals, but Ramsdale made a crucial save when the score was just 1-0 to deny Ben Chilwell.

RB: Ben White – 5/10 – Supported Arsenal’s attack well but was liable to tuck inside a little too much to help out Jakub Kiwior.

CB: Jakub Kiwior – 5/10 – On his first-ever Premier League start, Kiwior kept his game simple.

CB: Gabriel – 5/10 – Battling through a hamstring injury, Gabriel limited Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to less than a sniff.

LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 3/10 – Uncertain when forced to back-pedal up against the fleet-footed Madueke and switched off for the forward’s goal.

CM: Martin Odegaard – 9/10 – A perfect example of his newfound willingness to shoot with one touch.

CM: Jorginho – 6/10 – Mopped up a raft of loose balls in a typically understated display.

CM: Granit Xhaka – 8/10 – Charging around the turf with purpose on and off the ball.

RW: Bukayo Saka – 6/10 – Protected the ball well throughout, growing in threat as the game wore on.

ST: Gabriel Jesus – 8/10 – Untameable at times, bouncing off the blue shirts with ease and an air of disdain.

LW: Leandro Trossard – 6/10 – Drifting around the pitch with the potential for menace that didn’t entirely materialise.

Substitutes

Gabriel Martinelli (59′ for Trossard) – 5/10

Kieran Tierney (74′ for Zinchenko) – 5/10

Reiss Nelson (74′ for Saka) – 5/10

Rob Holding (86′ for Gabriel) – N/A

Thomas Partey (86′ for Jorginho) – N/A

Manager

Mikel Arteta – 7/10 – Finally cajoled his team out of their rut with a performance only tinged rather than soaked in the uncertainty of recent weeks.

Chelsea player ratings (4-3-3)

Frank Lampard was Mikel Arteta’s first opponent as Arsenal manager at the Emirates in 2019, losing 2-1 / Alex Pantling/GettyImages

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 4/10 – Without being directly at fault for Arsenal’s goals, Kepa never conveyed any sense of confidence.

RB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 4/10 – Took the law into his own hands at times to stop Arsenal revelling in Chelsea’s mediocrity.

CB: Wesley Fofana – 3/10 – Buffeted around and bullied by Jesus throughout.

CB: Thiago Silva – 5/10 – Kept the score respectable with a goal-line clearance laced with skill at the start of the second half.

LB: Ben Chilwell – 6/10 – Offered an intermittent burst of thrust down Chelsea’s left flank.

CM: Mateo Kovacic – 5/10 – Arced a probing ball over the top for Madueke’s goal.

CM: Enzo Fernandez – 4/10 – Clumsily let Xhaka’s square pass skid between his legs to tee up Odegaard’s opener.

CM: N’Golo Kante – 3/10 – Xhaka picnicked happily in the oceans of space which Kante left behind him by pushing so high up the pitch yet hardly offered any threat on the ball himself in the final third.

RW: Noni Madueke – 6/10 – Provided the brightest flicker of hope amid the muddled gloom.

ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 1/10 – On his first start for Chelsea since the November reverse fixture, the former Arsenal captain had his first touch in the opposition half after 44 minutes, failing to control a pass that trickled out of play.

LW: Raheem Sterling – 4/10 – A regular thorn in Arsenal’s side over the years scarcely broke the surface on Tuesday.

Substitutes

Kai Havertz (46′ for Aubameyang) – 3/10 – Scarcely made more of a dent than Aubameyang.

Conor Gallagher (71′ for Fernandez) – 5/10

Mykaylo Mudryk (71′ for Sterling) – 5/10

Hakim Ziyech (79′ for Madueke) – N/A

Manager

Frank Lampard – 2/10 – Unsurprisingly failed to devise any successful – or even identifiable – plan but couldn’t even inspire any confidence in his team.