I’m not sure what the half-time team talk by Arsene Wenger was about, but it worked to perfection. Fair enough, I’m not sure if we would have taken anything away from this match had Mike Dein not made a terrible decision on the first goal, but as they say, sometimes they go for you, something they don’t. Today it went for us, and that turned the match, and our season around beautifully.

For many, the key of the match was Robin Van Persie’s equaliser, who scored in a clear offside position. It’s ironic, because in the first half, Kalou was stopped twice by the linesman for two very close calls yet Robin was allowed to keep on going and the finish, with his right foot, was unstoppable. However, I believe it was Lampard’s missed opportunity just before Robin’s goal which shifted the momentum and ended up being the real key of the match.

But let’s start from the first minutes of the half. Chelsea came out of the blocks just as they finished the first half, pushing forward from the wings. In the 49th minute, Deco picks Cole whose cross is blocked by Djourou. Two minutes later, Lampard’s aforementioned opportunity; the ball breaks to him just outside the penalty area, and with Almunia out of position, he fails to hit the target.

And that was the turning point. In the 58th minute, Denilson plays in Robin Van Persie, who in a clear offside position, keeps his cool and produces a stunning right-footed striker from 20 yards to give us an important equaliser. Minutes later, after Terry’s luck to get away with a yellow for a terrible two-footed challenge, Cesc Fabregas delivers from a free-kick, Adebayor wins the header to free Robin who shrugs his way past his marker and slots the ball in, this time with his beloved left-foot. One-two to the Arsenal!

Robin Van Persie

And it could have been three for Robin minutes later, but his free-kick effort went high. After that, it was all defending, only that contrary to the first half, we did it to perfection. Chelsea could only threaten from a Malouda free-kick which went over the bar, a Deco effort on the edge of the box which also went over the bar and another Malouda opportunity – who is given space outside the box – which goes high. Arsenal, on the other hand, had opportunities on the counter attack to seal it. In one of these, Denilson’s first touch is poor and Cech intervenes.

Just like the Manchester one, this win is huge, but it’s much more than that as it came away from home. In the second round, Chelsea will have to face Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal away from home, so the title race is wide open again. And imagine how open it would have been had we managed to keep that lead against Spurs or produce a fine performance against Villa. But enough of the past, the present is bright and so is the future, since on Tuesday the young guns will be back in action!


Player Ratings

Almunia: 5,5 – Started the season brilliantly, but he’s fading away, maybe feeling the pressure. He needs to be more calm.
Djourou: 6,5 – The own goal, considering we won, can’t overshadow his brave performance at the back. Much better than Silvestre!
Gallas: 6,5 – Like Johan, he was also very solid at the back, again responding like a true professional to everything going around him.
Clichy: 7,5 – And the respect I have for this man keeps on growing. And had Ivanovic not brought him down after our second goal, he could have scored the goal of the season.
Sagna: 7,5 – Finally! Important blocks, important tackles and the old Bacari is finally back with us.
Denilson: 5 – Out of position, so I won’t be harsh with him, but someone else has to play there.
Song: 6 – Didn’t start well and he was outpaced a couple of times but when defending had to be done after the second goal, he was there to block everything coming at him.
Nasri: 6 – A quiet match from him, but what he had to do was done right.
Fabregas: 7 – The brain of Arsenal is finally showing some energy and when he’s on, the whole team is. He just needs a different partner instead of Denilson and perfection will be achieved.
Van Persie: 8 – What’s the difference between the Robin on the 1st half and the Robin of the 2nd one? Easy, in the second half he had goal opportunities. And when he does have them, there’s only one answer.
Adebayor: 4 – Dear Emmanuel, you can pack your things and wait for the season to end so as to ask for a transfer. Think about it friends, we went out there with this useless figure, yet defeated Chelsea away from home.

(Subs)
Bendtner: 6 – Not much on the pitch, enough to show grit and determination in winning the ball and giving it to Denilson, who rather than sealing the match, wasted it.