The Gunners moved back above Man City with a convincing 3-1 win over a Chelsea side that have now lost each of their last six.
Arsenal barely got out of first gear, but found themselves 3-0 up after just 34 minutes at the Emirates, with Chelsea offering zero threat going forward and defending like a bunch of school boys in a first half performance that Gary Neville called “disgraceful”.
It was all too easy for Granit Xhaka, who had all the time in the world to find Martin Ødegaard all alone in the Blues’ box after just 18 minutes and the Norwegian calmly side footed the ball past Kepa and in off the crossbar to give Mikel Arteta’s side a deserved lead. Then 13 minutes later, the same thing happened again. Xhaka finds his captain and he finds the back of the net, before Gabriel Jesus added a third after more poor defending by the Chelsea back-line.
Noni Madueke got a consolation for the Blues in the second half, one of the only bright sparks for Frank Lampard’s side in a terrible performance by the Blues in a London derby.
Here is how the players rated at the Emirates:
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale – 7 – Didn’t have much to do, but pulled off a fine save to deny Ben Chilwell in the first half.
Ben White – 6 – Constantly looking to attack and overlapping Bukayo Saka. Created two chances and won three of his four aerial duels.
Jakub Kiwior – 7 – Looked composed at the back and did his defensive duties well.
Gabriel Magalhaes – 6 – Spent most of the time in the second half on the floor asking to come off.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6 – Given a tough evening by Noni Madueke and completely switched off for his goal.
Martin Ødegaard – 9 – Two fantastic finishes in the opening 31 minutes after twice being found in space by Granit Xhaka to score his 13th and 14th Premier League goals of the season. He makes the game look easy, effortlessly strolling around the pitch with Chelsea unable to get near him. Always looking for the ball, excellent on the half turn and showed why he has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season.
14 – Martin Ødegaard has scored 14 goals in the Premier League this season for @Arsenal; the only central midfielder to score more goals in a single Premier League campaign for the Gunners is @cesc4official in 2009-10 (15). Silk. pic.twitter.com/JCpQfwfNyJ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 2, 2023
Jorginho – 7 – Enjoyed his evening against his former side. Kept the ball moving, dictated play and was calmness personified.
Granit Xhaka – 8 – Twice found Martin Ødegaard in acres of space in the box with two exquisite balls in the first half, constantly getting into positions that Chelsea found difficult to pick him up in.
Granit Xhaka's game by numbers vs Chelsea:
51 touches
4 shots
2 duels won
2 take-ons completed
2 chances created
2 assists
0.73 xGCreative. ? pic.twitter.com/rScMMQxozr
— Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) May 2, 2023
Bukayo Saka – 6 – Didn’t hit the heights that he has in recent weeks and months, but still offered a threat. Looked like he needs a rest.
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Leandro Trossard – 7 – The Gunners’ attack lacked something when he went off. A very shrewd signing.
Gabriel Jesus – 8 – He was everywhere. Ran the channels, pressed well and a constant threat in the Chelsea box. Scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season to put the result beyond Chelsea in the first half.
Substitutes:
Gabriel Martinelli (for Trossard, 59′) – 6 – The game was already won.
Kieran Tierney (for Zinchenko, 73′) – N/A – Came on late.
Reiss Nelson (for Saka, 73′) – N/A – Came on late.
Rob Holding (for Gabriel, 85′) – N/A – Came on late.
Thomas Partey (for Jorginho, 86′) – N/A – Came on late.
Chelsea
Kepa Arrizabalaga- 5 – Spent most of his time picking the ball out of the net.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 3 – Nearly gifted Granit Xhaka an opener after just five minutes, missed the ball completely for Arsenal’s third and struggled to deal with Trossard and then Martinelli.
Thiago Silva – 5 – One of Chelsea’s only players that tried. Made seven clearances and four blocks, helping to keep the score down.
Wesley Fofana – 4 – Constantly dragged out of position by Arsenal’s forwards.
Chelsea are a disgrace out there
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) May 2, 2023
Ben Chilwell – 5 – Had Chelsea’s only shot of the first half and on the whole dealt well with Bukayo Saka.
N’Golo Kante – 4 – Very poor by his usual high standards, struggling in his hybrid role and left gaps down the the Chelsea right side of midfield.
Mateo Kovacic – 5 – A superb assist for Noni Madueke, but spent most of the game chasing shadows.
Enzo Fernandez – 5 – Struggled to deal with Arsenal’s runners from midfield.
Noni Madueke – 6 – One of Chelsea’s only real attacking threats. Always looked to take his man on and made some dangerous runs. Rewarded with a goal that will do his confidence the world of good.
Raheem Sterling – 4 – Looked lively early on, but completely drifted out of the game. Should never have left Man City.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 2 – Touched the ball just nine times and completed just six passes in his 45 minutes on the pitch, with four of them coming from kick-off. Zero shots, zero take-ons, zero chances created, zero duels won, and zero effort. Might as well have stayed on the team bus.
Substitutes:
Kai Havertz (for Aubameyang , 46′) – 5 – Chelsea looked better with him on the pitch.
Conor Gallagher (for Enzo , 71′) – N/A – Came on late.
Mykhailo Mudryk (for Sterling , 71′) – N/A – Came on late.
Hakim Ziyech (for Madueke , 79′) – N/A – Came on late.
Trevoh Chalobah (for Fofana, 86′) – N/A – Came on late.