Arsenal Set-Piece Dominance again was on the winning side with the gunners defeating Chelsea 2-1 in Emirates stadium as they regained their five points top leader in the premier league table. As Manchester City reduced the lead to two points on a day to day basis, the pressure was clearly on the side of Mikel Arteta. What ensued was not their most eloquent show of the campaign but one that had a sense of strength of tactical focus and the insatiable nature of their dead-ball practices. Arsenal managed to do so and in a championship, usually all that comes.
The game started with lots of hesitation as the two teams went out to probe but not yet to form no meaningful thing. Nevertheless, the breakthrough that Arsenal had been searching all season came, once again, as usual. During the 21st minute an unsuccessful attempt occurred as Bukayo Saka passed in a threatening corner, Gabriel Magalhaes turned it over the goal. It was beaten into by William Saliba and where the final pass fell off the arm of Mamadou Sarr just as he crossed the line it showed, in question Arsenal Set-Piece Dominance at its finest.
Chelsea was positive in response. Shortly before half-time, they equalized in one of their corners, although it was through an own goal as the flick of Piero Hincapie put Arsenal in a defensive tangle. The game was a close call, and at the very beginning of the second half Chelsea seemed to be the better part. The tension in the air within the Emirates was high when David Raya was made to make a couple of excellent saves in order to maintain the scores at par.
But back to what they are most familiar with Arsenal came. Another accurate corner was played in the 66 th minute by Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber headed home the highest. It was the 16th Arsenal goal of the season, matching the number of goals that the team had scored off corners in one season in the entire duration of the Premier League. Teams prepare for it. They know it is coming. And still, they cannot stop it.
With the change of direction in the goals of Timber the dismissal of Pedro Neto destroyed the hopes of Chelsea altogether. Being already booked Neto cynically took Gabriel Martinelli down in a fine counter-attack. The second yellow card reduced the number of players left on the field by one player and gave Arsenal the game control.
The disciplinary problems facing Chelsea also plague them. This became their 7 th red card in the premier league in this season and their 9 th card in any competition. To a side that is already at its knees over consistency, these lapses are costing it. Manager Liam Rosenior had addressed issues of better discipline prior to kick-off yet the absence of action according to the discipline side in two consecutive games is a different story.
Even late drama was not in their power to save them. Liam Delap believed that he had packed in an equaliser during stoppage time but Joao Pedro was caught offside in the build-up. Again, it was the fine margins and defensive weak sides that drove back Chelsea in the development.
It is not just the fact that Arsenal can score corner after corner but it is their psychological strength. This was not their most best performance. The tempo was not steady and Chelsea got real trouble especially following the break. However, there was Arsenal Dominance in Set-Pieces as a back-up.
Their corner contribution is astronomical statistically. Arsenal have now scored 1-0 out of a corner 9 times this season which can only be matched by Southampton of 1994-95 in the history of the premier league. The figures underscore the importance of the dead-ball situations in opening tight games.
The character will be brought especially to the satisfaction of Arteta. The head run-in also requires composure, particularly when the competitors and contenders like Manchester City are putting undue pressure on them. Arsenal are now on 64 that is five points off the top but they have been playing one game more. It is a narrow margin, yet the momentum seems to be strong.
Chelsea, in its turn, are a promise team possessed with inconsistency. Their set-pieces were dangerous when on the offensive but they were weak in defense and their discipline was still a problem. Close to qualify to the champions league is an increasing gap and they must improve in order to fulfill their ambitions.
In the case of Arsenal it is an easy formula: continue performing when under pressure. Arsenal Set-Piece Dominance is no longer a tactical strength, it is a calling card. That identity has the potential of taking them to their first league title in five years 2004
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