Arsenal led by 9/10 Koscielny in defense and attack; Lacazette also shines

Arsenal had a fantastic performance in the first period to revive the race to the top four while they were beating Chelsea 2-0 to narrow the gap to three blues points. Manchester United was also fit and breathed in the neck. It was a huge result. The Unai Emery team responded to their critics with arguably their best performance of the season.

Good points

The pressure and intensity of the first 10 minutes were excellent, as is often the case, but this time the Gunners were able to capitalize on a superb first goal from Alexandre Lacazette. They kept Chelsea out and had plenty of chances to score before finally making things more comfortable with a second chance from Laurent Koscielny. After a long-term injury, the Frenchman has regained his former personality to provide the defense with essential stability.

The negatives

They should have had two or three lengths in advance as they missed good chances, then hesitated a bit just before halftime when Marcos Alonso hit the post with a header. They sat down to pressure, but we split a little.

The injury of Hector Bellerin will be a blow.

Rating of the manager out of 10

8 – Unai Emery finally dropped the back three in favor of the flat and wide back system that worked so well against Tottenham, with Aaron Ramsey behind Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. And the 4-3-1-2 system just seems to suit them.

Aggressive pressing is becoming Emery's hallmark, but this system has also allowed him to place the men behind the ball and guarantee Arsenal's defense as a team. In fact, watching Chelsea sometimes came back to look at Arsenal in the past, while the Blues got into a good position and then had to go backwards.

By leaving Mesut Ozil on the bench, Emery has not yielded to pressure to send the German and will be delighted that his team is both a threat in attack and solid defense. He even took the popular Lacazette again to close shop 20 minutes from the end.

Player's Notes (1-10; 10 = Best Players Introduced After 70 Minutes Receive No Notes)

GK Bernd Leno, 6 – I had almost nothing to do before the last 10 minutes. But claimed only a second blank sheet at the club.

DF Hector Bellerin, age 7 – Back in the side after an injury, his cool head to the back was as welcome as his descents on the right flank. His knee injury was serious without anyone else around him when he fell and we will miss him.

DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos, age 8 – He missed a free header in eight minutes, but he made up a good badist for his partner Koscielny. And helped keep Eden Hazard quiet, which is always difficult.

DF Laurent Koscielny, age 9 – Another to have a great chance to score at the opening exchanges but carried the ball home for second place Arsenal. He also did his main defense work brilliantly and his positioning was exceptional to eliminate the danger on many occasions.

DF Sead Kolasinac, 6 years old – I was caught off guard and was lucky not to be punished. Chelsea was very successful on his side, but he also provided a good outlet with some lungs.

MF Lucas Torreira, 7 years old – Not like his destructive habit, but he continued to run and divide the game. Is also impressive with his delivery of free kicks.

MF Granite Xhaka, 6 – Should have been reserved within three minutes to shoot N & # 39; Golo Kante and continues to be frustrated by his mix of excellent and terrible pbades.

MF Matteo Guendouzi, age 7 – Excellent technique and endurance for such a youngster. As a center left midfielder, he left Kolasinac a little too exposed, but he canceled Kante's impact.

MF Aaron Ramsey, age 7 – Some neat touches and aggressive pressure from the front, but did not get involved in the match as he would have liked. Lost Marcos Alonso from a corner and was lucky that the Spaniard hit the post.