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There is nothing better than that: Arteta’s joy at the victory in the derby
For Arsenal fans it was the end of a desperate 56-day wait for a Premier League victory; For Chelsea fans, the perfect way to spoil the Christmas holidays.
Frank Lampard’s side would have been second with a victory at Emirates, but instead underperformed in a 3-0 loss that knocks them out of the top six.
Lampard called up his team due to lack of energy and enthusiasm, while Mikel Arteta admitted that his Arsenal team “has disappointed the fans for many weeks.”
So where do they go from here?
‘There is nothing better on Boxing Day’
Arsenal had not won in the Premier League since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty beat Manchester United in early November.
The Gunners had only had a longer Premier League winless streak, going eight games without winning until Paul Merson secured victory at Maine Road in January 1993.
They had also won just two of the last 17 league games against Chelsea, but shed all that baggage to open a 2-0 lead at halftime thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka.
“It is a really special day,” said Arteta. “There is nothing better: Boxing Day, playing a London derby at the Emirates and winning like we have.
“We were really disappointed and frustrated with the results, not so much with the performances, but with the results.
“The players were suffering, our fans were suffering and I hope this is a turning point and it will raise the confidence of the team because I know they can play at this level.”
Arsenal are out of the last six and can start looking at the table now
Arsenal had to weather a late storm from Chelsea, and if Jorginho had converted his penalty it could have been interesting for the hosts, but Arteta praised the spirit of his team.
“From the first whistle you could see that the team had the energy and the will to go out and win the game,” he told BBC Sport.
“The spirit before the game was very positive, they really wanted it. I am happy for the players and the fans; we have disappointed them for many weeks, so it was a good day to give them something to be happy about.”
Arsenal face Brighton, West Brom, Crystal Palace and Newcastle in their next four league games. Can they maintain this level of performance?
‘We were lazy, I’m angry’ Chelsea ‘lacked’ energy and desire – Frank Lampard
Just two weeks ago, Chelsea’s 17-game unbeaten streak ended at Everton, where a win would have brought them to the top.
The lackluster performance at Arsenal made it three losses in four games and left Lampard repeating his belief that his team is not ready to fight for the title.
“Teams that win, win, win relentlessly [at the moment] we weren’t winning two or three years ago, “he told BBC Sport.
“It takes time and we haven’t got there yet, that’s clear. I felt it when we’re on our long undefeated streak and I feel it now. We were very wrong today.”
As a team, Chelsea covered almost 4 km less than Arsenal, and the hosts had five players (Héctor Bellerin, Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka, Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka) who ran 10 km or more in front of the three visitors (Christian Pulisic , Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell).
Lampard said he had told his players what to expect and was disappointed in their approach in the first 45 minutes.
“I am angry because I want us to win games,” he said.
“We were lazy to give away a penalty, lazy to give away a free kick that Xhaka puts in the top corner and I’m very, very disappointed in the way we approach the first half because some things in football are basic.
“It’s not tactics or systems, it’s do you want to run and push your teammate back and sprint? Or do you want to jog and say ‘maybe I don’t have to run,’ and we made that decision instead. ” of the correct one. “
‘They made Chelsea look normal’
Former England captain Alan Shearer on match of the day
“I said that Arsenal could go down and they could have gone down if Mikel Arteta had continued to play for the same team. He made changes and he had to.
“They made Chelsea look normal and it was much, much better. The youngsters brought energy to the team. Chelsea were horrible, far from good enough. They only came out fighting for the last two or three minutes.
“Chelsea lacked creativity. It wasn’t until the 85th minute that they made an effort on goal. There was a lack of intensity in the final third. Timo Werner was dragged at half time.”
Source: bbc.com
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