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The Gunners won a local stramash by two corners to one David Hytner was at the Emirates. Here’s his take! Thanks for reading this MBM, and enjoy what’s left of the weekend. Liam Rosenior’s turn to speak to Sky. “It’s been the same story for the last three games … in the ascendency in all three games … honestly … we’re together, because what I never do is start pointing the finger … but it is clear what we need to improve … it’s not our football … not our attacking play … we need to make sure we are ruthless in both boxes … to concede two goals from corners and get another red card … that has been the story of our season … the story of the last few games … Arsenal are probably the best team in the world at set plays … if you think we’ve not worked on set plays all week … you’d be crazy not to … the second one was the one that’s disappointing … we have to be stronger … better mentality … we gave a free kick away … then a corner … when we’re in control of the game … there is a lot of good that we do … we need to solve that before we go to Aston Villa … I thought the pain of [dropping points against Leeds and Burnley] would have switched us on today … and it hasn’t … that’s been the most frustrating thing … the set-up tactically was very good … Arsenal didn’t cause any problems other than set plays … we didn’t stand up in the moments we needed to … there’s been a lot of talk about holding and how you mark in the box … I haven’t seen many referees give anything. ” Mikel Arteta – beaming now - talks to Sky Sports. “A big win … really happy … for big periods the team performed in an excellent way … the margins should have been bigger at half-time … after the red card we should have managed the situation better but we can talk about that tomorrow … a tough game … set pieces are very important … Chelsea are second best with one less goal … lately we haven’t scored that many from set pieces … we’ve scored our goals almost from open play … today was necessary … to have these kind of options is great … if it’s done well, it is an absolute nightmare to defend against … the way we have reacted after [Wolves] has been top … the manner we have dealt with it is top … I thought [the players] were good human beings and wanted to win, but the level they are in now is another one! … the feeling that you have to win and win … it is not enough to open a gap and that is the beauty of this league. ” Stay with us for some hot managerial chat … coming right up! But in the meantime, the Guardian match report has landed. David Hytner was at the Emirates, and here’s his take. William Saliba speaks to Sky Sports … “It was not an easy game against a top team … we should have not conceded the goal just behiore half time … we did well in the second half with our set pieces … a beautiful goal by [Jurrien Timber] … now we have to keep going … we are so happy. ” … as does his fellow goalscorer Jurrien Timber. “We deserved to win this game … we finished it off in the second half … [set pieces] became an important part of the game … it has always been, but teams are focussing on it more, which is interesting, but I think is in our advantage … overall we played a good game … an important game on Wednesday [at Brighton] … we are enjoying it, and hopefully at the end, something beautiful. ” Mikel Arteta usually looks delighted when the whistle sounds for an Arsenal win. He’s not smiling right now. He puffs out his cheeks and exhales hard. He knows that was a hard-won victory, one in which his side didn’t play well, but ground out the three points they so desperately needed in the title race. Chelsea gave as good as they got in the second half, but an implosion midway through it cost them the match. Arsenal re-establish their five-point cushion at the top, having played a game more than Manchester City; Chelsea meanwhile slip behind in the race for Champions League qualification. Arsenal make it over the line! It wasn’t pretty, and Chelsea ran them so close at the end, but things like that matter little at this stage of the season! 90 min +6: Pedro, his back to goal on the penalty spot, juggles the ball with his head before sending an overhead kick goalwards. Raya parries. Delap forces the ball into the bottom right. Goal! Goal? No goal! Pedro was a mile offside when the first ball was sent into the box! 90 min +5: Lavia sends James into space on the right. James crosses low, but Delap can’t connect on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Arsenal are desperate to hear the full-time whistle! 90 min +3: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. 90 min +2: Garnacho swings in from the left. Pedro misses by inches. Longer toenails and he’s scoring. Then for a nanosecond, it looks like the bouncing, dipping cross will sneak into the bottom right. But Raya extends fully to tip acrobatically around the post! A two-point-saving sensation! 90 min +1: Chalobah releases Delap into space down the inside-right channel. If he centres low, Garnacho is surely tapping home. But he doesn’t have his head up, keeps going down the channel, and allows Saliba to arrive on his shoulder and usher him away from danger. That’s superb defending, though Delap really shouldn’t have given Saliba the chance to get back. 90 min: Sarr is replaced by Tosin. There will be six additional minutes. 89 min: Gusto advances down the right and crosses dangerously enough to force Gabriel into heading behind for Chelsea’s ninth corner of the game. James sends it to the near post. Norgaard heads clear. The tension palpable. 88 min: Arsenal are sitting back a bit here, perhaps unwisely. Shades of Wolves (x2). The ten men of Chelsea not fully out of hope yet. 87 min: Caicedo aims a power-riser towards the top-right corner from 25 yards. But it’s always heading wide right and high, and Raya almost certainly had it covered anyway. 86 min: Chelsea throw their final dice. Garnacho and Delap come on for Palmer and Fernandez. 85 min: Nothing comes from the corner, which is probably just as well. “Many moons ago, I worked for a company that had DC Thomson (publishers of the Beano) as investors, ” begins Matt Emerson. “Occasionally I would have to phone up the Head Office in Dundee and ask for one of the family. The receptionists would always refer to them very formally, ‘I’ll see if Mr. Andrew is available. ’ It was both antiquated and utterly delightful, like something out of Dr Finlay’s Casebook. ” 84 min: Saka drops a shoulder to make space down the right. He dinks a cross to the near stick, where Sanchez gathers. The whistle goes for a corner, though the ball didn’t go out. If nothing else, that cancels out the incident in the first half (15 min) when Sanchez made a meal of stopping Eze scoring from the halfway line. 82 min: Arsenal are in almost total control of this game now. This would be a huge win for them, one they’ve been put through the mill for. 80 min: Eze, who has been quiet, fizzes a fine low diagonal drive towards the bottom left. Sanchez saves well. 79 min: … and the head loss continues, as Caicedo concedes a free kick for clattering into the back of Havertz. Fernandez slams the ball down in frustration and goes into the book. He doesn’t stop flapping his neck at the referee, and wants to watch himself here. 78 min: That goal and red-card double whammy appears to have knocked the stuffing out of Chelsea. All of their earlier threat has evaporated. 76 min: Both teams make two changes. Gusto and Lavia come on for Santos and Hato, while Rice and Gyokeres make way for Norgaard and Havertz. 75 min: Gabriel is booked for pulling back Pedro. 74 min: Saka slips over in the Chelsea box and wants a penalty, but he’s not getting one. “The Beano and Dundee cake just don’t do it for me anymore I’m afraid, ” replies Simon Mc Mahon. “The Broons, however, and Paw Broon in particular, with his fondness for baccy and the odd single malt, are inspirational. Maybe Arsenal could do with Hen up front? ” 72 min: Chelsea were the better team before the Arsenal goal. Some controversy maybe over the award of the free kick won by Timber that sparked off that chain of events … but the visitors have simply imploded since then. What a speedy turnaround! 70 min: … Arsenal counter. Martinelli zips down the left touchline. Neto comes sliding in to cynically stop him. No eye for the ball. Martinelli kept going, and once again the play is pulled back. Annoying for Arsenal, as Martinelli was in acres … but they’re placated when Neto is shown a second yellow for his rash tackle. In truth it could have been a straight red. He picked up his second yellow two minutes and 58 seconds after the first. 69 min: Rice, the blood up, chases after Neto down the right … and absolutely blooters a backpass out for a corner. And from the set piece … 67 min: Chelsea – including their manager Liam Rosenior – claim Sanchez was impeded illegally. But that’s nonsense. Sanchez was stumbling around in Late Afternoon Pints mode, and the goal is good. Neto is booked for his part in the ludicrous protest. They crank that set-piece heat up to 101 degrees! Rice curls it into the six-yard box. Sanchez has misread the flight, off his line and out of the picture. Timber meets the cross, six yards out, the ball rolling down his front and into the net! 65 min: Hato is booked for bringing down an in-flight Timber … though replays show there wasn’t too much by way of content. But it’s a free kick to the right of the Chelsea box. Rice swings it in, and Sanchez comes off his line to punch. The keeper misses it, and is fortunate Chalobah is on point to head behind for a corner. Now it’s Arsenal’s turn to bring the set-piece heat! 64 min: Gyokeres looks to have got the better of James down the left … but just as it looks as though he’ll be powering his way towards the box, James battles and battles and battles and finally manages to steal the ball, then draw a foul. That’s astounding defence, especially as Gyokeres, for all his faults, is one heck of a handful when in full flight. 62 min: … but this one’s not too bad for them, as Pedro heads harmlessly wide left. 61 min: Arsenal are well within their rights to complain about that. The referee a bit whistle-happy. Palmer knew what he was doing. Saucy clever. And that’s rattled Arsenal, Saliba gifting possession to Palmer, who advances on their box and wins another corner. Arsenal have not enjoyed these. 59 min: James delivers to the near post. Raya claims, and sends Arsenal off on the attack. Maretinelli flicks a pass wide right for Timber, who would be clear into the Chelsea half on his own. But the whistle goes for Palmer’s tug on Saka, back near the penalty box. Arsenal are fuming. A booking for Palmer, and a lecture for the assistant referee to listen to, as Mikel Arteta gets right up in his grille, three fingers in the air, presumably to illustrate the three-on-one counter his team were busy launching. 58 min: Chelsea are on the front foot. Hato advance down the left and wins another Chelsea corner. The away fans are in good voice at the moment. The home fans are concerned. 56 min: James whips a cross into the Arsenal box from the right. Pedro flicks on. Palmer telescopes a leg at the back stick but can’t connect. Anything on that, and he was poking home. Several thousand sharp intakes of breath around the stadium. Chelsea have enjoyed 57 percent of possession since the restart. 55 min: Hato hacks a clearance straight to Gyokeres, who can’t get a shot away but forces the ball into the centre for Trossard, who also is unable to take a whack. Pedro tries to race off on the counter but Gabriel puts a stop to his gallop. This is all really scrappy. Meanwhile Gary Naylor’s here to fix this set-piece nonsense: “The sooner a manager does the Mourinho thing and leaves two or three men up at a set piece or corner so boxes are less crowded and goalkeepers can see the ball, the better. ” 53 min: The penalty is checked and cleared, but it’s another corner. And from that second one, which James sends long, Pedro nearly diverts the ball into the bottom right. Raya claims. Arsenal are getting worked over Arsenal-style at these corners. They’re not looking comfortable at all. 52 min: Fernandez advances down the inside-right and aims a low heatseeker towards the bottom left. Raya extends fully to tip around the post for a corner. James swings it to the near post, where Raya punches clear … but also catches Pedro atop the noggin while doing so. VAR is having a good look at this. 50 min: Pedro skittles Saka 35 yards out, to the right of centre. Rice slips the free kick wide to Saka, who passes back to Eze, who can’t return the ball. Chelsea don’t clear their lines, though, allowing Saka to take a potshot from the edge of the D. It’s deflected. Sanchez punches clear with Timber lurking. Gabriel returns it. Sanchez catches it. All very messy. 48 min: The action on the pitch mirrors the noise in the stand. All quiet. This half hasn’t really got going yet. “I know that the split between handling games of football, like rugby, and the kicking games of football, like association football, happened over a century ago, ” begins Andy ‘Not That One’ Flintoff. “But now we’re seeing them converge again, what with the maul that forms in the six-yard box every time there’s a long set-piece like a corner or a throw-in. It’s like watching early-80s Wimbledon every time the ball’s dead near the penalty box. ” 47 min: The Emirates was bouncing at kick-off. Not so much now. A level of anxiety has enveloped the ground. Half-time Pints not as potent as Pre-Match Afternoon Pints. To further illustrate, here’s Charles Antaki: “Well, what can you say? For the Arsenal fan, expectation, always provisional, is draining down through concern and worry, and, if things don’t improve markedly, it’ll soon reach fear and desolation. Fingers can be pointed at this or that player: this one trying too hard, this one just not being skilful enough, that one just unlucky. Anyway. Not good. ” Chelsea get the second half started. No changes. “This might be the afternoon pint talking, or evening glass of wine in my case, but this feels like a game with more goals in it, ” writes Kári Tulinius. “Both defences seem like they went to the pub for lunch. The one problem is that the attackers seem like they joined them. ” Half-time postbag. “The best pint is the first one you have on holiday. Followed by the first one after work on a Friday” – Joshua Keeling “Whatever about the best pints (usually depends on the company), the worst pints are the half-time variety which you have to queue an age for, come in a plastic cup, and taste like warmed up dishwater. And cost about $15 a pop. Then you miss the goal of the season in the 48th minute trying to carry three or four of them back to your overpriced seat” – Justin Kavanagh “Your Dundee correspondent Simon Mc Mahon needn’t rely on alcohol to help his mood. He could read the Beano, have a slice of delicious Dundee cake, and watch a couple of 1980’s fish-out-of-water comedies starring Paul Hogan” – Niall Mullen (who, at the risk of editorialising, neglects to mention the option of taking a wander down the waterfront to the V&A where Simon can take in some of the best of Scottish design, before perusing the selection of nippie sweeties in the cafe upstairs) “If Arsenal had anything like a killer instinct they could already be two or three ahead. Still don’t have the allure of champions” – Nicky B “Apropos of nothing, I have a word for Arteta apparently turning Eze into Jack Grealish: encittification” – Joe Johnson Half-time entertainment/refreshment. The best sort. Arsenal were the better team for the majority of the half … but Chelsea bookended it well, starting impressively and finishing it strongly. This game’s poised deliciously now. A big half of football coming up for both teams! Should be fun. 45 min +3: Arsenal fans will demur, but Chelsea kind of deserved that after the Rice elbow that immediately preceded the goal. Arsenal try to respond immediately, Rice flinging a long throw in from the right, but Fernandez clears. On the touchline, Mikel Arteta looks extremely unimpressed. James whips viciously to the near post. Hincapie rises highest, but only manages to eyebrow the ball across Raya and into his own net! Arsenal have been hoist by their own petard! Piero Hincapie of Arsenal scores an own goal, resulting in Chelsea's first goal of the game. 45 min: A Chelsea corner down the left. It’s sent to the near post, where it flicks off Rice’s elbow and towards the top left of his own goal. Raya does well to claw the ball away for another corner. Rice had his arms around Hato’s neck at the time, so his arms weren’t exactly in a natural position. You’ve seen penalties given for less, but neither referee nor VAR punish him. But it doesn’t matter, because from the next corner … 44 min: Saka launches long down the left for Gyokeres, who tries to dance his way past Chalobah but fails. As Chelsea clear, he dives near the prone Chalobah. He wants a penalty, but should get a yellow card. He gets neither. Chalobah gets up and gives him the what-for. 42 min: Arsenal launch a four-on-three counter. Trossard plays the ball straight to Caicedo, when it was surely easier to hoick it towards Rice, in about half-a-pitch’s worth of space on the left. Much groaning. Those Afternoon Pints wearing off. But it’s OK. Half-time soon! 40 min: Hincapie slaloms down the left and wins a corner. Rice takes, but not before VAR orders the referee over to ensure Rice has placed the dead-ball in the quadrant. What a faff. The resulting corner is a further waste of everyone’s time. 38 min: One simple long batter down the inside-left channel and Gyokeres is away. He cuts into the box but shanks his shot. The ball breaks to Eze, who teams up with Saka to roll the ball to Timber, racing in from the right. Timber chops his way past Chalobah, lovely skill, only to scuff a weak effort into Sanchez’s arms.