Chelsea arrived at the Emirates with Moisés Caicedo still injured and Monaco choosing the final hours of deadline day to stiff us on Camara, leaving a midfield so patched together that in the end, it looked like we’d simply thrown our available right-backs into the centre of the pitch and wished them luck. Arsenal, meanwhile, arrived with a full-strength squad and the confidence of a team expected to reclaim their title. So, for all the talk of Arsenal “playing like champions”, it’s worth noting they spent large parts of the afternoon battling to get past a Chelsea side that, not so very long ago, finished 10th and today was essentially fielding a tactical experiment in midfield.
Chelsea actually started brilliantly again. Morgan Rogers scored inside 2 minutes and briefly raised hopes that football might be fun again. Then, inevitably, and always likely given it was one way traffic after our goal, Kai Havertz continued his remarkable post-Chelsea transformation from “striker who couldn’t hit a barn door” into “inevitable goalscorer whenever Chelsea are involved”. Pedro Neto then rattled the post just before half-time, a reminder that despite Arsenal’s dominance of possession, Chelsea still carried a threat and came within inches of taking a lead into the break. The winner from Martin Ødegaard came early in the second half, a lovely finish that would have been much easier to admire had the build-up not involved what looked suspiciously like WWE moves from Konsa. Estêvão unleashed a beauty late on that seemed destined for the top corner. Unfortunately, David Raya had other ideas, producing an excellent save to tip it away. Such is life as a Chelsea supporter.
But let’s start at the beginning of today’s episode of **“VAR: Selective Vision.”**
Gabriel blatantly kicked Martínez in the head. VAR’s response? _Nothing to see here._
In the build-up to Arsenal’s winner, Konsa introducing Rogers to the Emirates grass at high velocity. VAR review? _Don’t be ridiculous._
Declan Rice kicked at Rogers, cynically tripping him in front of the ref while he’s running towards goal. Yellow card response? _Rogers booked for objecting._
At this point, Chelsea fans weren’t demanding favourable decisions. We were merely seeking confirmation that someone in Stockley Park was actually watching the same game as the rest of us. The technology exists to measure an offside by a goalkeeper’s toenail from twelve camera angles, but today it seemingly couldn’t identify a kick to the head, a cynical trip, or a player being thrown to the floor.
Arsenal supporters will understandably celebrate a hard-fought derby win. Pundits will praise the mentality, the character and the championship credentials. Chelsea supporters, however, might point out that Arsenal needed:
* A patched-up Chelsea midfield featuring right-backs.
* No Caicedo or Colwill.
* A kick to the head being ignored.
* Rice getting away with one – again.
* WWE wrestling in the build-up to the winner.
* VAR maintaining a strict non-intervention policy for Arsenal.
…to edge a 2-1 victory.
Still, three points are three points, sadly. Work to do.