Arsenal Get First Defeat of the Season from Chelsea

Current league table toppers Chelsea played past through rival London side Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Failed attempts and poor defending of the home side proved costly as the visitors recorded an away victory with impressive defence and sheer opportunism.

Fernando Torres overcame his reputation for frequent inconsistencies as he evaded a challenge from Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny and keeper Vito Mannone in firing the opening goal of the match. The Spanish international attempted for another score but shot wide instead.

Arsenal did not get much luck early in the game as playmaker Abou Diaby went out of the pitch due to a hip injury. They continued on to rally for an equalizer when Gervinho, taking off from an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain assist, superbly finished ahead of a defiant John Terry and flew the ball beyond keeper Petr Cech.

While Arsenal’s defence have gained early acclaim this season due to its improvements, it failed to show strongly against Chelsea when they claimed another goal on the 53rd minute. Juan Mata found the back of the net via a penalty kick caused by Thomas Vermaelen’s foul on Torres.

More close attempts followed for Arsenal in their bid to gain an equalizer. Lukas Podolski fired a header that looked headed inside the net but Cech rushed and finely saved the shot. Olivier Giroud’s open goal shot disappointingly bounced back away from the net.

The match proved to be a breakthrough win by Chelsea in their target to gain the league title unbeaten. The Champions League winners, led by Roberto di Matteo, emphasized importance in attack, as regarded by the presence of Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard.

Manager Arsene Wenger, for his part, deemed his side’s defence lamentable. He noted that they account themselves for their mistakes as they were not supposed to concede goals to big rivals like Chelsea.

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Photo credits:

Arsenal vs. Chelsea [Photograph]. (2012). Retrieved 01 October 2012, from <http://www.footballdeluxe.com/2012/09/29/arsenal-1-2-chelsea-highlights/ >