HALF-TIME: Chelsea 4-0 Arsenal. The Gunners have, quite simply, meekly surrendered to their fellow title challengers and that woeful showing in the opening period must surely spell the end of their title challenge. It looked ominious as soon as Etoo scored after five minutes. Schurrle added a second just two minutes later before Oxlade-Chamberlain handled on the line. Gibbs was strangely the man to be given his marching orders but Hazard didnt care, stroking home from the spot for the third before Oscar grabbed a fourth. Wengers 1000th game has been a chastening experience so far. 45′ +2 Hazard looks to weave his way into the area but Sagna is able to get a block in at the last moment and lead Arsenal away. Moments later, Rosicky tests Cech, but the shot is straight down the keepers throat. 45′ Arsenal go close to getting one back. Cazorla feeds Giroud on the left-hand side of the penalty area but the Frenchmans effort is fired low into the side netting. 42′ Assist Fernando Torres 42′ Goal Oscar GOAL! Oscar makes it 4-0 to Chelsea and Arsenal are being put to the sword here at Stamford Bridge, with the Gunners falling asleep at the back. Fernando Torres steals in behind Vermaelen and crosses for Oscar, who has the simplest of tasks in slotting the ball into the roof of the net. If the game wasnt already over, it certainly is now. 41′ Chamberlain does well once more with his defensive duties to get in some sort of challenge to put off Hazard, who fires over. 39′ Oxlade-Chamberlain concedes a corner after good work from Schurrle but Arsenal are now struggling to get out of their half again, with Szczesny making another neat save. 37′ Chelsea move downfield and look to inflict further damage on Arsenal but, to the Gunners credit, they have defended slightly better as a unit since the dismissal. Not that it is going to count for much, but it is helping to repel the Blues at present. 35′ Arsenal enjoy a neat spell of possession but there is no end product to show for it, with Cazorla seeing his shot blocked before Oxlade-Chamberlains slips at the crucial moment. 33′ Arsenal advance down the left-hand side but Cazorla slips at the crucial moment and his attempted pass deflects off Ivanovic and through to Cech, who has had to do nothing since saving from Giroud early on. 31′ WHAT A SAVE: Szczesny has to be at his best to get down low and get fingertips to Luizs deflected strike, which appeared to ricochet off Schurrle. The German delivers the corner in and Chelsea appeal for another penalty for handball against Vermaelen, but Marriner is having none of it. 29′ Tomas Rosicky takes a tumble in the penalty area but Marriner tells him to get to his feet and play resumes. 27′ Chelsea are content to just roll the ball around and tired their wounded opposition but Cazorla does well to earn his side a free-kick by weaving in and out of challenges before being tripped by Matic. 25′ Its wave after wave of Chelsea attacks at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues sensing blood and looking to cruise to a huge win over their fierce London rivals. What a boost for the Blues and what a catastrophe for Arsenal. 24′ Substitution Lukas Podolski Thomas Vermaelen 23′ Arsenal make a substitution to limit the Chelsea damage, with Thomas Vermaelen filling in at left-back, Lukas Podolski is replaced. What a disaster for the Gunners. 21′ Schurrle is almost slipped in after another incisive counter attack from the hosts but Oscars pass is slightly behind the German, who had tried to bend his run. 19′ Arsenal desperately trying to get back into it here by coming forward but Ivanovic is easily able to fend off Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is lucky to still be on the pitch, and pass back to Petr Cech. 17′ Penalty Goal Eden Hazard GOAL! Hazard converts from the penalty spot with ease, sending Szczesny the wrong way, and it is all going badly wrong for Arsenal. They are 3-0 down and have a man less than their hosts, who are swarming all over them. Wengers big day is turning into a nightmare. 15′ Red Card Kieran Gibbs 15′ PENALTY! Hazards shot is heading wide of goal but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain dives full stretch to punch the ball wide of goal but referee Andre Marriner sends off Kieran Gibbs instead! 13′ Bacary Sagna is penalised for a foul on Hazard in a central position. Schurrle whips the ball in towards the back post but Szczesny claims easily. 11′ Now Gibbs gives the ball away and is fortunate Chelsea do not make anything of the move, with Branislav Ivanovics cross blocked by Cazorla. 10′ Substitution Samuel Etoo Fernando Torres 9′ What a remarkable start to this game and Arsenal look shellshocked by their woeful early start to this game. The Gunners give the ball away once more and Schurrle is on the attack again, but the Blues cannot find a way through this time. 7′ Assist Nemanja Matić 7′ Goal Andre Schürrle GOAL! Chelsea lead 2-0 after just seven minutes! Schurrle - back in the team today - puts his side firmly in the ascendency with a superb finish. Nemanja Matic robs Santi Cazorla and feeds the German, who dispatches clinically through the legs of Koscielny. A huge uphill battle for Arsenal now. 5′ Assist Andre Schürrle 5′ Goal Samuel Etoo GOAL! Just moments after Olivier Giroud had wasted an opportunity at the other end, Chelsea are far more clinical at the other end, as Samuel Etoo curls home into the far corner to give the home side the lead. An incisive counter is led by Eden Hazard, who slips in the striker before Etoo cut back inside Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain and finishes with aplomb past Wojciech Szczesny. 3′ Arsenal have started brightly but their early good work is almost undone as Laurent Koscielny takes a risk by giving away possession to Schurrle, whose cross is narrowly missed by Samuel Etoo. 1′ We are underway here as Chelsea get the ball rolling. We are just moments away from kick off at Stamford Bridge. For Chelsea, meanwhile, the outlook is looking slightly brighter than it did after the setback at Villa Park, after coasting to a Champions League win over a poor Galatasaray side to book their place in the quarter finals. Should they lose, however, even Wenger would be forced to privately admit his sides chances of the Premier League title, at least, are fading ahead of that City match. Wenger has never won against Mourinho, spanning across 10 meetings, and given the Portugueses astonishing home record with Chelsea, a win for Arsenal today would be a significant boost and give them renewed belief heading into the final throes of the season, with another crunch encounter against Manchester City next weekend. Mourinhos recent specialist in failure jibe has only served to light the blue touch paper ahead of this game, with both sides desperate for the three points which would strengthen their respective title challenges. Todays match will have massive implications on the title picture regardless of which way it goes, whether Wenger would have chosen a face-off with arch enemy Mourinho at Stamford Bridge - where the Portuguese has never lost - is debatable. Arsenal substitutes: Fabianski, Vermaelen, Flamini, Sanogo, Jenkinson, Kallstrom, Gnabry. Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Rosicky, Cazorla, Podolski; Giroud. Chelsea substitutes: Schwarzer, Lampard, Torres, Mikel, Salah, Ba, Kalas. Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Luiz, Matic; Schurrle, Oscar, Hazard; Etoo. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho makes two changes to the side that lost at Aston Villa last weekend. Both are enforced, with Willian and Ramires both sent off last week and so David Luiz and Andre Schurrle come in. Arsenal are unchanged. Good afternoon and welcome to this LIVE commentary of Arsene Wengers 1000th match in charge of Arsenal, as his side travel to Chelsea in a crunch title encounter this lunchtime.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 13:52:14 +0000
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