Alan Shearer has stated that Bukayo Saka’s assist for Arsenal’s only goal of the game against Chelsea on Sunday ‘wasn’t even that great’, as he was left baffled by Marc Cucurella’s actions, as he told Match of the Day 2.
When Saka whipped in a typical corner into the danger area in the second half, every Chelsea man allowed the ball to bounce in their area, heading towards the back of the net, before it was prodded home by Gabriel Magalhaes.
What was even baffling to Shearer was that Chelsea’s big-summer signing from Brighton was more interested in holding Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, rather than defending that piece of the action.
Even if Gabriel didn’t touch the ball, it would have ended up going in directly from a corner, that’s how abjectly it was defended by Graham Potter’s men.
Mikel Arteta’s side, who have a strong record from dead-ball situations, clearly saw a flaw in Chelsea’s game and they were eaten alive for it.
But despite that Saka corner proving to be the winning moment yesterday, Shearer doesn’t even think that was anything special from the 21-year-old.
“It’s embarrassing from Chelsea’s point of view,” said Shearer. “So many players could have cleared it. But they didn’t. It wasn’t even a great ball in.
“Just have a look at Cucurella with Xhaka, who doesn’t move at all. It should be cleared, anyways, whether it’s Havertz, Silva or Jorginho. The keeper really has no chance. Cucurella doesn’t move at all. He just holds Xhaka. There’s nothing at all from him.”
STATEMENT WIN
In previous games, such as Tottenham and Liverpool, the Gunners have picked up those wins on home soil.
But, this was on the road and against their London rivals, so this is a statement from the Premier League title-chasing side and another sign of their maturity.
To think that they started the season hoping to secure Champions League football, yet they are sitting top of the tree, with 34 points after 13 matches, already a staggering 13 points ahead of Chelsea.
Well, before players head off to the Middle East for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Arsenal have a final chance to end the first half of their campaign in the strongest possible fashion.
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