Ian Wright has admitted that he feared the worst when he saw Pablo Mari make a mistake for Arsenal at Stamford Bridge tonight.
Chelsea could and definitely should have earned an early lead.
Kai Havertz easily dispossessed the Arsenal defender and found himself clean through on goal, racing clear of the Spanish centre-back.
But with only Bernd Leno to beat, the Chelsea attacker blazed over the crossbar.
Mari, a £6.8 million signing by the Gunners from Flamengo, was the most relieved man in London, followed closely by Gabriel Magalhaes who really didn’t do his teammate much favours with the pass.
Here’s what Wright said to Optus Sport midway through the game:
“Pablo mari was a bit on his heels wasn’t he. Once he got caught here you’re thinking ‘Oh no’ especially with the form he’s been in. I think he gone for power just because he’s that close to the keeper. It was one of those when he needed to show composure.”
There was another howler shortly after, this time at the other end of the pitch and this time, a costly one.
Jorginho’s wayward backpass wrong footed the Chelsea goalkeeper, who somehow managed to swipe it off the line, but only to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who laid the ball off for Emile Smith Rowe to tap home.
Both sides, to their credit, were much more solid defensively in the second half and Mari, in particular, was brilliant as Mikel Arteta’s side clung on to a 1-0 victory.
It was very much a park-the-bus showing from Arsenal but in the end, they got the three points and remain in the hunt for European football next season.
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