Chelsea hustlers frustrate Arsenal

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0: match report

EPL: This was mission accomplished by Chelsea, and a not particularly pretty mission. Judging by their players’ celebrations at the final whistle, Chelsea departed with what they came for, a point, from a Premier League match that was a five-star advertisement for late-night, last-minute Christmas shopping.

There was more entertainment to be had watching Arsène Wenger taking three attempts to zip up his long sleeping-bag coat at the start of the second half. In keeping with football guaranteed to trigger drowsiness, “Snorefest” was the succinct tweeted verdict from Rio Ferdinand.

It was a stalemate that will have been most enjoyed by Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool, who remain top of the Premier League tree at Christmas, on goal difference from Arsenal as the title race becomes even harder to call. Liverpool are inspired by Rodgers and Luis Suárez. Chelsea certainly cannot be discounted, not with Jose Mourinho’s ability to dictate a game from the sidelines. Manchester City have the best squad. Everton play with exuberance. Arsenal need to shake off their slight lethargy; they certainly failed to shake off the cloying, close attentions of Chelsea’s players.

It was a poor game, not helped by the inclement conditions, some of Chelsea’s robust ending of Arsenal moves, some inexplicable decisions from the referee, Mike Dean, Olivier Giroud’s loss of sharpness and also Wenger’s perplexing preference for not bringing on any of his substitutes.

Arsenal were crying out for Santi Cazorla, especially after Tomas Rosicky was cautioned. Lukas Podolski, although short of match sharpness, might have enlivened Arsenal’s attack late on. Wenger did nothing. Maybe he couldn’t get his hands out of the sleeping-bag coat.

He could legitimately complain about how Dean let John Obi Mikel stay on for a dangerous challenge on Mikel Arteta, his foot following through, snapping the Spaniard’s shin-pad and leaving him writhing on the soaked pitch. Wenger could genuinely voice his disbelief that Dean had not awarded Arsenal a penalty when Theo Walcott was caught by Willian. But Arsenal were hardly angelic, and Rosicky clattered César Azpilicueta and Branislav Ivanovic.

But the fact remains that Arsenal failed to break down Chelsea’s defensive midfield and a thick blue back-line in which John Terry and Gary Cahill were outstanding. Arguably Arsenal’s best attacking option came from the overlapping Kieran Gibbs on the left. No wonder Wenger observed afterwards that he was unlikely to consider bringing back Ashley Cole, who is in Mourinho’s bad books. Not with Gibbs in this sort of vibrant form at left-back.

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