What we learned from Arsenal v Chelsea in the Premier League
By Jonny Bray
Here's what we learned from Arsenal's defeat to London rivals Chelsea on Sunday evening.
The Gunners went down 2-0 in their first home game of the new campaign, as first-half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Reece James condemned Mikel Arteta's side to a second successive defeat.
Having an in-form striker will be key this season
It only took Lukaku 15 minutes to open his account for this season and get his second stint at Chelsea off to the perfect start.
For the entirety of Sunday's game, the Belgian forward oozed confidence and looked like a totally different player from the one that left Manchester United to join Inter Milan.
This does raise critical questions for Arsenal, though.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's spell of poor form seemingly not coming to an end any time soon and question marks surrounding Alexandre Lacazette, do Arsenal have enough up-front to challenge the top sides?
Worryingly, the answer to that question is increasingly looking like a no.
Chelsea stand out as title challengers precisely because they have a stand-out No.9.
United may not have that, but they have in-form options and can rotate to suit the opposition's weaknesses.
Liverpool's front three has been questioned in recent months, and people are slowly being reminded why they were the most feared front three in Europe for two or three seasons.
With Harry Kane returning for Spurs and Jamie Vardy appearing evergreen at Leicester City, Arsenal are standing out as the one major side who lack a serious goal threat.
Arsenal have had an awful start to the season
Chelsea were not unbelievably good, Arsenal just didn't play well.
Having said that, we are only two games into the season and it's important to not overreact.
Poor performances can avalanche, and it's not easy to get out of bad habits or resolve underlying issues in the team.
However, two losses without scoring while conceding four goals is not good enough for Arsenal.
After a poor performance against Brentford, you'd expect that the Gunners would at least put in a committed display against their London rivals.
However, the team offered very little for most of the game.
They now sit in the relegation zone, and that's exactly where the club deserves to be right now based on the performances so far.
This is the first time Arsenal have ever opened a league season with two defeats and no goals after two matches which isn't a record Arteta will be proud of.
Arsenal can't just rely on young stars
It's always lovely to see young players in the team, and most of them have offered a lot over the last two years.
It's also unfair to place the hopes of the entire club on youngsters like Bukayo Saka, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Gabriel Martinelli, and Emile Smith Rowe.
You need experienced professionals performing at the top of their game around those players.
Frustratingly, Arsenal don't have enough of those in the squad at the moment, which means the younger players are exposed.
Not only will this hurt their development in the long run, but in the short term, it will mean Arsenal won't be able to compete at the top level while those young players develop.
Saka switched off for the first goal, and football at the top level is won and lost in those moments.
Albert Sambi Lokonga could become a great player
One of the biggest positives from the 2-0 defeat was Albert Sambi Lokonga's performance.
The 21-year-old signed for Arsenal from Anderlecht and appears to be the next superstar to step off the Belgian conveyor belt of talent.
He's already played a lot of football at a young age, and he showed a maturity to his game that may have been the only plus side on a really disappointing afternoon for the Gunners.
Arsenal are in a dark place at the moment.
The club isn't where it should be, and the fans have been starved of good times for too long.
But one massive positive that has been clear throughout this period has been the ability of the young players at the club.
Lokonga may not have come through the club's academy, but he offers a glimpse of a brighter future in North London.
How has Mikel Arteta managed to turn the season around? By Peter White Any claims that Arsenal’s resurgence was over after last weekend’s FA Cup exit were quickly quashed by Mikel Arteta and his team, with Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Southampton a timely reminder of how far they have come in such a short space of time. A much-changed XI had seen their FA Cup defence fall 1-0 with barely a whimper at St Mary’s three days earlier, but back at the same venue against the same opposition, league duties were taken care of with aplomb. Stuart Armstrong set the haters loose by putting the Saints in front early on but strikes from impressive pair Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka gave the Gunners a slender lead at the break. Alexandre Lacazette notched his tenth goal of the season in all competitions to seal Arsenal’s fifth win in six Premier League games, leaving them just five points off the top four ahead of Wednesday night’s fixtures. Such a hot streak is certainly a far cry from...
Anti-Kroenke protests biggest positive after latest dismal display If nothing else, Bernd Leno's late own goal on Friday night was a fitting end to a dreadful week for Arsenal Football Club, both on and off the pitch. A shambolic home performance against relegation-bound Fulham and an equally dismal display when the Toffees came to town sandwiched the European Super League fiasco - from a purely footballing perspective, this week's results have shown just how out of place this Arsenal side would have been had the idea somehow come to fruition. But it was events off the field which dominated the agenda on Friday evening as Gooners descended on the Emirates to make their feelings about the ownership clear. Banners from the heartfelt ('You took our home, we moved; whatever price you demanded, we paid; all for you to sell our soul') to the meme-inspired ('Dear Lord, what a sad little life Kroenke…') proved beyond doubt that this week has brought years of bubbling il...
Will Arsenal challenge for the title this season? By Jonny Bray There is a buzz at the Emirates Stadium. After two games, Arsenal and Manchester City are the only sides in the league who can boast a 100% record. Mikel Arteta's exciting Brazillian contingent have given birth to fresh optimism amongst Gunners fans with some suggesting that, after years of ridicule, Arsenal are back. Gabriel Jesus has hit the ground running, Gabriel Martinelli looks like he is becoming the elite winger he has promised to be for several seasons, and the midfield finally appears to be clicking. At the back, the Gunners look solid too. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White have excelled at full-back while William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães have settled as a top-quality partnership in the heart of the Arsenal defence. But are Gunners fans getting ahead of themselves? Is this the season that Arsenal start to challenge for the league again, or will the Gunners waste away and spend another year fighting for C...
