Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy has given a shock assessment of Arsenal after they put his former club to the sword.
Arsenal battered Chelsea 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Gunners were somewhat wasteful in the first half. Whilst they largely dominated possession and territory, they only had a 1-0 lead at the break by virtue of Leandro Trossard’s early opener. It should have been more. Kai Havertz was criticised for spurning a shooting opportunity, whilst Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka also fired efforts wide.
Chelsea, for their part, did offer some threat on the counter-attack in the opening period, but David Raya was never seriously tested.
The Arsenal players then clearly responded to Mikel Arteta’s half-time team talk.
How Arsenal destroyed Chelsea
The hosts founds a new level after the break. Martin Odegaard stunned Arsenal fans with his creativity, whilst Havertz made up for his first half profligacy as he returned to haunt his former club with a well-taken brace. Even Ben White was able to delight the Emirates Stadium crowd with two unlikely goals of his own.
The Gunners crushed their capital city rivals, and were able to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table, and further enhance their goal difference advantage, in the process. The pressure is now on Manchester City and Liverpool to maintain their pace in the title race.
Meanwhile, it was another low ebb for the Blues in a campaign that has already featured a number of them. They currently sit ninth in the table, a full thirty points behind Arsenal.
Former Chelsea man takes swipe at Arsenal with outlandish claim
Despite this, talkSPORT pundit and former Chelsea centre-back, Jason Cundy, was less than impressed with the performance that the hosts put on in the first half.
He said “First half, I thought Arsenal were average…I’ve got to tell you, I thought Arsenal were bang average for the first half. Bang average! We had chances, and at half-time, at 1-0, why do you think Arteta got booked? Because Arsenal weren’t at it.
“I’m not joking…second half, appalling [from Chelsea].”
Whilst it is definitely true that the Gunners improved after the break, to say they were merely average in the first 45 minutes is simply naive. After the break, Chelsea collapsed and fell to pieces.
The Gunners now need to build on this win. Their demolition of the Blues will have given their confidence a huge boost, and they must now carry that belief into Sunday’s all-important North London derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
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