Arsenal began the post-Sanchez era by bouncing back against champions Chelsea to book their Carabao Cup Final place against Man City.
The side has certainly been quick to move on from the departure of their star man, securing a February 25 date with City at Wembley despite conceding an early goal last night when Eden Hazard converted Pedro’s through ball.
Nacho Monreal continued his new-found attacking threat by seeing his effort from a corner bounce in off the unfortunate Antonio Rudiger to level the score before Granit Xhaka poked home the winner when he steered in Alexandre Lacazette’s deflected pass after the break.
Arsenal then held on comfortably enough as a Chelsea team who lost the in-form Willian to a hamstring injury with just 30 minutes on the clock struggled for attacking cohesion.
The victory means that the Gunners and Man City will play each other twice in the space of five days, following up their cup final clash with a league fixture at the Emirates on Thursday, March 1, which will remain part of the Gameweek 28 schedule.
That is subject to change should Pep Guardiola’s side be taken to a FA Cup fifth round replay which, in turn, requires them to win this Sunday’s fourth round tie away at Cardiff City.
There are no such complications for Arsenal, who were knocked out in the third round, and the Carabao Cup now represents their best hope of silverware this season.
But any threat of rotation ahead of the February final looks remote as they will face Spurs in Gameweek 27 a full 15 days before the first match of their Man City double-header.
Instead, coach Arsene Wenger must decide how to deploy his resources in Europe, with the Gunners in action on successive Thursday nights in the Round of 32 of the Europa League before the Cup date with City.
As a result, Arsenal will play four times in ten days from February 22 onwards – Östersunds FK at home, Man City in the cup and then the league and, finally, away at Brighton on the Sunday of Gameweek 29.
Once again, the Gunners’ manager started with a 4-1-2-3 formation but it was his switch to a wing-back set-up after the break that helped the hosts garner momentum.
Having recovered from the hamstring problem that forced him off against Crystal Palace last weekend, Monreal continues to catch the eye.
The Spaniard scored an extraordinary 16 points from just 33 minutes of action against the Eagles, thanks to a goal and two assists. Returning to play the full 90 minutes last night, he’s the third most popular transfer target in FPL over the last 24 hours, acquired by 7,600 new owners.
New signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan was cup-tied last night, while fellow midfielder Aaron Ramsey recovered from illness to take his place on the bench. The Welshman, along with Sead Kolasinac was afforded just six minutes off the bench as the Gunners shut down the tie late on.
With the Sanchez situation now put to bed, back-to-back wins will have boosted the confidence ahead of clashes with Swansea City and Everton, though the subsequent two league fixtures – against Spurs and Man City – means many may steer clear until the schedule turns far kinder in Gameweek 29.
Chelsea, meanwhile, started brightly but tailed off last night, which also adequately describes their season to date.
Deployed as a “false nine”, Hazard confirmed his recent return to form with a third goal in two starts, but Alvaro Morata again missed out with a back injury, and the loss of Willian further reduced their attacking threat.
His replacement, new signing Ross Barkley, failed to make any real impact, while a defence bolstered by the return of Andreas Christensen from a head injury failed to keep a fourth clean sheet in five matches in all competitions.
The Blues’ immediate schedule (BOU wat WBA) suggests shut-outs could well be straight back on the agenda, but the 12.6% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in their teams might not be able to take advantage as the Belgian missed a second successive match with an ankle injury.
The hamstring problem for Willian is another concern, particularly as close to 100,000 managers have made him FPL’s second most popular Gameweek 25 purchase on the back of a 12-point display against Brighton last weekend.
Speaking post-match, Chelsea coach Antonio Conte played down the extent of Willian’s problem.
“I just spoke to the player. He said he felt a problem in his hamstring but he doesn’t think it will be a serious injury. I hope this feeling is right.”
Willian’s 9% FPL ownership will hope so, too.
Should he face a spell on the sidelines, Pedro could be called upon in a 3-4-3 against Bournemouth in Gameweek 25, though much will depend on Morata’s availability. With Chelsea facing Newcastle United in the FA Cup, we should gain further indication as to his approach for Wednesday from Sunday’s line-up.
