Chelsea and Arsenal disappoint from set-pieces in drab 0-0 draw
Arsene Wenger, watching from the Stamford Bridge press box, will be the happier of the two managers following a underwhelming 0-0 draw between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, with the Gunners holding the upper hand ahead of the second leg Carabao Cup tie between these two in two weeks’ time. That being said, this was a match either team could have won. As proven last week, Chelsea and Arsenal lack the requisite defensive solidity to look comfortable across the 90 minutes and had either team maximised their ability from dead-ball situations, a crucvial victory could well have been secured.
The standard of set-pieces was dire to say the least. Both Chelsea and Arsenal have developed statistically calculated WhoScored strengths of ‘attacking set-pieces’ but that wasn’t evidenced at Stamford Bridge in midweek. Grant Xhaka twice failed to beat the first man from a corner in the opening 45 minutes after a low driven free-kick hit the wall and rolled behind. At the other end, Chelsea weren’t much better with their dead-ball situations either.
Alvaro Morata won a free-kick 25 yards from goal and rather than allow Marcos Alonso the chance to test the nervy David Ospina, he stepped away and allowed Cesc Fabregas the chance to float the ball into the box or go for goal himself. Instead, the Spaniard play the ball for N’Golo Kante, whose driving effort rose aimlessly over the bar. Short corner after short corner also failed to reap the rewards with Danny Drinkwater’s high effort not only summing up his first half, but both teams’ ability to test one another from free-kicks and corners.
The second half didn’t start much better, with a low Fabregas corner finding its way to the back post, though in truth, it should have been cleared by the away side, while a few minutes later, Alonso had his opportunity to chance his luck from 30 yards, only to fire straight into the wall. With the clock ticking towards the 90, Arsenal won a free-kick well within shooting distance, yet Alexis Sanchez elected to roll the ball to fellow substitute Mohamed Elneny to release a stinging effort on Thibaut Courtois’ goal. It was blocked.
After the open encounter at the Emirates Stadium last week, arguably one of the games of the season, Wedensday’s drab 0-0 draw was the polar opposite of the 2-2 stalemate in north London, but it was a match that either team could have won had they taken the initiative from corners or free-kicks. Only Manchester United and Manchester City (both 10) have scored more goals from set-pieces than Arsenal and Chelsea (both 9) in the Premier League.
The duo have only conceded three goals each from dead-ball situations in England’s top tier this term - only Manchester City (1) have shipped fewer - but the London duo have the quality from free-kicks and corners to test any opponent on their day. That quality to their respective games were lacking in the Carabao Cup’s first leg 0-0 draw.
