What Chelsea would do to have a striker as precise as Eddie Nketiah.
The lack of a healthy, elite scorer following a rebuild that has cost them more than $1 billion has really hurt Chelsea after a 2-0 home loss to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday and the subsequent loss. unfortunate run of the team at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal don’t have these problems.
Without Gabriel Jesús, who will be out for several weeks with a muscle injury, Nketiah – who made his debut for England this month – filled in and scored a clinical hat-trick in the 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United. Arsenal remain unbeaten in their last 10 games.
Arsenal moved within two points of its London rival Tottenham, who beat Crystal Palace 2-1 on Friday, to continue without losing and surprisingly remain the leader in November.
With 24 points, Arsenal has almost double that of Chelsea, which languishes in 11th place and has only one victory in six home games – against the newly promoted Luton.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino desperately needs the return of French striker Christopher Nkunku, who suffered a serious injury in pre-season and has barely returned to training.
It was the tenth time in 2023 that Chelsea did not score at home.
“We are not tough or clinical in front of goal,” admitted Pochettino.
In other games, Newcastle drew 2-2 with Wolverhampton and Bournemouth beat Burnley 2-1 for their first victory of the campaign.
NEMESIS
Brentford players surely wish all their away games were at Stamford Bridge.
They have now won three seasons in a row there, after Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo scored in the second half to complete a tactical masterclass from coach Thomas Frank, who is establishing his reputation for beating the best teams.
“I think it’s a coincidence that we’ve managed to win three times here,” Frank said. “But it’s impressive to be able to do it as Brentford, given Chelsea’s players and budget.”
GOLEADE
Nketiah, 24, kissed the ball and raised it to the sky in front of the Emirates Stadium fans who chanted his name after his hat-trick against Sheffield United.
His third goal occurred at 58 minutes, after his scores at 28 and 50.
“For me it is of a high level,” said Arsenal coach Mikel Artrta. “What he is doing is incredible and he needs minutes, opportunities and service, if he gets it Eddie is going to score.”
Substitutes Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu completed the rout against Sheffield, who are still winless and have one point in 10 games.
2023-10-29 08:39:11
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