1. Chelsea's team is simply better than Arsenal's. They have better players from front to back, and individuals who can and do make the difference when needed. As we saw from Hazard, Fabregas and Costa today. How many of Arsenal's squad would make Chelsea's? Maybe 5?
Arsenal's leading individuals are yet to produce - and I am convinced that Alexis will do so - or are currently not doing so - and I am amongst many others beginning to get extremely frustrated with Ozil, who if he hadn't spent £42m on him I'm convinced Wenger would drop.
2. We saw solid performances all over the pitch from Arsenal players today. 7+ out of 10 for Chambers, Gibbs, Flamini, Cazorla, Wilshere and Alexis. If they play like they did today in games against lesser opposition, the team can go on a real roll.
However, I'd have to (generously) give Ozil no more than 2/10. He looks devoid of confidence, and gets worried off of the ball all too easily. I'm not willing to write off a guy who I've seen influence a Champions League Final and a World Cup Final, but something's not quite right, and it's not just because he's been played in a number of positions. M Wenger needs to sit him down and have a long chat with him. The look on Cazorla's face when his number went up said it all,
3. Tactically, despite the result, M Wenger can use today as a blueprint for big games in the near future. The fact that Chelsea's defence is so solid, and that they have top individual players, meant that today things didn't work out, but the statistics show that they created few chances and despite a lack of cutting edge that was a vastly improved performance from Arsenal compared to many last year.
4. Chelsea have had an 8-year start on Arsenal spending massive amounts of money. Therefore, Arsenal may be up to 8 years behind catching up with them. We have to accept this, but Gazidis surely has to ensure that the manager spends all the money made available to him. The fact that there are glaring shortages of numbers in defence, and quality in defensive midfield; plus - currently - right up top need to be addressed over the next two transfer windows.
5. Following on from that, it must be noted that for all that he may be a loathsome individual, Chelsea's manager has done a superb job in assembling the squad he has done. Added to that, his pragmatic use of tactics to suit every situation is highly impressive, and he is rarely out-thought by opposition managers. Which makes his myriad character flaws all the more difficult to swallow as he is a top football man.
6. Despite a much better performance from M Wenger today - the tactical switches, and of course the excellent dugout hand-off - I am simply no longer 100% convinced by him. He must do better in January - and I'm frankly sick of saying that window after window!
7. Arsenal fans should have realised some time ago that we have no divine right to win every match we play - and that when we are beaten by a superior team we should acknowledge that. That was the case against Dortmund, and was the case again today. The areas that need to be addressed are glaringly obvious; over to you, M Wenger... or move over.
However, Gooners, calm down - what did you really expect would happen today?
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