Arsenal hosted Chelsea at the Emirates in a hotly-anticipated London derby, as Romelu Lukaku made his return to the Blues’ side after seven years away. While it was sunny days for the Blues, the mid-match downpour illustrated the Gunners selection woes—Lacazette and Ben White incapacitated by COVID, Gabriel injured, and Aubameyang still not fully fit following his own bout with the disease.

Mikel Arteta showed some baffling tactics, retaining Pablo Mari in the squad and directing the team to play a back four, despite the obvious threat offered by the Chelsea wing-backs. The team looked poor every time the Blues came forward, with very little effectiveness pressing, or closing passing lanes.

Gabriel Martinelli started at centre-forward, ahead of a similarly youthful trio of Saka, Smith Rowe, and Pepe, with hopes to make a decent impact. The Brazilian, having just returned from a gold-medal Olympic campaign, will likely look to cement his place in the squad this season.

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The Gunners looked strong early on, with a few ugly turnovers by the Chelsea backline leading to a few opportunities, but the boys from west London looked to establish control, and steamrolled the home side as the first half progressed.

Goals from Lukaku and Reece James pegged the Gunners back in the first half, and proved to be fatal. Bukayo Saka certainly should have won a penalty, though he was denied by poor refereeing from Paul Tierney.

The second half started with no changes from Mikel Arteta, but Arsenal looked a refreshed side, creating more chances and pegging back a Chelsea side admittedly playing in third gear, trying to coast to a well-deserved win.

Injuries to Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli hamstrung Arsenal’s hopes of a comeback, and though there were positive cameos from Nuno Tavares, Emile Smith Rowe, and Albert Sambi Lokonga, 2-0 was the final score at the Emirates, with Arsenal still yet to score a goal this Premier League campaign.