Not ideal but not a bad result for Chelsea - another point on the board, still 3rd and another difficult game out of the way. Had they had a chance of catching City then not winning maybe would have been an issue but in their position I think they'd have taken a draw before hand.
Arsenal on the other hand needed a win. They're effectively 6 points off the CL spots once you take goal difference into account and while it's another big game out of the way, it's also another game where they could definitely gain on a rival out of the way too.
Arsenal had to win because of our recent run. We've only lost 1 in the last 8, but we've only won 2 of those games. Of the last 24 points available we've taken 11, and that run included West Ham, Newcastle, Palace, West Brom and Southampton, that is 5 of the bottom 8 ffs.
In our last 8 games we have the same points return as West Ham, Leicester, Everton, Palace all have better form across those 8 games and the 5 above us have a minimum of 0.5 points per game higher over those 8 games and without checking every single form list, I doubt any of them played 5 of the bottom 8 teams in their last 8 games.
We could afford to draw this if like any top team should do, we took almost full points in those 5 games. Football 365's 16 conclusions points out that once again Arsenal couldn't turn up to the West brom, West Ham or Southampton games but they managed to turn up for this game. Except the reason we didn't win against Liverpool, Chelsea or Utd wasn't dire attack, it was utterly abysmal defence. But defensive issues that have been around for a decade. Central mid that doesn't track the important runs, mostly Xhaka and Ramsey in particular, fullbacks getting worse, dodgy new system with all the exact same weaknesses as the old one.
Need a new manager who will actually clear out the dross, bring in better players, fix the defensive frailties, improve the mentality of the players, improve the quality of all players from just better training and who will better utilise younger players and rotation. Remember the days Arsenal would play a whole bunch of promising young players through heavy periods and in cups to let our first team play these big games fresher and put in epic performances.
Niles wasn't at all bad, slightly culpable for one goal but far less than the far more experienced Mustafi who just ignored the danger in the box and stood still as that ball came in.... before he turned around to moan at the other players about Mustafi not doing his job well. But even Niles, he's 20 already and got exactly one appearance in 14/15, in 15/16 he went out on loan and immediately played 30 games for Ipswich, came back and ..... played one game in 16/17 and has played a bit more in 17/18. He's good enough to get a full season at Ipswich and comes back and is utterly ignored, which is becoming absolutely standard for how Wenger treats young players. He's only playing now because of injuries yet honestly out of position somewhat he looks better than Monreal has been for ages anyway. 6th and 22 points off the leader already, 5 points off 4th place, potentially losing Sanchez this month and potentially letting Wenger waste more money on the wrong new players.
