Five Key Takeaways as Arsenal move five points clear after beating Chelsea 

Here's Gooner Fanzine print columnist Charlie Ashmore with his must-read verdict on Arsenal's win over Chelsea 

1 - Three points is three points is three points

For all the noise around the quality and watchability of the game, there was only one imperative before the game and that was to win.  If we win the league, I and I suspect everyone reading this won’t give a flying for crying out loud how it was achieved. 

Sometimes, you just have to get over the line. 

Nobody says that the man who staggers through the winning tape in a marathon is less deserving than the man who crashes through it the next time looking like he’s been out for a Sunday morning stroll. 

I have said repeatedly this season that the team and squad appear to be utterly focused on just getting the job done and they did it yesterday. 

Yes it was nervy.  Yes it was tighter than we would have liked.  But it was a win and right now that’s all that matters.

2 - Shut out the noise.

I am sick to death of the pundit class talking rubbish. 

Chris “you are really not better than that” Sutton on the one hand bestowing his largesse by declaring us likely champions and on the other declaring that if so we may be the ugliest champions ever.  Martin Samuel in the Times writes as if we are some kind of football criminals and can barely disguise his loathing for us and Arteta. 

And then, in a class of his own, there’s Gary Neville who, from the highlights I watched later in the evening, was desperate for Chelsea to be given a penalty when David Raya punched the ball before accidentally making contact with a Chelsea player’s head and was even more desperate for Pedro to be onside for that late equaliser when anyone could tell he was a yard offside (why the linesman felt the need to keep his flag down for such an obvious offside is beyond me but that’s a different issue). 

Why that clown still gets prime punditry billing, God only knows.  

In the same way that referees are banned from officiating on certain games for fear of bias, he should not be allowed anywhere near Arsenal – the loathing of Arsenal that Ferguson ingrained in his United teams still burns deep.   

I am just grateful that being at the games means I don’t have to listen to him much.   

From the same highlights he didn’t seem to be bothered with the appalling referee’s refusal on at least three occasions to play advantage. And surely the bigger question from the Raya/Pedro incident is why a man who went down clutching his head as if he’d been on the receiving end of a flurry from Tyson Fury wasn’t checked for concussion??  No comment there either.  

The best thing about these wins is how much it eats away at these self-important buffoons.

3 - Raya – no words are adequate

I will give it a go nevertheless. Watching the two goalkeepers yesterday was instructive. Raya was outstanding. 

His save from the corner off Rice’s elbow was astonishing not least because of the crowd of players he had to fight through to get to it. His save at the death was superb. Even his double save before Delap “scored” at the very end was incredible. 

His command of his area showed the hapless Sanchez up something rotten. Honestly. Compare Raya getting to that save off Rice’s elbow with Sanchez’s “efforts” for the Timber goal. 

The clown cost his team more than a goal because his reaction – insisting he’d been held – led to the protests which got Neto his first yellow. 

Even Raya’s punch off Pedro’s head showed his utter determination to do his job.  And his distribution was superb even when under pressure – too good for the idiot of a referee who twice failed to play advantage when we had Chelsea on the run thanks to throws from Raya. 

If we get over the line this season, it will be in no small part thanks to Raya. 

And he is still the only player in our team not to have a song. 

I know his name doesn’t rhyme with ”Seaman” but surely the wordsmiths out there can come up with something.

4  - Should we be worried?

In one sense, we should. The Wolves game showed that. We cannot keep trying to defend one goal leads in the last quarter of matches. 

We have to find a way of putting games to bed before we get to that point.  Why are we unable to do it? 

The simple fact is that our attack is just not firing. I know we put four past Tottenham twice but, enjoyable though it undoubtedly was, that’s like beating up a sick child. 

I never bought into this Arsenal need a No9 narrative and it is hard to say that having a No9 has improved our attacking output. 

We already had the best No9 for our style in Kai Havertz and it is no coincidence that the team has not gelled consistently in an attacking sense without him. Seeing him back yesterday is a real tonic and if he can stay fit for the rest of the season I think anything is possible for this team. 

If not, I fear the inability to kill games off may bit us.   

As may the overplaying of Rice, Timber and Zubimendi – time and again I have repeated that we need Rice in particular fully fit and ready to go at the sharp end – Norgaard has not been used anywhere near enough for me this season and that creates two problems – Rice and Zubimendi have played too much and Norgaard is not “match ready”. 

5 - Or should we relax?

But, and here’s the rub – we are still getting the results - in the sense that we remain in exactly the same position against City as we did at the turn of the year.

That’s all we have to do. Keep pace with City.  Anything better than that is all to the good. And remember, they were fortunate to win at a ground where we scored four recently. 

We think them winning at Leeds was inevitable and they did so we shrug it off.  They probably feel the same about us beating Chelsea even if it didn’t feel like a routine shrug it off kind of victory. 

Objectively (though it is hard for us to see this in the eye of the hurricane) we remain the best team in the League – with the outcome in both our hands and in City’s hands, the gut tells you it’s 50-50 and if anything it’s marginally in their favour as they play us at home, but Carling Opta objectively has us winning the League 83 times out of 100 from this position.  There’s a reason for that.