Arteta must x 5/10 Arsenal Flop after Chelsea Display

If there is anything representative of Arsenal’s previous calendar year, they will beat Chelsea 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

A victory over the blues in the London Derby should usually be enough to cause a dissonance of the roaring sounds around Bedram and Emirates Stadium.

However, this game felt differently. Before kickoff, Gunner was 15 points behind Liverpool and knew the title was out of reach. Still, the victory is a victory, and given the recent recent loss to a 1-0 defeat with West Ham, a goalless draw against Nottingham Forest and a 1-1 draw with Manchester United, it’s a significant victory.

Mikel Arteta’s men enjoyed a lot of balls against Enzo Maresca’s side, but they lacked the killer’s instincts that escaped them for much of 2025. It’s hardly surprising that they’re very teethless.

So let’s delight Mikel Merino, the makeshift centre forward who has saved Arsenal’s Bacon.

Mikel Merino’s performance against Chelsea

When Merino arrived at Arsenal last summer and moved from Real Sociedad, he didn’t expect to play as a striker in the second half of the season. Nor did Arteta in all fairness.

However, as far as gunners are concerned, the need is necessary.

Merino is doing his job well and needs to cut the slack. He never played as a centre forward before a two-goal cameo against Leicester in February.

He has scored four goals in seven games since being given the reins as the focus of the side. It’s a pretty decent record, but he never carries Arsenal to the trophies he plays in that role.

Still, he did a brilliant job against Chelsea, led the press, closed defenders, and achieved a very important goal.

Merino won many different strikes this semester, gaining two back post efforts against Leicester, and sidefooted the ball home from close range against PSV.

However, this goal came from a near post, marking the first goal from a corner where Arsenal’s first goal felt forever. Skipper Martin Odegard swung the ball from the right, and the Spaniard jumped into good position before flicking the ball past Robert Sanchez.

Merino may have made it two, but this time it was rejected by Sanchez, who spent quite a Topsitterby afternoon between the sticks.

This time, Spanish International met the ball at the back post and volleyed towards the goal.

Merino deserves praise for his performance, but one of his attacking colleagues certainly isn’t.

Arsenal’s biggest underperformer against Chelsea

This was a 1-0 victory that was quite a struggle for Arteta and his players, but not many players actually contributed to the Emirates.

Sadly, for Leandro Trossard, he didn’t make much contributions. In fact, it hasn’t been that much in recent months.

The Belgians scored in a 7-1 defeat at Eindhoven, but are really struggling to make a positive impact in Saka’s absence.

Torosard began the aforementioned clash at Leicester as nine, but then moved left to deal with Merino. His performance on Sunday wasn’t awful, but he lacked talent and final product.

Passed the 5/10 match rating by Simon Collings on Express, he pointed out that it was “one of the day for the Belgians. I got into some good positions, but didn’t make the most of my chances. It’s frustrating.”

Looking at the frustrating picture, the former Brighton star was unable to register to complete key passes, target shots, dribbling or to put a defensive note. He also lost the ball every five touches. It’s probably surprising that Torosad lasted for 90 minutes.

As a result, an international break is said, and once completed, Arteta needs to consider other options. Saka is approaching a return, but it’s still too early for Starman’s regular involvement, so it has to be front three with Gabriel Martinelli, Ethan Nuwanelli and Merino.