Three things we learned from Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea – by Alan Alger

Partey time…

Only Mikel Arteta will know what possessed him to experiment with Thomas Partey as a right-back towards the end of last season and the start of this one. While the absence of Gabriel cost us at the back, Partey himself just wasn’t fluent in the role.

Those games included a home draw against 10-man Fulham from the opening month of this season – how costly might those two points be? – and a defeat away at Nottingham Forest in May- when last season’s title had already gone.

Arteta doesn’t get much wrong though and even when he does he doesn’t tend to make the same mistake twice. Partey’s return to action for 72 minutes against a threadbare Luton earlier this month did have me worried, I must admit. He looked a little shaky and off the pace. But maybe the whole team took it a little easier that night.

What we saw unleashed against Chelsea was outstanding. Adding in Rice and Odegaard to make up a trio that purred in the middle of the park and could lay claim to being every Gooner’s preferred three in those roles.

Each of them bring their own thing to the space and what they create and, in equal measures, cut out makes us incredibly hard to beat. Let’s hope all three are fit and raring to go for the remainder of the season.

White unleashed with Zinchenko absent…

Ben White won the ball from Chelsea players three times in the final third in Tuesday night’s game. Once more than the whole team did against Aston Villa in the full 90 minutes in the disappointing defeat in our previous home game.

Yes, I just will not shut up about the drag on the team that Oleksandr Zinchenko has until everyone acknowledges it. Consequently I will not stop making at least one of my trio of post-game points about the Ukrainian, especially when they’re so important to how we play.

As I pointed out last week, the presence of Zinchenko has a monumental effect on other key players – singling out White as one. The right back had an absolutely outstanding game against Chelsea and also found himself on the scoresheet twice. Taking his goal contributions this Premier League campaign to eight, with four of each in the goals and assists column.

And those goals and assists, when did they come? Well four of the goals and three of the assists came when Zinchenko wasn’t present on the pitch. The remaining assist came 30 seconds after Zinchenko had entered the game as a sub (v Brentford at home) and the defence had yet to be reshuffled as we were attacking at the time.

That’s unequivocal evidence that for White to shine Zinchenko needs to be off and White needs to be the one inverting and getting forward. With a disciplined Tomiyasu or Kiwior the one to take the left-back berth.

Don’t worry be happy…

I’ve just enjoyed the Sky Sports coverage of the Merseyside Derby and then witnessed many Gooners on social media saying that the win for Everton has made them even more nervous about Sunday’s trip up the road in the North London Derby.

Defeat for Liverpool has strengthened our chance of a second consecutive top-two finish in the Premier League table – but we all know that we’ll be disappointed if that’s as runners-up again.

Manchester City might slip up somewhere and you’d have to say the only the Brighton and Fulham away games appeal as having any particular weight for a potential draw or defeat.

The boys will keep fighting though and it cannot be underestimated how good this team are, but how much space they have to improve. We are truly at the top table and beatings of a Chelsea team that have spent half-a-billion actually show that it’s managerial talent and team spirit above just splashing the cash.

As I said this time like year, I’d take our way of winning it over any other. Tottenham’s project has just started and whether they have the right man or not will only be seen in another year or so.

We arrive there to take on rivals with plenty of key absentees and a professional performance could see us rack up another landmark scoreline and victory.