1. Eden Hazard
Hazard’s inclusion sparked life into the whole of Stamford Bridge, which erupted when the 27-year-old took the field. There seemed to be a vibe indicating that if Chelsea were to claim all three points, only one man could do it for them – Eden Hazard.
Right from the word go, the little magician dropped deeper, exchanged passes, directed the play and applied himself near perfectly. He was on top of his moves, as far as his dribbling was concerned.
For Alonso’s goal too, he dropped his shoulder, changed his pace intelligently and provided a peach of a pass into the box. You know what happened next! Alonso condemned the Gunners to a second defeat in a row.
2. Alvaro Morata
One man who has been desperate to prove a point is Alvaro Morata.
Having failed to net a goal against Huddersfield, the pressure was on him to deliver in the nerve-wracking London derby. Well, he did stand up to the occasion with a goal to his name.
The Spaniard held the ball better than usual, lifted his head up and picked passes earlier, played decisive balls to midfield and flanks and looked sharper than ever. Most importantly, he seems to have installed a sense of physicality along with his movement to satisfy the needs of the Premier League.
Even for the goal, he skipped away from his marker, applied an excellent first touch, held off Mustafi and buried the ball past Petr Cech. Way to go, Alvaro!
3. Marcos Alonso
Firstly, forget about Chelsea’s defensive frailties and the space they exposed. Alonso and Bellerin ran freely at each other, with one proving to be better than the other for each moment that passed by.
However, one has to applaud the fearlessness, desire, hunger and drive that this boy’s got. He continuously exploited the left flank, played to his strengths and exchanged quick passes with Jorginho and Willian – illustrating Sarri’s style of play.
Jorginho set him free down the left wing with a first-touch long ball, and he kept his cool and guided it to the onrushing Pedro, who gave Chelsea the lead. For the winner, Alonso was in a deeper position when Hazard picked up the ball. Even before the Belgian could surge forward or skip away from his marker, Alonso was on the move.
Now, talk about the finish. He got in the right place, met the ball sweetly, sorted his feet out and smashed it from a tight angle to score the winner. Thinking over his attacking prowess, sometimes you may wonder, is he really a left-back?