Arsenal legend Ian Wright delved into the Gunners’ unexpected win over Chelsea and delivered his verdict on his former club’s performance in their win over Chelsea on Boxing Day and why he thought they thoroughly deserved all three points from the clash.
Mikel Arteta and his Gunners denied the bookmakers and pulled off an uplifting 3-1 home win to surprise their London rivals, thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka, finally ending a run of seven straight Premier League games without a win, to the huge relief of Arteta.
The win was one the Spaniard desperately needed with pressure mounting over his future after a massively disappointing start to the season which has left the Gunners in 15th, even after that huge win over the Blues.
Regardless, the performance was highly commendable and a clear step in the right direction, something Wright is fully in agreement with, describing his former club’s efforts as ‘magnificent’.
“They were magnificent,” he told Optus Sport.
“You would have struggled to find Arsenal fans who would have been confident going into this game. The changes, the intensity, everything we said they didn’t have, was evident.
“They rode their luck a bit but I think they deserved the luck they got because of the way they played – with a lot more intensity and forward progression and in the end, we got the result and I’m delighted.”
This timely win will take some oppressive weight off Arteta’s shoulders. No doubt there is still plenty of back-breaking work to do and the Spaniard will muster up all he can to turn the whole situation around.
They will definitely need to put more distance between themselves and the drop zone, currently just six points ahead of Fulham, who occupy the final relegation spot.