Arsenal smash Chelsea thanks to wity Jesus
In the decisive win, Jesus increased his goal total to four in three games.
Gabriel Jesus scored another goal as Arsenal hammered Chelsea 4-0 in a pre-season friendly in Florida on Saturday.
Jesus, who only joined Arsenal from Manchester City earlier this month, increased his goal total for the Gunners to four in three games in front of 63,811 fans at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s team put on another encouraging display, taking control of the game with two first-half goals after dominating the first 45 minutes.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel could not hide his rage after his team’s lackluster first-half performance, which was constantly exposed by Arsenal’s quick counter-attacking.
After five minutes, Chelsea had a promising attack when new signing Raheem Sterling put Timo Werner into space, but French defender William Saliba snuffed off the threat with a strong covering tackle.
When Gabriel Martinelli raced clear on the counter, Arsenal should have taken the lead.
The Brazilian passed to Bukayo Saka, but his attempt was saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
The Arsenal pressure paid off in the 15th minute, as Granit Xhaka scored after Chelsea’s Nathaniel Chalobah squandered possession with a botched pass.
The Swiss international delivered a brilliant first-time pass to Jesus, who chipped over the advancing Mendy to make it 1-0.
With another well-worked move, Martin Odegaard made it 2-0 to the Gunners in the 36th minute.
Martinelli’s pass found the Norwegian playmaker in space inside the Chelsea area, and the offensive midfielder turned deftly and finished low beyond Mendy.
Chelsea’s greatest chance of a lackluster first half came in stoppage time, when Mason Mount curled a shot from the edge of the box that beat Aaron Ramsdale but bounced against a post.
Arsenal’s lead was doubled midway through the second half when Saka buried a close-range rebound after Mendy parried Xhaka’s long-range drive.
Arsenal continued to create chances, but it took until injury time for Albert Sambi Lokonga to head past Mendy following a wonderful cross from the right by Portuguese international Cedric.