Dead-ball football is dead boring! Winners and losers after Arsenal see off ill-disciplined Chelsea in set-piece showdown that hints at bleak future for the beautiful game

Jurrien Timber said Arsenal "deserved to win the game" in his post-match interview on Sky Sports. But they didn't. The Gunners were just as poor as Chelsea in a low-quality encounter. Indeed, Timber's goal was so wildly celebrated by the home fans because it came against the run of play.

The hosts were also awful against 10 men. They should have seen the game out easily after Neto's dopey dismissal. Instead, they were left hanging on at the end.

However, we've questioned Arsenal's mental strength a lot - and most recently after their disastrous draw at Wolves - so credit where it’s due. Arteta's men could, and indeed should, have dropped points here, but they held onto all three to send a message to Man City that they're made of sterner stuff this season.

Wesley Fofana picked up Chelsea's sixth red card of the Premier League season in last week's 1-1 draw with Burnley, and Rosenior was quick to point out that it was the first dismissal of his tenure. Well, it's now two reds in two games for the Blues, so trying to argue that ill-discipline isn't a massive problem within this relatively young and inexperienced squad isn't going to fly anymore. Rosenior knows it too.

"It's a difficult thing to put your finger on," the Blues boss said to BBC Sport after Neto's dismissal at the Emirates. "We're trying to address it, we're working on it. It's been the story of our season, and our last two games. Sometimes, you have to learn from the consequences, from the pain, but we haven't and that's frustrating."

It's hard not to have some sympathy for Rosenior, as this is an issue he's inherited. Also, at 25, Neto is actually one of the more senior players at Stamford Bridge and has been playing Premier League football for seven years, so the Portuguese had no excuse for picking up two of the most stupid yellow cards you'll ever see.

The net result is an injury-hit Chelsea will be without one of their more effective attackers for Wednesday's massive midweek meeting with Aston Villa. Make no mistake about it then: if Rosenior doesn't somehow manage to get a grip on his players, ridiculous reds and silly suspensions are going to end up costing Chelsea Champions League football.

It's funny to think about it now, but not a lot of Arsenal fans felt their club needed a new No.1 back in 2023. They were pretty happy with Aaron Ramsdale, a good goalkeeper and a very likeable character. Arteta, though, was adamant that the signing of David Raya was required to help take Arsenal to another level, not least because of his fellow Spaniard's ability with the ball at his feet.

However, the former Brentford ace has also repeatedly proven himself a sensational shot-stopper, and he was at it again at the Emirates on Sunday, making some hugely important second-half saves to help his team over the line.

Arteta called the 30-year-old "fabulous" after the game and we wouldn't dare disagree. At just £30 million ($40m), Raya represents one of the best bits of business in Arsenal's history.

While Raya played a pivotal role in Arsenal winning Sunday's game, Robert Sanchez was one of the main reasons why Chelsea lost it.

Rosenior refused to blame his goalkeeper for the concession of Arsenal's decisive second goal, arguing that the entire team needed to deal with Declan Rice's corner a whole lot better. However, it's really, really hard to look past Sanchez for the way in which he completely misjudged the flight of the ball - before then pathetically claiming to have been the victim of a push in the back.

He simply wasn't strong enough, because he simply isn't good enough. And that's not news. Chelsea fans will tell you that Sanchez has been a liability ever since he arrived in west London from Brighton back in 2023, and given how many players the club has signed in the interim, it's genuinely staggering that the Spaniard is still considered the best goalkeeper on the Blues' books.

So, if Rosenior manages to make it until the end of the season, expect him to push for a replacement during the summer transfer window - because you don't win Premier League titles without a trustworthy shot-stopper.

When Chelsea beat Wolves on February 7 to make it four Premier League wins in a row under new manager Rosenior, they were fifth in the table, just one point and one place behind Manchester United. However, there are now six points and three places between them.

While the resurgent Red Devils have taken full advantage of Aston Villa's inevitable dip in form to move level with Unai Emery's side, the Blues have now been overtaken by Liverpool in the battle for Champions League football next season.

There was, of course, always the chance that Rosenior's side would drop points away to the league leaders, and none of their top-five rivals are playing brilliantly at the moment. However, while United and Liverpool are starting to string a run of results together, Chelsea have now gone three games without a victory going into Wednesday's trip to Villa Park.

Fail to win in Birmingham and the Club World Cup winners really will be in big trouble, as they're going to have to deal with a really rough fixture list over the next month that also includes a two-legged Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as a tricky FA Cup trip to Wrexham.

Make no mistake about it: if Chelsea are not careful, they could be out of the running for a top-five finish by the time they host United in just over six weeks' time.

While discussing Arsenal's win on Sky Sports, former Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge said, "I think the entertainment value sometimes isn't there - but football's a game about winning." And one can understand where he's coming from.

Some Arsenal fans have never even seen their side win the Premier League, so they won't care how they do it as long as they get the job done. For those of us who remember 'The Invincibles', though, it's impossible to be anything but underwhelmed by 'Set-Piece FC'. As even Patrick Vieira admitted while sitting alongside Sturridge, "You expect more from Arsenal."

The north Londoners certainly shouldn't be punished for mastering set-pieces. They're not breaking any rules (although one cannot help but wonder how some of the blatant blocking at corners escapes the attention of the Video Assistant Referee) and others are now following their lead. Just look at how Liverpool's results have improved since they improved their set-piece work at either end of the field, while Chelsea gave Arsenal a dose of their own medicine on Sunday.

However, while set-pieces are an important part of the game, they shouldn't be this important. 'Good football' may be a subjective term, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who enjoys the Royal Rumbles that now break out in the six-yard box in each and every Premier League game - particularly as they're coming at the expense of exciting action in open play.

As Rosenior pointed out at the Emirates, Arsenal didn't actually cause Chelsea any problems whatsoever outside of set-pieces, which is a damning indictment of the league leaders' lack of creativity.

People can talk about the intensity, atmosphere, drama and dominance of English football all they like, but the country's top team is taking ‘The Beautiful Game’ in a very worrying direction.

Ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton even asked on BBC Radio 5 Live whether Arsenal would make for “the ugliest winners” of the Premier League? And the answer is yes, because dead-ball football is dead boring, with its pragmatism evoking memories of the “sh*t on a stick” era of Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez.

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