1-0, min. 15, Jesus. 2-0, min. 36, Odegaard. 3-0, min. 66, Saka. 4-0, min. 90+2, Lokonga.
Football VAVEL

Arsenal 4-0 Chelsea: Arsenal turn on the style to beat London rivals in Florida

The Gunners produced a classy performance to overcome Tuchel's tired-looking Blues in a stateside derby.

Arsenal 4-0 Chelsea: Arsenal turn on the style to beat London rivals in Florida
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - JULY 23: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal celebrates with teammates Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko after scoring their side's second goal during the Florida Cup match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Camping World Stadium on July 23, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
noahr24_
By Noah Robson

Arsenal cruised to a 4-0 victory over Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus, Martin OdegaardBukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga in the final game of each side's pre-season tour of the United States.

Mikel Arteta's team came out the traps looking extremely lively right from the outset, being rewarded for their intensity by a goal from Jesus a quarter of an hour in.

They continued to apply pressure to the Blues following the opener too, with Odegaard getting a second for the Gunners in what was an impressive first half display.

While Chelsea did look better in the second half, they were still unable to break down their opponents, with Saka and Lokonga putting the finishing touches on a memorable 4-0 victory for their side.

It's a morale-boosting win for the Gunners as they continue to work towards their opening game of the season up against Crystal Palace, while the Blues will be wanting to forget this one rather quickly.

Story of the Match

Arsenal's starting eleven saw a debut for Oleksandr Zinchenko, the club's newest recruit, with it being a relatively strong team for their fourth game of pre-season, having won all of the first three.

Meanwhile, the Chelsea team had Raheem Sterling starting a game for the first time for the Blues since his recent arrival, while another incoming in the form of Kalidou Koulibaly was named on the bench.

Pre-season games will always be played down by managers when they are asked about the importance of the result, but there was an obvious edge to this one that suggested more than just match fitness was on the mind amongst the players.

That was evident just a few seconds in as Sterling fouled his former teammate Jesus, before Conor Gallagher and Thiago Silva also both made cynical challenges within the first few minutes.

Those fouls came as a result of the high pressure the Gunners were putting on their opponents, forcing Tuchel's side to hurry on the ball.

Arteta's team looked extremely lively and had their first chance when breaking rapidly on the counter attack, with a strong save from Edouard Mendy needed to deny Saka.

There was nothing the goalkeeper could do a few minutes later though, as Jesus found the opener for Arsenal with a delightful chip over the man between the sticks.

Chelsea's defence had looked shaky from the outset and after losing the ball they were opened up by a relatively  simple pass from Granit Xhaka, who played in the Brazilian striker to make it 1-0 to his side.

Tuchel's side did begin to get more of a foothold in the game as the first half wore on, but there remained a constant threat from Arsenal, which was exemplified in the 36th minute.

A poor kick from Mendy led to Arsenal getting control of the ball high up the pitch, with it making its way to Gabriel Martinelli just outside the box.

He played a clever pass into Odegaard, who produced a silky finish into the bottom corner, resulting in celebrations amongst the red sections of the packed-out Camping World Stadium.

As the game neared half time the Gunners really began to enjoy themselves, almost toying with their opponent with slick passing moves intertwined with individual moments of skill from the likes of Martinelli and Saka.

The final chance of the first 45 minutes provided a glimmer of hope for Chelsea as Mason Mount's shot cannoned off the post, but it Arsenal very much in control at the break. 

Embed from Getty Images

Slower tempo to the second half

The second half saw Tuchel switch his system to the back three which has been his favoured formation since taking charge in west London and it clearly improved his side's performance.

They looked far more assured in possession, though chances were still few and far between for the Blues, and it was actually Arsenal who ended up getting the first big chance after half time.

Saka forced his way past Marcos Alonso on the right wing, with the ball breaking to Martinelli, whose shot was saved by Mendy, then to Xhaka, who also saw his effort denied by the goalkeeper.

Fortunately for Arsenal it was third time lucky, as the ball fell to the aforementioned Saka and he fired it into the roof of the net with ease to grab a third for his team.

Only after going 3-0 down did Chelsea appear to begin creating meaningful opportunities, with Michy Batshuayi first heading wide, before Alonso failed to direct a Hakim Ziyech cross home.

There was a remarkably high number of yellow cards given the nature of the game, with the referee forced to hand out multiple bookings, as frustration built up during the latter stages of the game.

Another chance came in the 84th minute for Arsenal as Nicolas Pepe slalomed his way into the box, getting a shot away which was blocked magnificently by new arrival Kalidou Koulibaly.

There was still time for one final cherry on top for Mikel Arteta, as Lokonga headed home in the final minute of added time to make it four, rubbing salt in the wounds for the Blues.

That proved to be the final moment of the match, with the Gunners seeing out a comfortable victory in the end, before going on to lift the Florida Cup, and deservedly so.

Following this win, Arsenal have one final pre-season match still to be played, which is back in London at the Emirates Stadium, where they'll be facing Sevilla next Saturday in the Emirates Cup.

Meanwhile, Chelsea will look to improve on this result when they travel to Italy to go up against Udinese on Friday night, in what is also their final preparation game before the Premier League season gets underway.

Player of the Match - Bukayo Saka

There's certainly no shortage of candidates for the player of the match in this one, with the likes of Jesus, Odegaard and Martinelli all impressing in attack for the Gunners.

However, it's Bukayo Saka who looked a cut above the rest, making driving runs up the pitch, causing havoc amongst Chelsea defenders, and getting on the scoresheet himself too.

Embed from Getty Images

If the Englishman can keep up the form heading into the competitive season he, along with his teammates, could prove a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League in the upcoming campaign.