Arsenal beat Chelsea in derby of flawed teams falling short of ambitions

LONDON -- It was appropriate that this game took place while a trophy was being decided elsewhere. Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 at Emirates Stadium on Sunday in a Premier League meeting which underlined why neither side will likely win the prizes they covet this season.

The Gunners deserved their victory but were unable to translate that superiority to the scoreline, in a further demonstration of their attacking issues which have almost certainly left their title hopes in ruin.

While Arsenal were without Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, Chelsea were forced to push on without Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Cole Palmer. The visitors once again looked stilted in attack and a work in progress under coach Enzo Maresca.

Palmer's absence was keenly felt but, then again, the 22-year-old's critics would argue he has in fact been missing for some time. His last goal came on Jan. 14, 10 games and more than two months ago.

Mikel Merino's 20th-minute header settled Arsenal in a rhythm Chelsea struggled to cope with, but the second half fizzled out as a contest entirely, both teams perhaps resigned to their fate. There was just one shot on target from either side after the 64th minute.

Meanwhile, just a few miles across north London at Wembley, Liverpool and Newcastle United were gearing up to contest the Carabao Cup final and determine who would lift the first major honour of the season. Both Arsenal and Chelsea were knocked out of that competition by Newcastle and both conceded goals to Alexander Isak, the kind of elite-level centre-forward these two sides both need.

Merino continues to do his best for the Gunners in the interim -- and his header ultimately settled the contest -- but nobody left this ground under any illusions that he will ever develop into anything more than a stop-gap.

"It is the emergency situation that we are in at the moment but the way he's approaching it is incredible," Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said postmatch. "He wants to understand everything, he wants to learn from it, he's very critical of himself all the time and at the end, the reality is that he's winning football matches for us, which is incredible; he's never played in that position before in his life.

"But today, I would like to see a different scoreline to be fair, with the amount of things that we do so well, the end product there has to improve because the moment you [don't do that], you are very far away from the position."

Chelsea arguably don't even have a stop-gap at the moment. Pedro Neto has had his moments leading the line but the winger looked lightweight against the robust centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalh�es, while Jadon Sancho and Christopher Nkunku struggled to impact the game from the flanks and Enzo Fernndez seemed primarily interested in turning this game into a scrap.

Arteta claimed, somewhat curiously, that Chelsea were "the best attacking team in the league from open play" based on the statistics, but those numbers are surely skewed by their promising early-season form. There was precious little threat here.

The only goal came from a set piece, the first that dead-ball specialists Arsenal have scored from since Jan. 15 -- and even that went down as a Dominic Solanke own goal when the Gunners beat Tottenham Hotspur. Martin degaard delivered a corner to the near post where Merino met the ball with the sort of touch that most resembled a flick-on to the far post for a teammate, but instead it looped over goalkeeper Robert Snchez and found the far corner.

"To be fair it was a different kind of finish planned but very happy because that would generate the belief in the team again, even in the stadium, the crowd that we can score because it's something that we're missing obviously when we're so prolific on that and with the amount of injuries that we have to deal with in the front line," said Arteta.

Chelsea remain in fourth place and firmly in the hunt for the Champions League spot they crave. There is also the Conference League on the horizon, a competition they really should win even if a laboured round-of-16 win over F.C. Kbenhavn raises concerns they will see it out as many expect. But the early-season freedom in their football continues to feel like a fading memory.

Perhaps a break is what Palmer needs to reinvigorate himself and his side, with Maresca confirming he is unlikely to join up with England later this month due to a "muscular injury." The manager added: "We don't wish for a player injury but in Cole's case in this moment it gives him some rest, mentally and physically. So it could be good."

Similarly, Saka's return is pencilled in for early April and as the most effective and efficient member of Arsenal's attack, they can expect to improve with him back in the side. Their Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid looks a daunting task, but one they can approach with some sort of momentum if they continue to keep league leaders Liverpool honest in the title run-in.