Marcos Alonso's Late Winner Powers Chelsea Past Arsenal in Thriller

Marcos Alonso scored the winner for Chelsea on Saturday as Maurizio Sarri's side beat Arsenal 3-2 in a thrilling game at Stamford Bridge.

Pedro fired the hosts in front after just nine minutes, as he stroked home Alonso's cross. A second followed as Alvaro Morata latched on to a long ball, cut inside Shkodran Mustafi and stroked past Petr Cech.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan halved the deficit with a well-hit low shot that crept inside the post. He then crossed for Alex Iwobi to level the score four minutes before half-time.

The second half was a tighter affair, but Alonso pounced with nine minutes remaining to leave Arsenal without a Premier League point after two games.

Both Chelsea and Arsenal Must Fix Shambolic Defences

The two teams served up a wonderful first half that featured four goals, plenty more chances and some seriously poor defences that will have their managers concerned.

Arsenal once again looked uncomfortable playing the ball out of the back, and Chelsea seemed to smell their nervousness and lack of confidence.

James Olley at the Evening Standard offered his view:

Chelsea were given far too much space in the first 45 minutes. Alonso got in behind Mkhitaryan to supply Pedro for the opener. Morata beat Mustafi far too easily for the second goal.

Yet Sarri will not have been impressed with his defence either. Arsenal scored two in the first half, and it's no exaggeration to say they could have had five or six.

Goal's Nizaar Kinsella highlighted the Blues' problems:

After such an open first half, both teams managed to tighten up after the break. However, this was a game that showed both teams have plenty of work to do, starting at the back.

Resurgent Pedro Will Thrive Under Sarri

Pedro has continued the good form he showed in pre-season to score two goals in his opening two games.

The Spaniard made no mistake to open the scoring on nine minutes, as he finished clinically past Cech after a good ball from Alonso.

La Liga writer Andrew Gaffney said he's rejuvenated under Sarri:

It was an impressive performance from the 31-year-old, who was a threat throughout. His movement, positioning and intelligent runs forward offered Chelsea plenty of attacking options.

Kinsella shared his view on the impact he can have under Sarri:

Chelsea were deserved winners on Saturday, and Pedro showed he can thrive under his new manager at Stamford Bridge.

                                

Wasteful Arsenal Have to Be More Clinical

Arsenal deserve credit for coming back from 2-0 down, but they may depart wondering what might have been after squandering several excellent opportunities.

Mesut Ozil fired wide just before Pedro scored, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed an even better chance less than a minute before Morata made it 2-0.

As the first half progressed Arsenal were carving out chances almost at will. While they did manage to equalise, they should have had more with Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang both guilty of poor finishes.

Freelance football reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt shared his view of Aubameyang:

They were to prove costly misses too, as Chelsea won the match in the second half. It was an erratic performance by Arsenal, but one that highlighted a need to be far more clinical in attack.