Arsenal Vs. Chelsea: Ramires On For John Obi Mikel To Start The Second Half

With the second half just starting at the Emirates, there has been one substitution. Carlo Ancelotti has seen enough from Mikel John Obi and presumably has made a like-for-like substitution, though we'll have to see where Ramires is deployed. In the first moments of the second half, Ramires has played to the right (and slightly deeper than) a central Michael Essien, with Frank Lampard to his left. Regardless, it's clear Mikel was not doing it for Ancelotti.

I suppose it's not difficult to see why, thinking back on the goal. The point on the pitch where Jack Wilshire received Alex Song's pass was right in the shaded area you'd draw on the chalkboard: This is where I want my defensive midfielder. Mikel may have been doing something else, something valuable, but he wasn't there to stop the pass to Wilshire, and he wasn't there to prevent Wilshire's entry into the area. Combine that with Fabregas beating his man and Song's run into the area, and Chelsea starts the second half down.

Now four minutes into the second period, the match has resumed the very even feel that characterized the pre-goal competition. Arsenal still looks dangerous and fluid moving forward, but as opposed to the match's first ten minutes, Chelsea is holding enough of the ball to build their own entries into the Arsenal's half. But once there, they've had few options beyond "let's hop Didier does something." At some point in this half, they may need to find another option.