5 takeaways from Arsenal's demolition of rivals Chelsea

For several years in the early days of the Emirates Stadium era, Chelsea loved to torture Arsenal. The roles have now been comprehensively reversed.

The Emirates Stadium bore witness to the Gunners thrashing the Blues 5-0 on Tuesday night, sending Mikel Arteta's men 30 points clear of their neighbours from the west of London.

These are two clubs heading in completely different directions and it's hard to see their trajectories changing.

Here are 90min's takeaways from a landmark night in north London.

Martin Odegaard becomes Player of the Year frontrunner

If you either live in London or on the online world of social media, you'll know how loud Arsenal supporters can be when their team is in the ascendancy. This makes it all the more surprising that there's been such little fanfare about the season Martin Odegaard is having.

The Gunners captain is now rivalling the very peak years of former club favourite Mesut Ozil, maybe not in terms of his overall numbers, but certainly in regards to his control of an entire football pitch. He sees passes no others can, pathways no others will. Ending the night with only two assists did not do another incredible performance justice.

With their no clear favourite for this season's Player of the Year awards, why can't Odegaard win it?

The confusing paradox of Kai Havertz

He scores and he misses. He's a midfielder but he's not a midfielder. He's a striker but he's not a striker. He cost £65m but seldom shows why. He cost £65m and is starting to put up the numbers to back it up.

What exactly is Kai Havertz? Heaven knows, but at the very least he's a useful part of Arsenal and Arteta's vision, someone who can be additive to their performances and is less detrimental to them as he was in the autumn.

The gangly German has become an endearing figure to the Arsenal fandom too, further cementing that status with his immediate reaction to celebrate his brace against his former club.

Mauricio Pochettino was wrong about 'Cole Palmer FC'

"It is a good challenge in case Palmer is not available. It's a good challenge for the teammates. If I am a teammate of Cole Palmer in his position or a similar position, I am going to be motivated to go there tomorrow and show this is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club."

These were the words of Mauricio Pochettino pre-match when it became apparent that illness could rule star player Cole Palmer out of action.

They came back to haunt him. Chelsea desperately needed Palmer's confidence, ingenuity and general ability to thrive in chaos and in transition to bail them out again. His teammates shrunk in the spotlight and left the Emirates Stadium with their tails between their legs.

Chelsea's current project has failed

When Todd Boehly and BlueCo completed their takeover of Chelsea in May 2022, the club were champions of the world. Why they decided to deviate away from a winning formula is beyond belief.

You could assume that, as is the case in American sports, that the new owners simply wanted to make their own mark on the club. A project involving the world's best young talent seemed thrilling and appealing. The reality...not so much.

Chelsea have endeavoured to be more like a ludicrously expensive Brighton & Hove Albion. They are barely even as good as the Seagulls themselves. It's a remarkable climbdown.

London is red - and will be for a long while

There is a roadmap for Arsenal to be the dominant force in London for a long, long time.

They could still yet win this season's Premier League. They have the money and lure of a club of their historical standing once again. They're hardly strapped for cash. They have a project that will appeal to players of all ages and abilities.

Their nearest challengers come from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road, and they can firmly silence their noisy neighbours of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

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