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5 Takeaways From The Chelsea vs. Arsenal Match

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By @LouFlavius

5 Things We Learned From Chelsea vs. Arsenal

Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
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The Blues claimed a hard-fought 2-0 victory against London rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The match was entertaining as usual, both on and off the pitch. Here are five takeaways from the electric London derby.

5. Diego Costa Doesn't Need to Have a Great Game to Get His Goal

Diego Costa
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5. Diego Costa Doesn't Need to Have a Great Game to Get His Goal

Diego Costa
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By his own standards, Costa's performance was average, but he still managed to give the Blues a late 2-0 cushion after latching on to a superb pass from Cesc Fabregas. The striker showed that he could score even when not having a particularly good outing -- the kind of killer instinct that Chelsea lacked up front last season. He always impacts the game in some way or another; most times by scoring.

4. Arsenal's Fans Lack Class

Arsenal
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4. Arsenal's Fans Lack Class

Arsenal
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Not all of them obviously, but most of the 3,000 who traveled to Stamford Bridge today. The game was delayed for 15 minutes due to their hooligan behavior and flare-throwing. Unlike Chelsea's fans, who cheered Frank Lampard on -- even after he scored against them -- during the match vs. Manchester City at the Etihad, the traveling fans hurled constant abuse at their former captain, Cesc Fabregas.

3. Jose Mourinho Is No Fighter

Jose Mourinho And Arsene Wenger
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3. Jose Mourinho Is No Fighter

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger
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Arsene Wenger was evidently flustered by Mourinho on the touchline. He went as far as shoving the Portugese in his own technical area. Mourinho could only flick Wenger's tie in retaliation; while the Chelsea boss can easily trounce anyone in a verbal spat, he doesn't seem ready to hit back in person. It does leave me to wonder though, how much would Jose have been fined if he shoved another manager?

2. Arsene Wenger Made the Wrong Choice... Again

Cesc Fabregas
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2. Arsene Wenger Made the Wrong Choice... Again

Cesc Fabregas
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Arsene Wenger spent much of the summer expounding on reasons why he did not want Fabregas back, the main one being Mesut Ozil. He spent a large sum to bring the German to the club and his reasoning seemed fairly logical at the time. Ozil was expected to improve on his poor showing last season and hit true form, but that seems less likely every match. Fabregas, on the other hand, has flourished. He was very instrumental in the Blues' win today.

1. Andre Schurrle Is Chelsea's Weakest Link

Andre Schurrle
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1. Andre Schurrle Is Chelsea's Weakest Link

Andre Schurrle
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Since arriving at Chelsea, the German hasn't been the model of consistency, but it's really hard to drop him due to his knack for scoring important goals. Schurrle had a very poor game today, his passing was sloppy, his decision-making was awful and he didn't seem eager to run at defenders. He could be a great player when he makes up his mind, but if he is to be regarded as world-class, he needs to play smarter football for Chelsea.

Lou Flavius is a soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @LouFlavius , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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