Chelsea took a humiliating 4-0 to Arsenal in Orlando, while the Gunners continued to show off their pre-season form ahead of the new season.
Marquee signing Gabriel Jesus scored his fourth goal in four to give Mikel Arteta’s side the 15th minute lead, before Martin Odegaard doubled the advantage to make it 2-0 at halftime.
Goals from Bukayo Saka and Sambi Lokonga in the second half compounded Chelsea’s woes, leaving Thomas Tuchel with plenty of questions ahead of next season.
Sports post looked at six things we learned during the Florida Cup final.
Arsenal humiliated top four rivals Chelsea 4-0 in the Florida Cup final in Orlando on Sunday
Zinchenko deserves standing ovation
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Arsenal’s £32million new signing, received a standing ovation from the Gunners as he showed up for his warm-down at the end of an encouraging first 45 minutes in red and white.
The Ukrainian started as left-back – in the continued absence of Kieran Tierney – in what came close to being Arteta’s first-choice XI.
Zinchenko was rarely tested defensively, but operated very high on the left wing. He played a delightful crossfield pass to Bukayo Saka and drew whooping cheers from the crowd with a pair of neat feet.
The 25-year-old also had an early shot, but it took too long. Still a decent start.
New addition Oleksandr Zinchenko received a standing ovation from the Gunners supporters
Distribution issues for Mendy
It feels cruel to single out Edouard Mendy, who has been such a huge influence since he arrived at Chelsea. Last night, however, did nothing to allay concerns about one aspect of his game: distribution.
Or to put it less politely, Mendy’s kicking was disastrous. An early pass went straight into the air, another went straight to Granit Xhaka as the keeper panicked in his own area.
Later, his quirky kick gave Arsenal possession and Martin Odegaard doubled their lead from the turnover. Another terrible touch nearly gave Gabriel Martinelli an open target. It was all the more striking when compared to Aaron Ramsdale’s long-distance pass.
Mendy discussed the issue earlier in the tour and insisted that he work on all aspects of his game.
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy struggled with his division between the sticks
Jesus keeps firing
Don’t let Chelsea’s charitable defense detract from what was yet another impressive performance by Gabriel Jesus.
In this, which was almost a first real test since his arrival from Manchester City, he was electric again. It wasn’t just his goal that he took brilliantly: he casually lifted the ball over Mendy, making it four out of four during pre-season.
There was also a luscious turn halfway through that made Trevoh Chalobah look rather silly and a nice attack on Martinelli shortly after. It’s safe to say that Jesus surpassed all Chelsea attackers until he went down and Arteta wasted no time sending Eddie Nketiah.
Gabriel Jesus continued his impressive scoring form with his fourth in four games
New arrivals the best of a bad bunch
A first start for Raheem Sterling and a debut for Kalidou Koulibaly: two milestones on an otherwise terrible night for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Before coming out at halftime, Raheem Sterling was one of the smartest of Chelsea’s four forwards. That’s not saying much.
A few times the English attacker came up short to receive the ball and drive back four at Arsenal. One run ended with a through ball for Timo Werner, who lost the opportunity.
Sterling faded into the shadows as the half progressed. Koulibaly, meanwhile, had an eventful introduction: he put on a fine recovery challenge to turn down Nicolas Pepe and then gave Marquinhos a chance with a wayward pass before being booked to bring Nketiah down.
Raheem Sterling’s first start for Chelsea was overshadowed by a terrible display from the Blues
Chelsea’s defense struggles as Arsenal get excited
Yes, it’s preseason. Yes, Arsenal are further ahead than Chelsea. But the contrast in the first half between their respective back four was striking.
Chelsea was everywhere, with Chalobah especially struggling.
The return of William Saliba, meanwhile, has given Arsenal interesting new opportunities. Ben White started as right-back – with Takehiro Tomiyasu out – alongside Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as central defenders.
That’s one way to get all three of them on the team. White has previously been used as a right-back by Arteta and his inclusion allowed Arsenal to switch to a back-three with the ball now and then. Saliba looked stylish again – his pace and positioning will be a real asset.
Thomas Tuchel was visibly dissatisfied with his Chelsea side after the 45-minute opening
Bad day on the big screen
It was a night to soon forget for those who operated the big screens at Camping World Stadium.
First their countdown hit zero… 15 minutes before kick-off. And then, after Jesus appeared on camera after his opening goal, a name flashed across the screen: Pablo Mari.