Chelsea were ranked as heavy favourites for yesterday’s FA Cup final with Arsenal, who had endured a disappointing season, but the Blues were torn apart by a resilient Gunners side who dominated the match tactically.

Antonio Conte’s set-up which has shredded through the Premier League this season was made to look redundant yesterday as the Blues’ three-man defence was counter-acted by Arsenal’s mirrored display, with the Gunners dominating the match from start to finish.

A makeshift three-man Arsenal defence, which included captain Per Mertesacker earning his first start this season, kept the influence of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard in the match severely limited, as Chelsea had their backs against the wall for the entire match.

From the opening exchanges, it was clear that Chelsea’s tactical set-up was not working and Arsenal had counteracted the Blues perfectly- but Antonio Conte’s side significantly lacked a back-up plan, which ensured the Gunners could continue to dominate.

Midfield pairing N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic were kept quelled by Arsenal’s pressing approach, with Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey keeping Chelsea quiet in the middle of the park- leading to arguably Kante’s worst display in two seasons.

Defensively the attack consisting of Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil kept the Blues on their toes throughout and in reality the Gunners could, and should, have won by a larger margin- as they had two shots cleared off the line and hit the post twice.

Pundits expected Chelsea to adapt their tactics in the second-half to have a chance of turning things around but it was clear the Blues had not set-up for this sort of tactical battle and lacked the prowess to change things, even despite adding Cesc Fabregas to the midfield in an attempt to find more creativity.

Arsenal put the pressure on Chelsea and showed the rest of Europe how to beat Antonio Conte’s side, which is a major concern heading into next season and the Blues need to adapt their side to have a second option tactically.

Had Chelsea refreshed their tactics, the Blues may well have turned the game around- although their task was made even more difficult by Victor Moses’ dismissal, with the Nigerian ace earning a second yellow card for an embarrassing dive in Arsenal’s penalty box.

Conte admitted after the game that Chelsea were not prepared for Arsenal to play in such a thrilling fashion, which no one was admittedly, but the fact that the Blues didn’t have a response is a concern ahead of their Premier League defence next summer and return to the Champions League.