Thomas Tuchel laid into his players as they were ripped apart by a brilliant Arsenal display.
The Blues was clearly frustrated by the poor performance of his men and read them the riot act during a drinks break midway through the first half.
The chastening defeat, puncturing the optimism following their takeover, was watched by new co-owners Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss and will heighten their urgency to bring in new signings ahead of the new season.
Gabriel Jesus scored the first goal for Arsenal after 16 minutes with a classy lob, the fourth goal of his pre-season since signing for £45million from Manchester City.
Martin Odegaard added a second, ten minutes before the break, with a diagonal finish to capitalise on poor defending.
Bukayo Saka rammed in a 66th-minute third for Mikel Arteta’s men after Blues keeper Edouard Mendy had parried shots from Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka.
Midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga added a fine fourth, heading in first time across Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy from Cedric’s cross.
Mendy had earlier been forced into a fabulous, last-minute save to keep out a free kick from Nicolas Pepe.
And Mason Mount went closest for the Blues when he hit the post on the stroke of half time.
Here are the game's talking points.
Blues marooned
Chelsea were abysmal here in a performance that will have fans alarmed ahead of the new season.
Yes, you can point to the absence of Kalidou Koulibaly - a late substitute - when the goals were flying in.
Also N’Golo Kante who is back in England. But this Chelsea team are better - much better - than they showed here. The defence in particular were all over the place for the first goal from Jesus, AWOL for the second from Odegaard and spectators again for the third from Bukayo Saka.
To be fair, when Koulibaly did come on, late on, you could see where that money went for the £34million capture.
He first looked like the road runner as he outpaced Nicolas Pepe, then he arrived from nowhere to block the same player as the French winger prepared to pull the trigger with only Edouard Mendy to beat.
Stlll, a whole host of questions will arise from this defeat against a team who have been in pre-season training for the same amount of time. Thomas Tuchel has made clear that he doesn’t want any excuses from his players ahead of the season opener against Everton, despite the takeover and Chelsea’s late transfer dealings. He could yet be rowing back on that position given the difference in performance levels here.
Gunner be special
Whisper it quietly but the new and improved Arsenal look a bit special on this evidence. You can see, judging by this display, why Mikel Arteta is so chill heading into the new campaign with the fans so optimistic.
The club have responded to their failure to clinch Champions League football by dipping into the transfer market to make themselves a more complete team. At times here they dominated Chelsea and ran rings around their London rivals in eye-catching fashion. The Blues defence had no answer to the pace and movement of new Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus and the guile of Gabriel Martinelli
New Gunners left-sider Oleksandr Zinchenko could not have had an easier game with which to get his feet under the table. Most of the action was at the other end.
Trevoh Chalobah - playing in a four between Reece James, Thiago Silva and with Emerson at left back - was torn apart by the movement of Jesus in particular and it was easy to see why Thomas Tuchel was so frustrated, gesticulating wildly at his players during a first-half drinks break.
Arteta won’t get carried away but this Arsenal do not look like the side heavily reliant on Bukayo Saka last season. This Arsenal look like a side ready to launch a serious challenge for the top four.
Chelsea should have bought a striker
In theory, Thomas Tuchel’s claim that he has a number of players able to perform in the centre-forward position only works if they can hurt the opposition.
Whatever way you slice it, Chelsea do not have a centre-forward with the cutting edge of Gabriel Jesus. A fact never more pronounced than when Reece James powered a ball across the six-yard box, seven minutes before the break, with no Chelsea player displaying the hunger of a Jesus to get to it.
Also when Cesar Azpilicueta floated in a cross minutes into the second half.
In the wide areas, Arsenal handled Sterling and Mount fairly comfortably - even allowing for the latter hitting the post.
To be fair to Chelsea, there is no striker out there of the calibre of a Kane, a Lewandowski, a Jota, a Haaland or a Benzema. For all their quality in other areas, could that undermine their title challenge?
New signings watch
Jesus is already the striker that Arsenal have been crying out for. Quick, classy and oozing cutting edge, the Brazilian had Chelsea’s defence in knots almost from the outset. Not only did he give them an excellent focal point, he also showed himself capable of bringing others into the play.
His ex-Manchester City team-mate, Raheem Sterling has yet to make a similar impact.
The most eye-catching contribution from England forward, enjoying his first start in a Chelsea shirt, was to clatter Jesus in the opening minutes. Other than that, Sterling was unable to get any change from the Arsenal defence and unable to get Blues fans off their seats.
Zinchenko drifted from his starting position for Arsenal, at left-back, into midfield where passing was intelligent, if unspectacular. He will be an asset there and a valuable option for Arteta this coming season. He played just the 45 minutes here but he’ll get far more game time this season.
Chelsea’s other new signing, Kalidou Koulibaly, only came on late.
William Saliba shines
Watching the Frenchman in action here after his bizarre treatment by Arsenal last season is mystifying. Despite joining the Gunners for £27m from Saint-Etienne in the 2019 summer transfer window, he has yet to make a single senior appearance. That will change this season.
During this pre-season he has yet to put a foot wrong and will surely start the campaign in the Gunners’ backline. Brave, quick and intuitive with an ability to read the game well, Saliba’s loan spell looks to have done him the power of good.
There were suggestions he didn’t want to come back to Arsenal after feeling unloved by the Londoners. He was trending on social media way before the end of this contest. Arsenal fans know they have a gem on their hands.
