Arsenal return to Premier League summit after leaving Blues bruised
Despite having seen their title quest falter badly in the last few weeks, the Gunners were buoyed by the prospect of a home game against a Chelsea team who had not won in the league since March.
Mikel Arteta’s men made a trademark fast start, and after two early interventions from Blues goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Gunners, who had only failed to score in one of their 16 league games at the Emirates Stadium this season prior to this match, broke the deadlock early.
Granit Xhaka’s low pass into the area picked out the unmarked Martin Ødegaard on the edge of the box, whose first-time left-footed effort went in off the underside of the bar.
This undoubtedly gave Arteta’s side the early boost they needed, and they kicked on in ruthless fashion to leave a timid Chelsea side in their wake. Just after the half-hour mark, it was a case of déjà vu when Ødegaard was once again found by Xhaka, and for a second time he swept past Arrizabalaga to double the lead with his 15th goal of a stellar season.
Then, just three minutes later, the Blues’ misery was compounded when a ball into the area from Ben White wasn’t dealt with by the defence, and it eventually found its way to Gabriel Jesus, who powered home from a few yards to put Arsenal in dreamland at HT.
The visitors knew the second half was a damage limitation exercise, as they seeked to restore some pride, but it could easily have got worse for them when Gabriel’s header was cleared off the line by Thiago Silva, before Xhaka’s shot was pushed around the post and Saka fired just wide from range.
The one blot on a brilliant evening for the hosts came with 25 minutes remaining, when Noni Madueke collected a ball into the area before dinking over Aaron Ramsdale.
Sensationally, that was just the second goal Chelsea have scored since Frank Lampard’s return as interim manager in March, laying bare their attacking problems that have plagued them all season long.
Chelsea did improve slightly in the closing stages, although in truth they could not have been much worse, as Arteta’s men eased to a victory which helps to keep the pressure on title rivals Manchester City, with a thrilling title race likely to go down to the wire.
Chelsea’s ambitions, meanwhile, are limited to trying to avoid a first bottom-half finish since 1996 after suffering a sixth successive loss under Lampard.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)
