It was a scruffy affair with very few chances but defender Gabriel found the back of the net for Arsenal in the second half against Chelsea to secure a 1-0 win.
It means the Gunners leapfrog Manchester City to go back to the top of the English Premier League table while for the Blues it is now four games without a win. Graham Potter’s side looked well off the pace and will have no complaints about the defeat.
There was an awful lot riding on the London derby and Arsenal dug deep for the win and this will have impressed coach Mikel Arteta the most. You cannot always play attractive football, you have to be able to mix it, and to roll your sleeves up. Arsenal did that really well and deserved to take the points back to the Emirates.
Bright start
Everyone knows the history between the two clubs. There’s plenty of needle, spite and hatred. Losing this match hurts and now it will be up to Potter, who after a bright start as replacement coach for Thomas Tuchel, is beginning to see just how big of a job he has on his hands.
Chelsea have been struggling lately with injuries and perhaps that gave Arsenal the tiny bit of advantage they needed to steal the points. They have now won three times in a row at Stamford Bridge for the first time since April 1951.
High-profile spat
Arteta’s Arsenal were the better side, especially in this second half. They dominated Chelsea for large parts of the game with the hosts looking disorganized and struggling to get into the game. When Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off they really struggled and Broja up front could not keep the ball for long enough to get the likes of Sterling and Mount involved in the attacks which quickly fizzled out.
Aubameyang was facing Arteta for the first time since he left the club in January after a high-profile spat with the Spaniard but his exit precipitated a transformation in Arsenal’s fortunes from top-six scrabblers to seeming title challengers. Aubameyang scored 68 goals in 128 Premier League games during his time for Arsenal and was desperate to get on the scoresheet for his new employers but he was marshalled well by Saliba.
