Arsenal vs Chelsea LIVE: Result and reaction from London derby as Gunners go back top of Premier League
Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea: The Gunners moved back to the top of the table with convincing victory over London rivals
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal are the Premier League leaders once again after a dominant first half display blew Chelsea out of the water at the Emirates Stadium. Right from the kick off the Gunners pushed high up the pitch to take advantage of a Chelsea team low on confidence.
Granit Xhaka – superb all night for the hosts – pulled an early save out for Kepa Arrizabalaga before the Chelsea keeper kept out a header from Bukayo Saka. The pressure on the Blues only mounted and it was Xhaka who supplied Martin Odegaard on the edge of the box and the Arsenal captain turned it home with a curling side-footed strike.
Xhaka and Odegaard combined again in a very similar move to send the Gunners two up before Gabriel Jesus turned a loose ball home from inside the six-yard area three minutes later to give the hosts full control.
They went into the break with a comfortable that Chelsea never looked like overturning. One bright spark for them though was the performance of Noni Madueke who was fast and direct enough to enough a consolation goal midway through the second half thanks to a darting run in behind.
The performance was worthy of three points and Arsenal are back at the top of the Premier League.
Relive the action as Arsenal hosted Chelsea in the Premier League:
Arsenal vs Chelsea prediction
Arsenal will get back on track a little with a win over a Chelsea side that has looked lost in recent weeks.
The intensity of a London derby will see the Blues improve on their recent performances but Mikel Arteta’s side should be strong enough to edge past them especially with home advantage.
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
Arsenal vs Chelsea predicted line-ups
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Jesus.
Chelsea XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Silva, Fofana, Chilwell; Fernandez, Kante, Gallagher; Felix, Aubameyang, Sterling.
Waht is the early team news?
Arsenal are likely to again be without William Saliba, with the centre half’s ill-timed back injury continuing to cause Mikel Arteta issues defensively. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are also currently absent.
Mason Mount and Reece James have joined Chelsea’s injury list, with the two England internationals ruled out for what remains of the campaign . There is similar concern over Kalidou Koulibaly’s calf injury, too, with the defender battling to play again before season’s end, but Kai Havertz could be fit to feature.
How to watch Arsenal vs Chelsea
Arsenal vs Chelsea is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Tuesday 2nd May at the Emirates Stadium in London. It was originally due to be held on Saturday, but was rescheduled due to policing issues.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage from 7pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via the Sky Go app.
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Premier League action. It is a London derby that sees Arsenal host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s men are still resolutely in the title race but gave up ground to Manchester City in their last outing. City defeated the Gunners 4-1 at the Etihad and a further victory over Fulham at the weekend sent the reigning champions to the top of the table. Arsenal will regain top spot with a win over Chelsea tonight and Arteta will know that to have any hopes of clinching the title away from City his side must win all of their remaining fixtures.
In contrast, Chelsea just need a win. They are languishing in the bottom half (12th) of the table after a run of eight matches without a victory - across all competitions. The Blues have lost every game since Frank Lampard returned as interim coach and that form looks set to continue against an Arsenal side eager to end the season on a high.
Kick off for this one is at 8pm and we’ll have all the build-up, team news and updates throughout the evening.
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