Chelsea vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Relive all the action from Stamford Bridge
Bukayo Saka banished his Euro 2020 final penalty shoot-out ghosts by converting a spot-kick as Arsenal toppled Chelsea 4-2 to reignite their bid for a top-four Premier League finish.
The England forward slotted home his first-ever penalty for Arsenal to seal the Gunners’ vital win over the Blues, that drew Mikel Arteta’s men level with fourth-placed Tottenham in the table.
Saka missed the last penalty in England’s 3-2 shoot-out defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley last July.
The 20-year-old won the late spot-kick at Stamford Bridge by drawing a foul from Cesar Azpilicueta, and quickly insisted on taking the penalty himself.
Saka dismissed any nerves by side-footing home to boot, to put the seal on a crucial win for the Gunners.
Eddie Nketiah had twice seized upon slipshod defending to drive Arsenal into a 3-2 lead before Saka’s strike.
Nketiah capitalised on Andreas Christensen’s woefully under-hit back-pass for his first Arsenal goal in 367 days, to open the scoring in west London.
The 22-year-old forward later settled a scrappy but engrossing contest when three attempted Chelsea clearances landed the ball straight into his path and through on goal.
Timo Werner’s deflected effort had Chelsea level quickly after Nketiah’s first goal, with captain Azpilicueta then cancelling out a fine finish from Emile Smith Rowe before half-time.
The fatigued and off-kilter Blues were made to pay for a string of errors however, with £98million striker Romelu Lukaku again failing to fire.
Toni Rudiger’s absence with a minor groin problem destabilised Chelsea’s defence, and Christensen endured a night to forget.
The Denmark international was withdrawn at half-time in a below-par showing, but not even the peerless Thiago Silva could sharpen up the hosts.
Arsenal took full advantage of Chelsea’s malaise to notch just their second win in six league matches, breaking a wretched run of results to move below Spurs on goal difference, leaving the race to finish fourth wide open.
Relive all the action live below:
Arsenal reignite top-four hopes as Eddie Nketiah scores twice in thriller against Chelsea
Out of so much chaos, some order. Arsenal claimed a first win in four, to recharge their challenge for the top four, at one of the unlikeliest of venues. And that, largely, from the least likely of heroes. Eddie Nketiah hadn’t scored a league goal in 367 games before this trip to Chelsea, and his team hadn’t scored in three games against mid-table teams.
It took seven minutes for that to change, the striker eventually hitting his second to send Mikel Arteta’s team on the way to a raucous 4-2 victory just when it seemed their season was tail-spinning.
It was admittedly difficult to escape the feeling that a relatively secure Chelsea weren’t at their most focused, not that Thomas Tuchel will see it that way. He was often furious on the line, as his team were so fractious on the pitch.
That won’t matter to Arsenal, but the result will. It will matter quite a great deal. It was, quite possibly, season-changing. That genuinely can’t be overstated, given the looming sense that this fixture would make it four defeats in a row, and an unexpected chance at a Champions League place was frittering away.
Arsenal instead displayed impressive opportunism, as best symbolised by Nketiah. He ensured his side took advantage of Chelsea’s laxness, which was signalled - and often caused - by Andreas Christensen.
Eddie Nketiah reignites Arsenal’s top-four hopes in thriller against Chelsea
Chelsea 2-4 Arsenal: The Blues twice fought back but Bukayo Saka’s late penalty ensured the Gunners of three vital points in the race for a Champions League spot
Chelsea 2 - 4 Arsenal
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka spoke to Sky Sports after the game and explained how he won the penalty: “We wanted to give the fans something to believe in us and we did that. We showed fight and character. It’s a huge result.
“It means a lot to us. Losing three games in a row is really difficult. Of course he [Cesar Azpilicueta] is going to be angry with me but it is what it is. It was a penalty.”
Chelsea 2 - 4 Arsenal
Chelsea 2 - 4 Arsenal
Chelsea remain third in the table with a five point cushion over Tottenham and Arsenal and they’ve still got a game in hand on both those teams.
The big winners this evening were Arsenal though. They end a run of three straight defeats with a win against their London rivals to draw level with Spurs. The Gunners will carry this momentum into their match against Manchester United at the weekend.
Chelsea 2 - 4 Arsenal
Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka have both scored 10+ goals in the Premier League this season; just the third time two players aged 21 or under have done so for the same team in a campaign (Bridges & Kewell for Leeds in 99-00, Rooney & Ronaldo for Man Utd in 06-07).
Full-time: Chelsea 2 - 4 Arsenal
90+5 mins: What a performance from Arsenal. They needed to win to keep themselves in the hunt for the Champions League places and they’ve come to Stamford Bridge and pumped four past Edouard Mendy.
Thomas Tuchel looks reflective on the sidelines but his team have just been outplayed tonight. Arsenal draw level on points with Tottenham and they’ve still got to play Antonio Conte’s men.
The end of the season is shaping up nicely.
GOAL! Chelsea 2 - 4 Arsenal (Saka, 90+2’)⚽️
90+2 mins: Mendy dives to his right and Saka slots it to the goalkeeper’s left. Arsenal are two goals in front with two minutes to play!
Penalty to Arsenal!
Chelsea 2 - 3 Arsenal
90 mins: Cesar Azpilicueta pulls down Bukayo Saka in the Chelsea box and Arsenal have a spot kick to win the game!
Saka himself will take it after a VAR check confirms the referee’s decision.
Chelsea 2 - 3 Arsenal
87 mins: Gabriel Martinelli nicks the ball off Malang Sarr and looks to carry it into the box but Thiago Silva steps up to block him off and recover the ball for Chelsea.
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