Arsenal punished Chelsea (5-0) and consolidated its leadership position by winning a very lively London derby at the Emirates Stadium, Tuesday in a late match of the 29th day of the English Championship. This success – which could have been greater as the Gunners’ domination was unchallenged – allows them to maintain the lead in the standings (77 points) ahead of Liverpool (74 points), who faced Everton on Wednesday in the Mersey derby, and Manchester City (73 points), which plays the first of its two late matches on Thursday at Brighton.
The Gunners – who remained at home with a 0-2 defeat against Aston Villa, their only setback of 2024 in the league – started the match with a bang, putting suffocating pressure on the goal of their south London neighbor. Leandro Trossard, shifted by Declan Rice on the left, opened the scoring with a shot from a tight angle under goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic (4th).
Deprived of their best offensive asset Cole Palmer (20 goals and 9 assists), Chelsea held on despite successive red and white waves in the first act, but collapsed after returning from the locker room.
In five minutes, Mikel Arteta’s team made the break from a corner, Ben White punishing the feverishness of the Blues defense (52nd). Then Kai Havertz, who had missed everything until then, crucified Petrovic (57th) before scoring a double on a shot with a back post (65th). The Blues conceded the fifth goal, that of Ben White’s double, 20 minutes from time.
This shipwreck confirms the difficulties of Mauricio Pochettino’s men away from home: they have not won away since a 1-3 victory at Crystal Palace on February 12.
