Premier League

CHELSEA 0
ARSENAL 1 (Gabriel 63)

SOMEWHAT reluctantly Mikel Arteta has finally admitted that Arsenal are competing for the Premier League title following a dominant 1-0 victory at Chelsea this afternoon (Sunday).

Gabriel grabbed the winner at Stamford Bridge, steering the ball home from close range in the second half after Chelsea failed to deal with Bukayo Saka’s in-swinging corner.

The win saw the Gunners end yet another round of fixtures at the top of the table, making it harder and harder for Arteta to deny that the north Londoners are genuine contenders.

Speaking after seeing Arsenal re-established their two-point lead over Manchester City, the Gunners boss said: “We are in contention [for the title] today but in football today and tomorrow are very different so let’s just enjoy tonight. It’s going to be a long, long marathon.

“Just look at the last six years what Manchester City have done. With the best manager and best team in the world, they’ve shown it consistently in every single competition.

“We have to be very, very respectful of that and we’re getting much better as a team and competing much better and getting really good results but this is a long, long show.”

Arsenal started like a team on a mission at Stamford Bridge, and could have taken the lead inside 10 minutes but Ben White scuffed his shot just wide of the target.

Gabriel Jesus had the best chance of the first half on 29 minutes. Gabriel Martinelli picked out his teammate with a superb cross inside the box, but the striker failed to connect with the ball with a diving header.

With just 39 per cent possession and no real threat going forward, the Blues were growing in frustration. Ex-Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang barely touched the ball – his only contribution before being subbed just after the hour mark was picking up a yellow card for a poor challenge on White.

Despite dominating the first 45 minutes, however, Arsenal failed to test Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy as they failed to click in the final third.

The second half started the same way the first ended with the Gunners being on top. Their sustained pressure was rewarded on 63 minutes when Saka’s corner skimmed through everyone in the penalty box before finding its way to Gabriel, who struck from close range – snatching the goal off Saka as the ball looked to be heading into the back of the net even without his intervention.

Despite failing to score yet again, Jesus was influential throughout – none more so than when he stole the ball from Chelsea defender Thiago Silva and tested Mendy, who parried the ball out for the corner that Arsenal scored from.

Reflecting on Arsenal’s growing confidence, Arteta said: “I was really impressed, we are a really young team, but we showed a lot of maturity, a lot of composure, a lot of courage, a lot of determination to play in this stage in the way we’ve played. It’s easy to say but really difficult to do. I think the boys were phenomenal today.”

On sharing the win with the travelling fans, Arteta added: “It was great, they’ve been absolutely phenomenal, they have transformed the energy of the club and they have transformed the way the team believes in what they are doing. To share that with them away from home is really special. I had my family there, I had my son there in the middle of the crowd so it was great.”

Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella, Loftus-Cheek (Kovacic, 78), Jorginho, Mount (Pulisic, 78), Havertz (Gallagher, 64), Sterling, Aubameyang (Broja, 64)
Substitutes not used: Bettinelli, Zakaria, Ziyech, Koulibaly, Hall

Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko (Tierney, 78), Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard (Elneny, 87), Saka, Martinelli (Holding, 90+4), Jesus
Substitutes not used: Turner, Soares, Vieira, Lokonga, Nelson, Nketiah