Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea: Player ratings as Arsenal go top of the Premier League with convincing London derby triumph
Arsenal reclaimed leadership of the Premier League table thanks to a convincing 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta’s men had temporarily dropped to second place following Manchester City’s 2-1 win against Fulham but Arsenal have since responded in style with an impressive display against Chelsea.
Arsenal started the game on the front foot and nearly took the lead in the fifth minute after a defensive mix-up between Cesar Azpilicueta and Kepa saw Granit Xhaka record the first attempt of the game.
That set the tone for the remainder of the game as Arsenal continued to dominate proceedings, coming close to opening the scoring 10 minutes later through Bukayo Saka.
The Gunners deservingly broke the deadlock in the 18th minute as Martin Odegaard found himself unmarked just inside the box to curl home Xhaka’s lovely cut-back.
Largely a spectator up until that point, Ramsdale came up clutch when called upon for the first time, denying Ben Chilwell the chance to halve his side’s deficit.
Just past the half-hour mark and it was 2-0 to Arsenal with Odegaard and Xhaka combining once again for the former to double his tally.
With Arsenal now in cruise control, the north Londoners remained on the front foot as they looked to pull further away from their city rivals.
As half-time approached, Jesus grabbed Arsenal’s third of the contest after a scramble in the box allowed the Brazilian to fire home from close range.
While Arsenal could have been forgiven if they had taken their foot off the gas a bit, they kicked off the second half in similar fashion to the first and nearly added a fourth through Gabriel Magalhaes but for an excellent goal-line clearance from Thiago Silva.
Having turned provider for his side’s opening two goals, Xhaka came close to getting himself on the score sheet moments later but Kepa was up to the task once again.
Looking to get in on the act, Saka tested the Chelsea goal with two shots in quick succession, albeit all to no avail.
Off the back of seven successive games without a clean sheet, Arsenal were breached once again against the run of play through Noni Madueke, who just about managed to scuff his effort past Ramsdale.
Since the start of the second period, Odegaard had struggled to impact his game but the Arsenal skipper came close to completing his hat-trick six minutes from time.
That proved to be the final meaningful action of the game as Arsenal secured a huge win in front of their fans to keep the title race very much alive.
Aaron Ramsdale (6/10) – The Arsenal goalkeeper had relatively little to do on the day but he was reliable more often than not when called upon.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (6/10) – Having struggled in recent matches, Zinchenko enjoyed a much better outing this time but he was caught napping for Chelsea’s goal.
Gabriel Magalhaes (6.5/10) – Calm in possession and rock-solid at the back, Gabriel also came within inches of registering at the other end.
Jakub Kiwior (6/10) – An impressive full Premier League debut for the defender, who completed a team-high four clearances, although he did struggle aerially.
Benjamin White (6.5/10) – Solid display once again from White as he continues to impress in an unnatural position.
Martin Odegaard (8.5/10) – Put his side in the driving seat with two wonderful goals and was unlucky not to have come away with the match ball.
Jorginho (7/10) – Aiming to get one over his former employers, Jorginho was as assured as ever for Arsenal and kept the Gunners ticking with his passing.
Granit Xhaka (8/10) – Missed an early chance to give his side the lead but recovered to set up both of Odegaard’s first-half goals with two lovely assists.
Bukayo Saka (6.5/10) – Proved to be a constant threat for Arsenal throughout the game and could have easily grabbed himself a goal on another day.
Gabriel Jesus (7.5/10) – Lucky not to have been booked for a rash challenge on Wesley Fofana but an otherwise impressive outing for the striker, who put the final nail in Chelsea’s coffin with a tidy finish.
Leandro Trossard (6/10) – Decent display for the attacker prior to his substitution just shy of the hour mark.
Substitutes
Gabriel Martinelli (5/10) – Failed to make any meaningful impact on the game in his 30-minute cameo.
Kieran Tierney – 5/10
Reiss Nelson – 5/10
Rob Holding – N/A
Thomas Partey – N/A
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