Martin Ødegaard grabbed a brace as Arsenal defeated rudderless Chelsea 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium in an entertaining London derby to return to the summit of the Premier League.
The Gunners briefly fell behind Manchester City who have one game in hand for the first time in months after Pep Guardiola’s side pipped Fulham over the weekend. But three first half goals by Ødegaard and Gabriel Jesus ensured Arsenal return to top of the table.
Arsenal needed the boost after a series of disappointing late runs of two draws and a defeat in their last three league matches as they continue to charge for their first title in over two decades while the same cannot be said of their London arch rivals who are still winless in matches under Frank Lampard.
Ødegaard opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 18th minute with a powerful curler. The Norwegian doubled Arsenal’s lead just after the half hour mark. Former City star Gabriel Jesus completed the rout barely three minutes later.
Chelsea’s only real attempt at goal came in the cusp of the first half but Ben Chilwell’s effort inside the 18-yard box was parried away by goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Arsenal came close to extending their lead inside the first 11 minutes of the second half including a Gabriel Magalhães’ header that was cleared off the line by Thiago Silva and two close attempts by Granit Xhaka and Busayo Saka that were saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga to keep Chelsea in the game.
In the 65th minute, Nigerian-born Noni Madueke grabbed a consolation for the Blues. It was his first Chelsea goal since the winger switched from PSV Eindhoven last summer.
Nonetheless, Arsenal secured maximum points.
The result further compounded Chelsea’s woes since Frank Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge for his second reign as interim manager. The Blues are winless in all of their six matches across all competitions under the club’s legend.
Chelsea are now 12th on the league table and only nine points off the relegation zone.
