The Gooners won the match against Chelsea 2-1, but they had to grit their teeth in orther to see it trough
On March 1, Arsenal fans witnessed their team’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Despite the win, it was not an easy match for the Premier League leaders, who suffered until the last minute even after Chelsea went down to 10 men.
The first half of the match went as expected. Arsenal, despite not having most of the ball, had the game where they wanted it and were able to recover the ball and go on the counterattack at any moment. Arteta’s side’s first goal came, unsurprisingly, from a corner, which Gabriel headed in the far post and fell to Saliba, who only had to tap it into the net to put his team ahead in the 21st minute.
From that point on, Chelsea grew into the game and Reece James began to get more involved, which is always a good sign for the Blues. In stoppage time at the end of the first half, the English full-back took a tight corner that Piero Hincapié headed into his own net to level the match just before the break.
In the second half, Chelsea dominated even more and the Blues had the most chances to put themselves ahead. But in the 66th minute, another corner, this time headed in by Timber, gave Arsenal the lead again.
Chelsea’s superiority continued until the 70th minute, when Pedro Neto received a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving the Blues with 10 men on the field. This was the seventh red card for the London team so far in the Premier League, three more than the second-highest number of cards and a new record for the club.
Just when the game seemed to be winding down, Liam Delap’s entrance in the 86th minute turned the game on its head, and Arsenal had to dig deep to maintain their lead, so much so that Chelsea had a goal disallowed in the 96th minute.
Arteta’s side maintain their lead in the Premier League and are five points clear of Guardiola’s side with a game in hand for the sky blues. Their next match will be away to Brighton on March 4.