Key events
76 minutes: Chelsea hits him on the back. Their goose isn’t so much cooked as burned, they’re just slowing down time. In the stand, a young Chelsea fan holds up a sign that says it all: “I don’t want your jersey, I want you to want to fight for ours.”
74 minutes: Madueke was perhaps the only Chelsea player not to completely embarrass himself tonight. He dribbles from the right but loses control just as things seem to open up for a shot. He looks dangerous.
72 minutes: The Emirates are celebrating. Mikel Arteta took the opportunity to make a quadruple substitution: Trossard, Havertz, Partey and Tomiyasu gave way to Martinelli, Jesus, Jorginho and Zinchenko.
AIM! Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea (70 White)
Odegaard Phil Mickelson is in the right inside channel. White meets the falling ball with his shin, cutting it through and over Petrovic and inside. A stroke of luck, but what a delicious assist!
69 minutes: Odegaard swings imperiously. Rice, Trossard and Havertz were also immense. Arsenal are looking every inch a title-winning team tonight.
68 minutes: Sterling’s first act is to be touched by Partey, just to the right of the D. His second is to take the free kick himself and float weakly straight at Raya. This is Chelsea’s first attempt on target.
66 minutes: Poch is furious. He makes a double change, hooking Mudryk and Fernandez for Sterling and Chalobah.
AIM! Arsenal 4-0 Chelsea (Havertz 65)
Saka dribbles from the right and passes to Havertz, who lets the ball roll over him before pivoting and knocking it off the base of the right post and inside. It’s that simple !
64 minutes: Arsenal caressed him and the local supporters launched the olés. Any old excuse…
63 minutes: TNT showed this Gabriel challenge on Madueke again. It was an obvious foul, with Madueke preparing to dribble only to be brought down and brought down. Arsenal got away with a big blow there. First the Jackson challenge on Tomiyasu, then this: another triumphant day for VAR!
61 minutes: Madueke slips a lovely pass into the inside right channel to release Jackson in the Arsenal box. A shot crossing Raya down the left would surely be a goal. He instead heads towards the nearest corner and only manages to find the side netting. Another huge chance missed by Jackson. It’s like the cut semi-started again.
60 minutes: Trossard tumbles on the left. He can’t shoot. Partey can, though. Blocked. So Odegaard tries his luck. Blocked again. Chelsea are in danger of collapsing.
58 minutes: At the start of this move, Gabriel fell into Madueke’s back, his arm around his opponent’s waist as he took him down. Some, like TNT’s Ally McCoist, will say it should have been a free throw. VAR checks and disagrees. The goal is achieved!
AIM! Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea (Havertz 57)
Now it’s time for Odegaard to look for Havertz in the middle. A glorious pass curled past Havertz. He advances in the middle, then moves away to the left to ensure that Cucurella, on his right shoulder, cannot act. He reaches the edge of the box before confidently lifting Petrovic and heading in. Game over!
56 minutes: Partey tries to free Havertz on acres with a simple long ball down the middle. Petrovic comes out of his box to free himself.
54 minutes: Chelsea’s defense didn’t really do well there. It was a garden-short corner, and Rice had far too much time and space to shoot.
53 minutes: On the touchline, Mikel Arteta celebrates vigorously. As dominant as Arsenal were, Chelsea also threatened on several occasions. They needed a second.
AIM! Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea (White 52)
The corner is played short and comes back to Rice, acres by the D. Rice slides down left. The ball deflects into White’s path, into the right corner of the penalty area. He first sweeps Petrovic and bottom left. The Emirates erupt!
51 minutes: To repeat: how the hell, etc. ? Odegaard plays a sensational reverse pass down the inside-right channel to Havertz, who pivots and shoots hard from the corner of the six-yard box. Petrovic somehow sends the ball around the post for a corner. From which …
50 minutes: Now Odegaard spins on the edge of the D before jumping over the bar. How the hell is this game still 1-0?
49 minutes: Rice steals the ball from Gallagher, drops it to Odegaard and rushes towards the Chelsea box. Odegaard slides the ball to the inside right. The rice rolls low and hard; Petrovic makes another solid block.
48 minutes: The resulting free kick is not worth discussing.
47 minutes: Jackson snatches the ball from a dozing Partey and is cynically cut off from behind as he walks away with it. Free kick in a central position, 35 meters away, but no yellow card for Partey. Nobody knows anything.
Arsenal start the second half. No change. “So much hate on Nottingham Forest for their statement against PGMOL, but seriously, what is going on with VAR? asks Filip Gieldon. “How the hell was the on-field referee not sent to the replay screen for that horror tackle by Jackson on Tomiyasu? You can see his foot bending under the pressure, he almost broke his leg.
Half-time entertainment. A retro retro fantasy, from 2010.
HALF-TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
Lots of chances in this half. Most for Arsenal, but a few big ones for Chelsea too. But just one goal. As things stand, Arsenal are three points clear at the top!
45 minutes : Now it’s Trossard’s turn to go into the book for standing on Cucurella’s foot. A late challenge, and he has nothing to complain about. Mikel Arteta nevertheless makes one and is also booked for his troubles.
44 minutes: Madueke whistles Tomiyasu on the right. He has the Arsenal man’s number. He hits the signature and crosses low. Raya collects. No one in blue had been following the play.
43 minutes: Chelsea are quickly picking up some cheap bookings. Gilchrist for pushing Trossard in the back, Cucurella for a similar elbow on Saka. Truth be told, there wasn’t much to either challenge, but now both Chelsea full-backs are on a disciplinary tightrope.
41 minutes: Gallagher runs after a long pass on the right and digs out a cross in a narrow spot. Jackson arrives to meet him at the near post, but does not courageously throw himself on the head. He raises his arm, thinking that a nearby Gabriel is about to high kick him, and the ball hits his hand. Free kick, when it should have been an equalizer.
39 minutes: Chelsea patiently pings him. Suddenly, Madueke upshifts to the right. The ball comes back to Fernandez, who floats into the Arsenal box. Gallagher is This about to meet the falling ball, six meters away in a central position, but Raya reads the danger and comes off his line to recover.
37 minutes: Cucurella thinks he has won a throw on the Chelsea left. He accepts it, but the officials agree with him. He jumps around in a livid style, which isn’t exactly a proportionate response. He’s lucky the referee stopped at a conference; he could easily have gone into the book.
35 minutes: Trossard beats Gilchrist on the left. He goes all the way down the left flank before firing a cross into a six-yard area empty of teammates.
34 minutes: Trossard’s shot was deflected wide to the left. From the resulting corner, Saka launches a speculative shot wide right and high. “Being crushed by someone like Trossard six meters away is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when your defense leaves you out to dry like that,” writes Justin Madson. “I would always prefer to have Petrovic in goal rather than Sanchez. One thing Pochettino has definitely achieved this season.
