Arsenal vs Chelsea: Unai Emery's side close on top four with convincing Premier League win
Arsenal reinvigorated their hopes of finishing in the Premier League's top four with a deserved 2-0 victory over London rivals Chelsea.
Unai Emery had said on the eve of the game that a defeat at the Emirates Stadium, which would have left Arsenal nine points adrift of the fourth-placed Blues, would have meant the end of their top-four ambitions.
In truth, the hosts never looked like losing as they went at Chelsea from the off, sealing the win with first-half goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny.
Maurizio Sarri opted to set up his Chelsea side with Eden Hazard again playing at the main central attacking option and the visitors rarely threatened. Re-live the action in the blog below:
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's evening Premier League kick-off between Arsenal and Chelsea, brought to you from the Emirates Stadium.
Teams will be out at 4.30pm an hour before kick-off, but you can follow all the build-up to the London derby here.
Less than half-an-hour until kick-off at the Emirates Stadium.
It is a huge game this evening, with Arsenal facing the prospect of being nine points behind Chelsea with a loss today. Manchester United's win means that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are ahead of Unai Emery's men, and he'll be looking for a response after defeat at West Ham last weekend.
Chelsea are unchanged for this one, with Eden Hazard remaining in the middle of a front-three lacking in a definite striking option.
Gonzalo Higuain could be on his way before the transfer window closes, but Maurizio Sarri insists he will not change his style despite a goalscoring downturn in recent weeks:
"Those who walk Arsenal’s corridors of power instead privately concede that the greatest signing made during Arsène Wenger’s 22 years in charge was Sven Mislintat, appointed as head of recruitment from Borussia Dortmund in November 2017 and seen as nothing short of vital to the future of the club."
Arsenal suffered an unexpected off-field disaster this week, with their key personnel-man opting to leave the club almost completely out-of-the blue 15 months after arriving.
With Sven Mislintat believed to be on his way to Bayern Munich, Luke Brown and Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney analyse why the German is such a huge loss:
It was a week of big news from Petr Cech, with the goalkeeper (a favourite at both these clubs) announcing that he will retire from football at the end of the season.
Two managers in their first season in the Premier League, and two sets of fans that still have their doubts. With Manchester United back in the top-four race, Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery will be desperate for victory this evening.
Arsenal's formation is a 4-3-1-2, with Aaron Ramsey ahead of Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi (right-to-left).
Two early uncomfortable moments for Chelsea as David Luiz and Jorginho give the ball away in their own area, but they have just about enough bodies back and survive.
Alexandre Lacazette moves out to the right and gets his head up.
He threads his cross perfectly into the channel between defence and goalkeeper, curling it away from Kepa and into Aubamaeyang's path, but the Gabonese striker fails to produce any real purchase on the ball under challenge from Cesar Azpilicueta and the ball harmlessly trickles out of play for a goal kick.
Chelsea haven't really found their footing as of yet in this game, but they do have their first extended spell of possession here.
Eventually the ball is worked out to Cesar Azpilicueta in space down the right and Eden Hazard has ghosted past Sokratis, and should really do better on the volley from the skipping cross, side-footing wide of the near post sweeping across his body with his right boot.
Hector Bellerin is fortunate as he tries to dribble out of a tight corner, just about sliding the ball away from a trio of Chelsea attackers bearing down on him after a loose touch.
Arsenal vs Chelsea kicks off at 5:30pm (GMT) on Saturday 19 January.
Where can I watch it?
Arsenal vs Chelsea will be shown live on BT Sport 1 from 5:00pm (GMT).
BT Sport subscribers can watch the action on the BT Sport app.
Highlights will be shown at 10:20pm on BBC One.
Player to watch...
Willian: The Brazilian has been a firm fixture in Maurizio Sarri’s starting XI all season and scored a beauty to clinch three points against Newcastle. The 30-year-old has played in all but one of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures, and has scored five goals in all competitions. With Eden Hazard playing up front in recent weeks, Willian and Pedro are Sarri’s preferred options out wide, keeping Callum Hudson-Odoi out of the team.
Willian has kept Callum Hudson-Odoi out of the Chelsea side (Getty)
