Arsenal 2-1

Independent:

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1

Jack Pitt-Brooke

The fight-back, when it came, could not make up the gap.
For the second successive Sunday, Arsenal only started playing in the second half, when they were already 2-0 down to a better-resourced team. The result is that they are six points off fourth place and 11 behind Chelsea. Yesterday’s winners are not a flawless team but they do have enough good players to be sure of a top-four finish, which is more than can be said of Arsenal.
Arsène Wenger’s side might have recovered to take a point but they did not deserve one. The distance between the sides was far wider in the first half than the second. The game, in a sense, was decided before half-time. But, in another, it had been decided with every day of drift, with every diffident window that Arsenal have wasted for the last few years.
As the travelling fans made very clear, this Arsenal squad is in need of heavy investment. They robustly advised their club to spend money, and wondered aloud what exactly chief executive Ivan Gazidis does in his job.
Arsenal’s famous ‘self-sustaining model’ can look fairly exposed at Chelsea, a club with the opposite problems. Here at Stamford Bridge there may be too much what Arsenal lack – purpose, ambition and ruthlessness – but perhaps not enough of the patience which Arsenal seem to be drowning in. Not everyone would hold up Chelsea as a perfectly-run club but they have won two Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League since Arsenal lifted anything.
Of course, winning is easier when you buy better players. That, more than anything, seemed the difference between these two flawed sides in the first half yesterday. Chelsea’s front four – Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Oscar and Fernando Torres – cost more than £125million. Arsenal’s – the same side from Wednesday night – did not.
After just five minutes Arsenal could have gone ahead. Theo Walcott, in his first appearance since signing the new contract which may just mark a pause in Arsenal’s slide, brought the ball in from the right. He saw Olivier Giroud running in behind and played him through. Giroud took the ball, paused, but struck it wide of the far post.
From the goal-kick Ramires won the ball – probably illegally – from Francis Coquelin. Cesar Azpilicueta played a diagonal pass to Mata, in the great plain of space between Bacary Sagna and Per Mertesacker. Mata controlled the ball perfectly with his left-foot. Sagna was charging across but Mata is astonishingly calm in these situations, and his pause was followed by a driven finish into the near top-corner. In that one minute the issue seemed clear. Giroud is a good admirable centre-forward, a French champion and France international. But he is not an exceptional player, and is no replacement for Robin van Persie. At £12million he was fairly priced. Mata, though, is an exceptional player, of remarkable imagination and technique. He cost roughly twice what Giroud did. Arsenal might have bought him but they did not. And yesterday he showed them what they missed.
But as the first half continued, efficiency ceased to be Arsenal’s problem. In truth they could barely compete. Chelsea were first to every loose ball in midfield. Arsenal exerted neither control nor pressure. In front of the back four they had Abou Diaby, making his third straight start and patently exhausted, and Coquelin, swamped in Diaby’s effective absence.
It was no surprise when the second came. Diaby, nowhere near the pace of game, was robbed by Mata, who was setting it. He found Ramires, who was tripped by Wojciech Szczesny. Martin Atkinson generously only booked Szczesny, but Frank Lampard converted the penalty anyway.
From that point Chelsea started to play with a fluency that they have only shown on the road so far under Rafael Benitez. This was Benitez’s eighth home game but by far the best performance, the only wins before this coming against Nordsjaelland and Aston Villa. There was less animosity directed at the interim manager – home goals are a pacifier – and even the anxiety in the second half was fairly mild.
Chelsea, though, should have gone into the break more than 2-0 up. Hazard burst past Kieran Gibbs and Thomas Vermaelen but saw his shot saved. The move of the match went through Hazard, Oscar, Hazard again and Mata before Ramires escaped Gibbs and shot over.
Arsenal had no right to still be in the game but they were and did improve in the second half, pushed Chelsea back and even created chances. Mertsacker and Walcott had shots saved, and Giroud headed at Petr Cech.
Walcott spent most of the first-half being flagged for off-side but when he caught Gary Cahill too deep he pulled a goal back. Santi Cazorla slid a delightful pass in, and Walcott – with the conviction of a man with his future secure – curled the ball into the far top corner.
It was as if confidence could only belong to one side or the other and Arsenal were now in possession. Walcott shot wide, Cazorla hit a 20-yard free-kick into the wall and Vermaelen hit one from the same position just wide. In added time Giroud headed over but Arsenal, for all their passing, never had the incision of Chelsea in the first half. They had improved, certainly, but the damage had already been done.

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Guardian:

Chelsea resist Arsenal fightback to secure warming derby victory
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have spluttered amid the poisonous atmosphere allowed to fester in this stadium over recent weeks but Arsenal's visit provided an antidote of sorts. All that rancour was forgotten amid the distraction of a rumbustious derby, the dissent at Rafael Benítez's mere presence more a grumbling than bellowed protest. Victory against local rivals has strengthened Chelsea's position in third. Any respite is to be cherished.
This being a Chelsea side engulfed in a season of tumult, there was still the fluttering of nerves to suffer through a second half when the visitors, so dishevelled up to then, revived and rallied. Benítez's side clung on desperately at times but where they had wilted against Queens Park Rangers, Swansea City and Southampton, their resistance endured for once. Gary Cahill stretched out a seemingly telescopic limb to deny Theo Walcott in the six-yard box almost four minutes into stoppage time, and Olivier Giroud looped a header on to the roof of the net seconds later. The final whistle was celebrated with gusto.
It felt rare for Chelsea to have cause for celebration in these parts. Refreshing, even. This was only a second home win in the seven domestic fixtures overseen by the interim manager and timely in deflating Arsenal's aspirations to remain regulars in the top four.
The sense of normality being restored stretched even to the 16th-minute tribute to Roberto Di Matteo going forgotten, if only because the locals were too busy anticipating and then celebrating Frank Lampard's 195th goal for the club, converted from the penalty spot, at the time. Throw in the welcome news that Ashley Cole has agreed a contract extension through to 2014 and this all felt unusually upbeat. Roman Abramovich even managed a smile at the end. So much for doom and gloom.
Inevitably, it is too simplistic to suppose this is the turning of the tide. There is too much vulnerability to Chelsea to assume they will travel to Swansea on Wednesday and run riot to overturn the two-goal deficit surrendered in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final. Benítez could win that competition, the Europa League and FA Cup, and qualify for the Champions League, but still be dogged by abuse in this stadium.
Yet, at their attacking best, Chelsea are still a force and had swarmed all over disorganised opponents – Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata leaving Arsenal dizzy. It was a reflection of their psychological fragility that they permitted the visitors to dominate after the interval but both these sides are afflicted by inconsistency. On this occasion, Chelsea did enough during their own period of ascendancy to squeeze home.
Both the goals they scored were controversial. Ramires, an explosion of energy throughout, stepped on Francis Coquelin's foot just inside the Chelsea half for the first, César Azpilicueta springing on to the loose ball to free Mata as the Frenchman sank to the turf in pain. That was cause for complaint, though Bacary Sagna was still the wrong side of Mata as he burst through to finish. "It's frustrating but it doesn't mean we should have conceded the goal," Wenger said.
He could feel similarly aggrieved at the quarter-hour mark, both at his team's attempt at defence and with the officials' interpretation of events. Ramires dispossessed Abou Diaby too easily to send Mata into enemy territory, with the Brazilian then allowed to charge unchecked to collect the return alone inside the area. There was an attempt to edge round Wojciech Szczesny but, as the chance threatened to veer away, out came a foot to ensure contact with the goalkeeper and a tumble to the floor. Lampard duly scored from the spot and Chelsea were back where they had been in midweek against Southampton, two goals up and apparently comfortable.
Yet, as Rickie Lambert had proved then, all it takes to discomfort them is some urgency from the opposition and a hint of retreat. Arsenal pressed higher upon the resumption, their own conviction growing despite Per Mertesacker, Giroud and Walcott all being denied by Petr Cech. Benítez sensed what was coming, barking orders almost indiscriminately from his technical area and pleading for concentration, but minds were frazzled. Santi Cazorla, peripheral up to then, duly squeezed a fine pass behind a back-tracking Branislav Ivanovic for Walcott to collect and finish smartly.
How Wenger must curse his team's inability to start contests with that much intensity. As they poured at their hosts, pinning them back, Arsenal looked like contenders with Walcott, in particular, discomforting Cole as he has so often with his jet-heeled darts.
Admittedly, they gambled and were left open at times on the break, not least when Demba Ba was able to amble forward alone and round Szczesny only for Thomas Vermaelen to scramble his shot from the goalline. But had they started with as much attacking zest as they finished then it might have been Chelsea who shrunk.
As it was the home support roared their approval for Cahill's late intervention, the England defender taking on the John Terry role while the club captain shivered unused on the bench. It has needed a last-ditch tackle like that to get the blood pumping, a glimpse of strength to remind this team what their qualities used to be. Benítez will believe he can build on this win, not least at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday, with third place consolidated. For Wenger, with similar problems flaring too regularly, the top four feels distant yet again.
Man of the match Ramires (Chelsea)

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1

Jeremy Wilson

There was a time, just briefly during the Premier League era, when Chelsea against Arsenaland the sub-plot of Jose Mourinho going head-to-head with Arsene Wenger, was the defining confrontation of the season.
Good players certainly remain on both teams but, for a compelling illustration of why Manchester and not London is now the indisputablecapital of English football, a recording of this match would suffice.
Yes, Chelsea eventually did just enough to scrape past an Arsenal team lacking both quality and basic fighting spirit but the way they almost let slip a two-goal lead for the second time in six days was characteristic of also-rans rather than eventual champions.
Familiar problems were evident, not least in the form of Fernando Torres but it was still critical for Rafael Benitez to record what has been only his second win at Stamford Bridge since replacing Roberto di Matteo in November. An added bonus for Benitez of Frank Lampard scoring in the 16th minute was that even the usual chants for Di Matteo were forgotten.
Chelsea were on the front-foot from the very first minute when they had a plausible penalty appeal waved away after Abou Diaby appeared to man-handle Oscar to the floor. With Ramires and Lampard dominant in central midfield and Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard all initially interchanging to mesmerising affect further forward, it quickly looked like a matter of time before Chelsea went ahead.
That suspicion was confirmed when Olivier Giroud missed an excellent chance and Chelsea struck clinically on the counter-attack through Juan Mata. Cesar Azpilicueta also deserved considerable credit for his defence-splitting through ball that exposed the gaping hole between Sagna and Mertesacker in the Arsenal defence.
Wenger was apoplectic, not so much at defending of his team, but a blatant mistake from referee Martin Atkinson in missing Ramires’ late tackle on Francis Coquelin that had begun Chelsea’s attack.
There was further controversy for Chelsea’s second but, once again, also some terrible Arsenal defending. Mertesacker continued to find himself sucked, almost schoolboy style, towards the ball, with Mata exploiting Sagna’s positional indiscipline to put Ramires clear on goal.
Szczesny, who was also partially culpable for the first, went to ground, with Ramires knocking the ball past the Arsenal goalkeeper and then just glancing his leg before going down. It appeared that the only point of debate would be whether Atkinson should sent off Szczesny as well as award the penalty, but replays suggested that Ramires had deliberately moved his leg towards Szzcesny just before contact.
Atkinson sided with Ramires in awarding a penalty but, having made that decision, was generous in allowing Szczesny to escape with a booking. Lampard, inevitable, converted the penalty and it seemed that the main interest for the rest of the afternoon would be whether Arsenal were humiliated or merely beaten. In singing ‘Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay’, it seemed that Chelsea supporters were already confident of the latter.
Chelsea remained dominant but, in spite of overrunning Arsenal in central midfield, they were again being repeatdely let down by Torres and some dreadful finishing. And that lack of certainty, confidence and killer instinct gradually seeped through the team.
Clearly mindful of wasting a 2-0 lead against Southampton last Tuesday, Chelsea found themselves inexplicably pinned back throughout a nervy second-half.
Mertesacker and Walcott had both tested Cech shortly after the re-start before Chelsea’s lead was deservedly halved. Santi Cazorla, who had been virtually anonymous until that point, spotted Walcott lurking on the shoulder of Branislav Ivanovic and delivered a perfectly-timed pass. Walcott’s pace ensured a clear run at goal and, demonstrating the calmness in front of goal that has persuaded Wenger to make him the club’s highest-paid player, he brilliantly opened up his body and side-footed the ball past Cech.
Chelsea were now clinging on, with Benitez promoting the only cheer for Chelsea fans during the second-half by finally replacing Torres with Demba Ba. His impact was immediate. With Sagna and Szczesny again caught out of position, he was clear on goal and only denied only by a goal-line clearance from Thomas Vermaelen.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1: Blues avoid a Saints repeat as they cling on to a two-goal lead after Gunners' second-half fightback

By MATT BARLOW

The prospect of Ashley Cole in contract talks at a time when the country’s road network is hazardous with ice and snow may have sparked a red alert at RAC headquarters, but it had the desired effect on Chelsea.
It was seven years ago that Cole nearly swerved off the road, trembling with rage at Arsenal’s £55,000-a-week offer. This week, he is set to sign a one-year deal at Stamford Bridge at nearly £200,000 a week.
How better to celebrate than with a win against his old club to reinforce Chelsea’s superiority in the capital? They have given up on the title, misfired at home and been snubbed by Pep Guardiola, but at least they are secure in the top four.
Who knows, Cole may even win another trophy. As he never tires of reminding Arsenal fans, he has seven major honours since the move; the Gunners have won nothing.
Juan Mata struck after six minutes and Frank Lampard soon added the second from a disputed penalty before Chelsea survived a fightback and Theo Walcott’s 15th goal of the season.
Roman Abramovich may not be happy with developments since he conquered Europe, but compared to Arsenal, his team are in decent health as they head to Swansea in a bid to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the Capital One Cup semi-final.
There were no overt anti-Benitez protests for once and, for the first time since he replaced Roberto di Matteo, no 16th-minute homage  to his predecessor, thanks to Lampard’s 16th-minute goal.
Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, had to admit his team were in grave danger of surrendering their  Champions League status for the first time in 15 years.
Form is poor and confidence is brittle. There are flashes of encouragement from the likes of Walcott and Jack Wilshere, but overall, it feels like gravity is taking hold.
Arsenal are 11 points behind  Chelsea, albeit with a game in hand. It is three matches without a win in the Barclays Premier League and the second time in eight days they have wilted when confronted by a genuine force.
Against Manchester City, they started poorly and were two down at half-time, never to respond. At Stamford Bridge, they were two down within 16 minutes. Decisions conspired against Wenger’s team but, as with the City game, they could not summon the resolve to overcome that and were over-reliant on individuals, notably Walcott and Wilshere.
Perhaps it would have been different had Olivier Giroud found the net in the fifth minute when the game was goalless. Slid clear by Walcott, Giroud’s shot was only a foot wide, but it was an excellent chance to seize the initiative.
Within a minute, they were behind, Mata making no mistake from a similar situation. Arsenal complained about a foul on Francis Coquelin that went unnoticed at the turnover of possession.
Ramires sank his studs into the top of Coquelin’s foot in midfield and the pass, intended for Santi Cazorla, rolled instead to Cesar Azpilicueta, who clipped a long diagonal pass forward from right back. Mata escaped Bacary Sagna without trying too hard, took a touch and slammed in his 14th of the season.
For the penalty, Ramires took the ball from Abou Diaby, continued his run and took a return from Mata. As Wojciech Szczesny lurched from his goalline, the Brazilian shifted the ball to his right, paused for the keeper to touch him and went down.
Referee Martin Atkinson gave a penalty, Chelsea’s eighth of the  Premier League season. It looked questionable on the slow-motion replays. Ramires clearly went to ground early, fishing for contact from Szczesny by dangling his feet.
No one seemed very happy. Benitez stamped his feet and waved an imaginary card, demanding  that Szczesny be sent off, but the keeper was merely booked. Wenger thought it should have been a  yellow card to Ramires for a dive.
Lampard was happy enough. He stepped up to score his 195th goal for the club, his sixth in nine games and another step closer to Bobby Tambling’s club record of 202.
Ramires wasted a good chance for the third, and Arsenal found some inspiration at half-time.
Wenger pushed Diaby slightly further forward alongside Wilshere to match Chelsea’s midfield trio man-for-man but, on a more basic level, his team showed more desire.
Petr Cech saved from Walcott and Per Mertesacker and Giroud spurned a very good chance before Walcott scored, sprinting clear of Cole to apply a clinical finish.
At least, it gave Arsenal fans something to cheer. They had bought tickets at £60, something which had gone unnoticed after the storm of Manchester City fans who refused to pay £62 at the Emirates.
For Chelsea, this provided a test. Four days earlier, against Southampton, they had sped into a two-goal lead, conceded soon after the break and ended up with one point.
A ripple of anxiety lapped Stamford Bridge. Fernando Torres had a top chance to settle it but his touch was heavy. Fans cheered when he was replaced by Demba Ba.
Abramovich shifted uneasily in his posh seat. Not everything is cosy at Chelsea, but this was a welcome win, Cole has agreed to stay and the roads are a little bit safer.

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Mirror:

Blue steel: Mata and Lampard fire Chelsea to victory as they survive Arsenal backlash

Martin Lipton

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you do it. Just that you do it.
Rafa Benitez needed the final whistle to be met with cheers, not jeers. Fernando Torres needed to leave the field to applause, not boos.
More importantly, Chelsea had to end the homesickness that threatened to send their season into freefall.
And as the snow fell, Benitez’s Blues held on in the teeth of Arsenal’s flurry to change the complexion of the rest of the season for both these clubs.
In the end, Frank Lampard’s 195th Chelsea goal, stroked home from the spot, divided two sides who each bossed 45 minutes.
The second period was controlled as much by the Gunners as the first had been by the home side.
But it is Chelsea, finally breaking their SW6 duck in 2013, who got what they required – three vital points and forward momentum.
And Arsenal, paying the price for a wretched start and now 11 points adrift of the Blues, know fourth is the summit of their Premier League ambitions over the next four months. In truth, Arsenal can have no complaints, starting too late to leave with anything other than regrets.
Where Arsene Wenger asked his side to expose a “fragile” Chelsea, it was his own side’s vulnerabilities that were opened up to scrutiny.
It might have been different had Olivier Giroud done what he should have five minutes in, when Theo Walcott’s pass sent the Frenchman in on goal.
But within a minute of Giroud dragging wide, Chelsea were in front. Wenger rightly claimed that Ramires caught Francis Coquelin, that referee Martin Atkinson should have seen the foul.
That did not excuse Arsenal’s failure to respond as Cesar Azpilicueta stepped in and played over the top into the hole that should have been filled by Bacary Sagna or Per Mertesacker but was by Juan Mata.
Nor did it fail to shine a light on Wojciech Szczesny’s initial step forward, then movement back, meaning he was off-balance as Mata thrashed his 14th goal of the season past his right shoulder.
Chelsea seized the day, swarming all over the Gunners, who in that key period had only Jack Wilshere and Walcott carrying the fight.
Wenger admitted after Chelsea won at the Emirates in September that leaving himself with Abou Diaby as his sole defensive midfielder was a “gamble”. The way the Frenchman was dispossessed by Ramires on 16 minutes only reinforced that view, the ball transferred swiftly out, via the newly-shorn Torres, to the impish Mata.
Mata picked out Ramires – Sagna absent without leave again – with only Szczesny in front of him and when the Brazilian hit the deck, Mr Atkinson pointed to the spot.
With no real cover behind the Pole, the yellow card was a let-off, although Lampard’s penalty brooked no further argument.
Nor did the persuasive manner of Chelsea’s performance until the break, Ashley Cole, his new contract to be inked this week, revelling in the freedom he was given. Strange game, football, as Arsenal flew out of the traps, Chelsea appeared mentally back in the kennel – just as they had against Southampton.
Mertesacker and Walcott could have scored before the England flier did claim his 15th of the season, a terrific, clinical finish when Santi Cazorla slid through.
Arsenal now were as good as they had been poor. Chelsea, in turn, looked shaky, their fans calling for Demba Ba.
The Senegalese showed why when he did enter – this time Torres was clapped off – rounding Szczesny but denied by Thomas Vermaelen.
But Arsenal remained alive. Vermaelen drilled wide, four late corners came to nothing, Chelsea held on. For Benitez, relief. For Wenger, exasperation. The margins were that fine but the moods starkly different


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Sun:

RAFA BENITEZ picked the right time to get the Chelsea show back on the road.

Shaun Custis

Roman Abramovich had flown in from his holidays to check on the state of the Benitez regime.

And, though the hosts staggered over the line, the Blues owner was all smiles after a first win of the year at Stamford Bridge.

Perhaps more significantly there was no abuse directed towards the manager from the home fans.

They are never going to love ex-Liverpool chief Benitez but he has got Chelsea on course for Champions League qualification, which is a lot more than can be said for Arsenal.

They are losing touch with the top four and are not showing enough consistency to suggest they can get back into the mix.

It was so easy for Chelsea in the first half — Arsenal were an embarrassment.

The Gunners were far removed from their teams of old like the 2003-04 Invincibles, when Blues full-back Ashley Cole was one of their stars.

Cole of course has been an integral part of Chelsea’s success and the fact he has agreed a new deal was warmly welcomed by fans on a snowy afternoon.

The England international may be getting £200,000 a week but, mad as that figure might sound, is there really a better left-back in the world?

Arsenal, who were without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski because of illness, should actually have gone ahead.

Theo Walcott, who has finally committed himself to a new contract, played in Olivier Giroud but the big striker dragged his shot past a post when he should have stuck it away.

It is no use lamenting it now but it was the sort of chance ex-Gunner Robin van Persie used to score with his eyes closed.

Another man who knows all about finishing is Chelsea’s midfield artist Juan Mata, who showed Giroud exactly how it is done a minute later.

Yes, Arsenal had a case that Ramires fouled Francis Coquelin as the move started but they switched off when the decision was not given.

Full-back Cesar Azpilicueta sent a wonderful ball out to Mata, who killed it with one touch to completely outwit Bacary Sagna before burying a shot high into the net for his 14th goal of a very productive season.

Mata’s mate, Santi Cazorla, had a snap-shot for the visitors from 20 yards that Petr Cech pushed behind but, on 16 minutes, the home side were two to the good.

It is the moment when Blues fans usually sing for axed boss Roberto Di Matteo but instead they were distracted by good news on the field.

This time Abou Diaby lost out to Ramires and Chelsea broke quickly. The Brazilian kept going and surged into the box where he got the ball back from Mata.

Ramires started to take it round Wojciech Szczesny, left a leg trailing and the keeper took him down.

Up stepped Chelsea’s Mr Reliable, Frank Lampard, who tucked away the spot-kick to the usual chants of “sign him up, sign him up”.

Lampard is now on 195 goals, seven behind Bobby Tambling’s all-time Blues scoring record — and he has the bit between his teeth to set a new mark.

Abramovich might want Lamps out but the midfield veteran, 34, is making sure he ends on a high in West London.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, was moaning non-stop at fourth official Kevin Friend. He was fuming about the foul in the run-up to the first goal and was adamant that the second was not a penalty.

But he accepted afterwards that his team had been as timid as they were at Manchester City in the first half a week earlier.

Defender Per Mertesacker said Arsenal were scared against City and they looked gibbering wrecks here too.

They were fortunate that Fernando Torres, sporting a sharp new haircut, was as blunt as a pair of plastic scissors otherwise it could have been worse.

One shot which he blazed high and wide at the end of the first half summed up his complete lack of confidence.

Chelsea were two up against Southampton during the week only to throw it away and end up with a point.

And they were in similar self-destruct mode again.

Arsenal were a different team, pinning their opponents back and going for the throat.

Mertesacker and Jack Wilshere shot at Cech and a good cross from Kieran Gibbs was met by a poor header from Giroud.

But on 58 minutes Cazorla passed inside Branislav Ivanovic and Walcott was on to it to fire home.

It was Walcott’s 11th goal in 15 games and it spelled nervous times for Chelsea.

The memory of Southampton and the home defeats before that, against QPR and Swansea, were fresh in the mind.

Demba Ba came on for the ineffective Torres, who was actually clapped off by Abramovich.Eden Hazard then picked out the Senegal striker out with a cracking ball down the left.

Ba was onside and steamed towards goal with Szczesny stranded, not knowing whether to stick or twist.

Chelsea’s new buy then danced round the keeper but his shot was superbly blocked by the outstretched leg of Thomas Vermaelen.

At the other end, it took a magnificent defensive clearance from Gary Cahill to foil Walcott during the five minutes of added time.

And when Giroud headed on to the roof of the net, it was all over.

Now it is on to Swansea for Chelsea, who will try to overturn a two-goal deficit in the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final.

Arsenal will face West Ham at the Emirates in the Premier League on the same night. Losing that one does not even bear thinking about.

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Azpilicueta 6, Cahill 8, Ivanovic 7, Cole 7,STAR MAN RAMIRES 9,Lampard 7, Oscar 6 (Bertrand 6), Hazard 6 (Marin 6), Mata 8, Torres 5 (Ba 6).
Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Terry, Ake. Booked:Mata, Cole.

ARSENAL: Szczesny 5, Sagna 4, Mertesacker 7, Vermaelen 6, Gibbs 7, Coquelin 6 (Ramsey 6), Diaby 6 (Arshavin 6), Walcott 7, Wilshere 8, Cazorla 7, Giroud 5.
Subs not used: Mannone, Koscielny, Andre Santos, Jenkinson, Frimpong. Booked:Szczesny.
REF: M Atkinson 7

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Express:

CHELSEA 2 - ARSENAL 1: RAFA BENITEZ GETS SOME BREATHING SPACE
By Tony Banks


Stamford Bridge these days is a nervous, edgy place – and not just because the pavements are slippery.
Every home game is a trial for Rafa Benitez’s squad, a minefield to be negotiated by a team whose confidence has the fragility of a snowflake.
But yesterday against bitter rivals in a game they had to win to confirm third place in the table as their own, Chelsea finally triumphed, finally hung on.
It was still edgy, mind you. They were once again as brilliant for 45 minutes as Arsenal were awful, and two goals up at the break thanks to Juan Mata and Frank Lampard’s penalty.
But nothing is ever sure these days with Chelsea. On Wednesday just such a lead had been squandered against Southampton.
This time, despite Theo Walcott’s second-half goal, fingernails bitten to the quick, the team made it to the wire.
In the great scheme of things it was a result that makes little difference to the overall picture of the Premier League. Neither of these teams are good enough to win the title. As this game showed, both can be very good for 45 minutes. But 90? Look elsewhere.
After their poor first half, Arsenal just did not have enough to recover. Arsene Wenger’s team are now seven points off the top four, with one win in five games in all competitions, after successive league defeats by Manchester City and Chelsea.
For Chelsea it was only a third home win in nine games, their first this year. And for once, Benitez was not booed. Joy at the eventual result took the fans’ minds off it.
But Chelsea’s players’ minds will have been done a world of good by this game. It would be going a bit far to say they have put their home hoodoo behind them, but it will help.
Benitez, robbed by injury of David Luiz, boldly started with a newly-shorn Fernando Torres up front, and the Spaniard had one of his better games.
But it was Arsenal who missed a chance after just five minutes that could have turned this game on its head. Walcott put Olivier Giroud clean through, but the Frenchman criminally shot wide.
The punishment was instant. Ramires left Francis Coquelin in a heap with a lunge, but referee Martin Atkinson waved play on. Cesar Azpilicueta’s superb pass put Mata clear, and the Spaniard finished coolly past Wojciech Szczesny.
Petr Cech turned Santi Cazorla’s shot round a post, but Arsenal were being overwhelmed. Eden Hazard saw his shot tipped round the post and Oscar drove over. But then Mata cleverly put Ramires free in the box.
Szczesny lunged out and brought the Brazilian down for the penalty – but was astonishingly only booked and not sent off. It did not matter. Lampard rattled home the spot kick, and the Gunners had a mountain to climb.
It could have been worse, Ramires shooting just wide and then Torres blazing over.
Arsenal, though, came out for the second half a different team and Cech was forced to make good saves from Per Mertesacker and Walcott.
They deservedly got one back when Walcott raced on to Cazorla’s pass to beat Cech. Arsenal threw themselves forward, but Walcott put a good chance wide, Thomas Vermaelen wasted a free-kick and Giroud headed straight at Cech.
Time and again Chelsea got a boot or a head in the way. Torres could have made sure but his touch was too heavy and Szczesny saved.
Demba Ba, on for Torres, could have also made it safe late on after rounding Szczesny on the edge of area, only for Vermaelen to block his shot.
But Chelsea made it over the line. Where Arsenal are is another matter.

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Star:

CHELSEA 2 - ARSENAL 1: RAFA GETS SOME HOME HELP
For once, the Blues and Benitez walked off the pitch with cheers

By Adrian Kajumba

STAMFORD BRIDGE is a happy home for Chelsea again – for now anyway.
There has been nothing but home discomfort for interim boss Rafa Benitez and his Blues over the last month.
But a derby win over London rivals ­Arsenal – and first Bridge win in four ­attempts – was just what Chelsea and ­Benitez needed.
For once, the Blues and Benitez walked off the pitch with cheers, rather than deafening jeers, ringing in their ears thanks to midfield duo Juan Mata and Frank Lampard’s early goals.
Theo Walcott hit back after the break for Arsenal, but the hosts survived the Gunners’ second-half onslaught to bag the points and stay third.
But it is now three games without a win and successive defeats for Arsene Wenger’s men, who are facing a fight to make the top four that few would back them to win.
It’s unlikely there will be much sympathy for Wenger from Benitez, who will surely be happy to let another boss face the flak for few days, rather than him.
The Spaniard, a massively controversial pick to succeed Champions League-winning coach Roberto Di Matteo, has been the prime target for the Blues boo-boys since day one.
But he has never altered his belief that wins will get the fans off his back, although he also knows that the negativity is only just around the corner.
Victory in this pulsating derby, in front of owner Roman Abramovich, and coming hot on the heels of Ashley Cole’s new deal, was not a bad way to try and get the ­supporters back on side.
Given their recent problems at home, the last thing Chelsea needed was a visit from Arsenal.
The Gunners have won more times at Stamford Bridge – seven – than any other Premier League team.
Oliver Giroud blew an early chance to set the home fans’ nerves jangling again after being played through by Walcott.
It took just a minute for Arsenal to find out how costly that miss was when Spanish star Mata showed Giroud how to finish to fire Chelsea ahead.
There was controversy about the Blues’ opener when referee Martin Atkinson missed a clear Ramires foul on Francis ­Coquelin While the Gunners grumbled, Chelsea charged forward and took the lead on six minutes.
Cesar Azpilicueta latched on to the loose ball, drove into Arsenal territory and chipped to Mata, who controlled ­instantly before giving keeper Wojciech Szczesny no chance with a rising drive.
Ten minutes later it was 2-0 after the ­rampant Blues carved all-at-sea Arsenal open again.
Mata found Ramires in acres of space in the box and the Brazilian was tripped by Szczesny as he tried to round him.
Szczesny escaped a red thanks to two backtracking defenders, but he did not survive conceding a second as Lampard sent him the wrong way from the spot.
The snow continued to fall and Arsenal looked in danger of being buried under an avalanche of goals as Chelsea cut through them at will.
But Hazard, Cole, Ramires andFernando Torres – sporting a short, new-look haircut – all wasted chances to put the game to bed before the break.
And Chelsea needed no telling about the dangers of a 2-0 lead, having blown one against Southampton midweek.
The way the Blues started the second half it looked like they had been gripped by the fear of a repeat of their midweek collapse against Saints.
All of a sudden, the mistakes started creeping in, they started dropping back, the crowd started getting anxious and the visitors finally woke up.
Per Mertesacker, Walcott and Giroud all went close before the goal Arsenal were threatening finally arrived on 58 minutes.
Just like for Chelsea’s opener, there were complaints about a foul in the build-up – this time after a Thomas Vermaelen ­challenge on Torres.
But, once again, Atkinson ignored the ­appeals and Santi Cazorla slipped through Walcott to fire past Petr Cech.
Chelsea were hanging on to what they had, though Torres, twice, and sub Demba Ba had chances on the break to make the closing stages less nervy.
They spurned them, however, and ­Benitez’s Blues hung on for a vital and ­welcome win.