Independent:
Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0
Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez rip Antonio Conte's side apart
Arsene Wenger's side produced their best performance in years to destroy Antonio Conte's team amid some very shaky defending
Jack Pitt-Brooke
There were moments out there, as Arsenal toyed with Chelsea and pulled them apart at will, when it felt like this was their moment of revenge for years of humiliation, and that they were revelling it. Arsenal destroyed Chelsea at the Emirates this afternoon, shredding their defence but also any suggestion that they might have an inferiority complex or a psychological block when it comes to this particular team. This was as close to a reversal of the 6-0 in 2014 as Arsenal will get. Even if they scored half as many goals, they were just as dominant.
This was the best Arsenal performance for years, the expressive expansive display they had often threatened since signing Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez but never quite delivered. The football was fast, imaginative and witty, the high standards the Arsene Wenger has always set his teams. There have been times recently when Wenger’s approach has looked outmoded but here, as his team improvised their way to chance after chance, he looked as relevant as ever.
This was exciting attacking football of the highest quality. Arsenal controlled possession when they needed to but also had the incisive edge they often lack. Sanchez is not everyone’s idea of a centre forward but he was indispensable to their game here, making and scoring the first, setting up the brilliant third, terrifying Chelsea with his movement at speed. Sanchez has started six of Arsenal’s eight games up front this season and this is why. Olivier Giroud is good against some opposition but has never scored against Chelsea. Here Arsenal posed them problems they did not know how to solve.
And yet as brilliant as Arsenal were, this still felt like a game that said more about the losing side. Arsenal have always had the potential to play like this, even if they never quite clicked. But Chelsea produced a display that was so bad, so desperately lacking in everything that Antonio Conte demands from a team, that is genuinely shocking to see. Chelsea were bad enough at times last season, but at least they had the excuse of the Jose Mourinho psychodrama and the ‘palpable discord’ with the squad. This was not that.
Every characteristic of a Conte team – organisation, hard work and concentration – was utterly lacking here. This was the eighth game of the Conte era at Stamford Bridge but they looked further away than ever from being the team he wants them to be. The defensive mess that saw them draw 2-2 with Swansea City and lose 2-1 to Liverpool was far more obvious and far more damaging. They were fortunate to get away without conceding twice as many as they did.
For Chelsea this was a terrifying insight into what life will be like without John Terry. The 35-year-old had been bullish about his chances of recovering from a foot injury in order to play but it did not happen in time. This left Gary Cahill and David Luiz together at centre-back, each man looking like he would far rather have been playing alongside Terry instead. The first goal came from Cahill’s struggle to play the high line Conte demands. The second from Chelsea sitting too deep and not pressuring Arsenal. The third from a well-executed counter-attack, with Cahill and Luiz chasing the same way.
How much of the blame for this should go on Conte? He is a coach proven at the highest level, with Juventus and Italy, not least when it comes to organising a defence. He was unimpressed by the defending last week but that had nothing on this. Clearly he does not have the players he wants, having wanted the club to sign more experienced quality over the summer. But good centre-backs are hard to find and until the transfer window re-opens he will have to work with what he has. Conte talks up the importance of his training ground work. He knows that he must do better than this.
It was clear from the very start that Chelsea could not stand Arsenal’s pressure. The first goal came when Cahill, stranded far up the pitch, was pickpocketed by Sanchez, who stormed through on goal and chipped Thibaut Courtois. That was just 10 minutes in and set the tempo for the whole afternoon.
Arsenal were passing the ball beautifully and Chelsea, confidence shattered, were giving them the gaps to play through. The second goal was a team move from Wenger’s dreams, ending when Alex Iwobi slipped into space and found Hector Bellerin, who crossed to Theo Walcott.
From that point it was a simple matter of how many Arsenal would score, and had they needed to aim for double figures they surely could have done. They started to showboat remarkably early and even their third goal had a hint of swagger: a two-man counter-attack that saw both Cahill and Luiz dragged towards Sanchez, freeing up Ozil to volley in off the post.
The second half could never live up to the first, but Chelsea did at least find some stability by switching to 3-4-3. Arsenal missed their chances to score more but it did not matter. They had already made their point
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Guardian:
Mesut Özil strike seals Arsenal’s impressive demolition of Chelsea
Arsenal 3 - 0
Dominic Fifield
The din from the majority that greeted the final whistle was an outpouring of joy after five years largely spent dreading this derby. Arsenal, rampant and irrepressible, have become the latest contenders to expose just how far Chelsea have slipped in the period since they claimed the Premier League. On this evidence, it is barely conceivable that those in blue had hoisted the trophy only 16 months ago. Their current, dishevelled selection surrendered meekly here, just as they had to Liverpool the previous week, from the moment they were breached. It ended up as a brutal humiliation to endure.
Arsène Wenger will hardly care, with this an exorcism of sorts of the “inconvenient facts” thrown up by his side’s recent record against these opponents. Even in his wildest dreams, the Frenchman could never have contemplated celebrating two decades in charge in such a wildly authoritative manner. Retreat to 2003 and Chelsea, with their Russian oligarch owner recently in situ, were arguably the club who most undermined Wenger’s original project by shifting the landscape just as the Invincibles were threatening a period of dominance. In that context, the Arsenal manager took particular pleasure in seeing his side inflict this drubbing in such scintillating fashion.
Not since Robin van Persie had run riot at Stamford Bridge in the distant days of André Villas-Boas’s dysfunctional tenure across the capital had Arsenal achieved such a satisfying return from this fixture. They had not even managed a goal in the teams’ previous six meetings. This was the home side making up for lost time, tearing into vulnerable rivals and ruthlessly cutting them to shreds. “We did it with style and steel,” offered Wenger. “You always want the perfect game but you never get it. But we got almost the perfect first half here, and that is not bad.” That smacked of understatement.
It was the pace and invention of their attacking approach that rendered Chelsea so helpless though, in truth, they were only emulating what Liverpool had inflicted upon these ramshackle opponents eight days previously. Jürgen Klopp’s side had bypassed this same rearguard with their own blend of pace of pass and speed of thought. Everyone knows that Arsenal, on their day, can match that upbeat rhythm. What is becoming increasingly clear, with each passing week and stuttering defensive display, is that Antonio Conte cannot perform miracles with this Chelsea team to repel it. Their rearguard looks broken.
The manager actually questioned his players’ attitude, reminding them publicly and repeatedly that, at present, “we are a great team only on paper, and not on the pitch”. Even that theory might be flawed if it was the mid-table slump of 2016, rather than the title of 2015, which better reflects this team’s abilities. Conte, his hackles raised, urged his players to prove their quality through his post-match monotone, but his patience is clearly running thin. This team’s creaking defence, a backline too fragile to provide any kind of platform for a title challenge, is a constant concern. Without John Terry’s organisational skills they looked utterly rudderless, but to be reliant upon a 35-year-old who has been surviving on one-year contract extensions for three seasons seems vaguely ludicrous.
The ease with which Arsenal waltzed through the visitors’ ranks, whether the attacks were led by a revived Theo Walcott and Mesut Özil, or Alex Iwobi and Alexis Sánchez, was inexcusable. Özil was showboating on the touchline before the interval in the afterglow of his goal, volleyed down and into the turf to loop over Thibaut Courtois and dribble in off the far post. That chance had stemmed from the German’s sprint from deep, away from N’Golo Kanté, and then an exchange with Sánchez which rendered David Luiz and Gary Cahill dazed and confused. At times this felt cruel. It was certainly all too easily inflicted.
Chelsea’s backline were strangers groping in the dark. They had shipped twice within 141 seconds early on and, while Arsenal’s second was a thing of beauty, the first had shattered any conviction that lingered in the visitors’ ranks. Branislav Ivanovic’s back pass was unhelpful at best, awkward at worst, but Cahill should still have dealt with it. Instead, he dawdled on the ball, perhaps contemplating a lay-off to Courtois, and was duly dispossessed by the galloping Sánchez. The Chilean advanced and calmly clipped his finish over the advancing goalkeeper. At Swansea, Cahill had been fouled by the eventual scorer, Leroy Fer, in a similar scenario. Here he was culpable.
Thereafter Arsenal dazzled. The slick delivery and clever movement that dragged Chelsea horribly out of position moments later took the breath away, Özil twice zipping passes to the excellent Iwobi before the youngster slipped Héctor Bellerín free beyond a dizzied Eden Hazard. All resistance melted away. Bellerín slid his centre across for Walcott to score first time and, over on the touchline, Conte spun on his heels, hand clamped to his chin and disgust etched across his brow.
So limp have his side’s first-half showings been over the last month that he must have his half-time admonishments preprepared and polished by now. At Leicester in the League Cup in midweek they had sparked a revival but there was to be no riposte here. Petr Cech, a European Cup winner in blue, blocked Michy Batshuayi’s attempt six minutes from time, but that was Chelsea’s only meaningful effort on target all evening. Cahill and Courtois were bickering before the end, the centre-half infuriated by the Belgian’s hesitancy in collecting a loose ball. That rather summed it all up. The visitors could not escape soon enough, with Arsenal’s celebrations hounding them from the arena.
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Telegraph:
Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0: For once this was the perfect party for an Arsene Wenger anniversary
PAUL HAYWARD
After all the false dawns, a cynic would say Arsene Wenger has as much chance of winning the Premier League as Jeremy Corbyn has of winning a general election from his constituency of Islington North. But at least the 20th anniversary of Wenger’s arrival on Corbyn’s patch met little resistance from the opposition in blue.
Anniversaries have tended to be painful occasions for the longest-serving Premier League manager, the embodiment of stubbornness in a capricious world. Wenger’s 500th match in charge brought a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. His 1,000th game was humiliating – a 6-0 beating at Stamford Bridge that really did feel like the beginning of the end for a manager obsessed with a good idea gone bad.
If Wenger could have designed his 20th anniversary shindig, it would surely have featured a resounding victory over Chelsea, the West London fortress from where Jose Mourinho fired so many personal attacks. “Yes, I would like us to be 3-0 up after 40 minutes,” Wenger might have told the party planners, “with goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil, scored against a shambolic Chelsea defence, with the home crowd ecstatic.”
Well, Wenger was granted all those pleasures, as the frailties exposed by Liverpool at Stamford Bridge expressed themselves again on the other side of London. First, though, we ought to acknowledge the lethal silkiness of Arsenal’s attacking: the sweep and syncopation of their forward play, which is Wenger’s idea of heaven.
A training video of the idea that has driven him for two decades would look a lot like Arsenal’s second goal here, with its side-to-side swagger, which left Chelsea’s defenders dazed and confused. Or their third, made up of sweet interplay between Ozil and Sanchez, with an Ozil volley driven into the ground and over Thibaut Courtois.
Wenger was due a happy landmark day, especially as Chelsea have caused him so much bother down the years. The Arsenal manager won 15 of his first 27 confrontations with Chelsea but only five of the next 27 as their London rivals perfected the art of burrowing under his skin (and seeing Arsenal players sent off). Chelsea had not lost to the Gunners in nine Premier League fixtures and were unbeaten in the league here at the Emirates Stadium since 2010.
Strictly, Wenger first stepped into the dug-out on October 1, but this week brought the 20th anniversary of his appointment, returning us to a time when footballers supposedly had steak and ale pie and chips for breakfast, followed by six pints of lager and a jumbo packet of cheese and onion crisps for lunch. Talk of the “impact” Wenger made on English football sounds a little dated now, because the whole game is unrecognisable from the world he entered in 1996.
He certainly made an impact on Chelsea, who have been given the runaround by two good sets of attackers within nine days. Specifically, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic are currently a liability in Antonio Conte’s back-four. They conspired in Arsenal’s opening goal when Ivanovic played a risky pass back to Cahill and the England centre-back miss-controlled it, allowing Sanchez to surge through and finish with a delightful chip.
From there Conte’s rearguard were a mess of backpedalling, poor coordination and panic on the edge of their penalty box. It is a travesty for Chelsea’s fans that their team remain so reliant on the 35 year-old John Terry, who is still injured. Without him, the basic art of stopping breaks down, and the back-four’s confidence seems to go. The discomfort only grew when Ivanovic blasted a shot over from long-range with 23 minutes left and Conte turned away, unable to take any more.
By then Arsenal had wasted several chances to push the scoreboard towards the 6-0 of two years ago, only this time with Chelsea on the receiving end. Wenger could be forgiven a flash of schadenfreude too when Cesc Fabregas was hooked by Conte early in the second-half. Fabregas, of course, was one of the leaders of Arsenal’s talent drain.
The beauty of sport is that it’s unscripted. But sometimes you feel we already know the Arsenal story, or how it will turn out. It will be a tale of radiant periods followed by confusion, let-downs and anger. At the centre of every discussion will be Wenger, who has presided over 1,128 games over 7,299 days in charge.
Is he like a great actor who has hung on too long, leaving the audience wanting less, not more? Is this the longest masterpiece ever in the making or will it always lead inexorably to second, third or fourth place – and a Champions League second-round exit? These big questions will not go away just because Arsenal blew away a disorganised Chelsea side inside 40 minutes. But it was quite something to see Wenger, 20 years on, doing unto a major rival what the major rival had done unto him. Quite something, in fact, to see him chasing the same ideal, two decades after he first made it his manifesto here in England.
Reverting to a less appealing type, Arsenal tried to gild the lily with their forward play in the second-half, while Chelsea switched to a back three in desperation. Successive defeats in London to Liverpool and Arsenal suggest Chelsea have a lot of thinking to do about how they build their squads.
The former Arsenal vice-chairman, David Dein, has revealed that when he first socialised with Wenger the club’s future manager acted out scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a game of charades. Presumably he recited the line: “The course of true love never did run smooth.” It ran nice and smoothly here.
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Mail:
Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea:
Gunners brush aside London rivals as Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil lead first-half blitz for Arsene Wenger's side
By ROB DRAPER
If there was a better way to celebrate the imminent 20th anniversary of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, then it’s hard to imagine what it would have entailed. Maybe a result such as this against a Chelsea team managed by Jose Mourinho would have topped Saturday evening. Not much else.
The analysis of Wenger’s 20 years has essentially been condensed down to a Sven-Goran Eriksson team talk: ‘First half good; second half, not so good.’ But on Saturday at The Emirates it was like a throwback to happier days at Highbury, as though this team wanted to remind him of that glorious past. Maybe they even dared dream of something similar emerging in the future, before Wenger retires.
Nothing has illustrated the difference in Wenger’s first 10 years and the last 10 years more clearly than the club’s performances against Chelsea. For a decade west London’s arriviste team couldn’t get close to them in Premier League clashes; but having finally overcome them decisively in the 2005-06 season, it has seemed as though they would never loosen their hold.
Theo Walcott's goal summed up a brilliant day for Arsenal, the England man on the end of a flowing team move to make it 2-0 to the home side during a thrilling first half.
Chelsea’s treatment of Arsenal in the last 10 years has been close to systematic bullying at times. A 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge and the odd victory notwithstanding, Arsenal have generally collapsed and disintegrated at the sight of Chelsea.
As such, this was a bizarre role reversal. There was the slow, disjointed side conceding space aplenty at the back and unable to defend counter attacks. And there was a team of predators hunting down a weary, weakened opponent. In short, all the ingredients of an Arsenal-Chelsea match, just with the identities switched.
The significance was acknowledged by Wenger.
‘I would be tempted to say it was one of the best performances in recent years,’ he said. ‘It was one of those moments in your life where you think: “Ok, today is a great day.” In the first half I think it was nearly perfect. We have shown great quality, we played with style, with pace, with movement, and that’s the kind of football we want to play.
‘I said before the game we have to deal with some inconvenient facts and I’m aware we couldn’t beat Chelsea for years and getting that out of the system was at stake. What was important for me was that the psychological hurdle doesn’t stand in your way.’
As for the future, though it is obvious one fine half does not a title challenge make, Wenger must at least feel as optimistic as he has done for years.
‘I’m hungrier because I know I don’t have 20 years in front of me,’ he said, reflecting on his milestone. ‘And because I feel the responsibility more. The weight of keeping people happy is heavier than when I arrived.’
Arsenal were impressive in all areas, pressing the ball with a ferocity rarely seen here, and unsettling Chelsea from the off. Theo Walcott, Hector Bellerin, Alex Iwobi and Shkodran Mustafi were all superb as was Mesut Ozil, though that was to be expected. That said, it was Alexis Sanchez who led the way, not just with his finishing and assists, but with his intensity and sheer bloody mindedness. He was outstanding.
By contrast, for Gary Cahill it was a miserable afternoon. Even if we can agree he was fouled by Leroy Fer at Swansea last week, Sanchez sniffed a vulnerability. So when Branislav Ivanovic rolled the ball back to Cahill on 10 minutes, the Chilean was hassling and harrying, robbing the ball and advancing on goal before delivering the exquisite chip over Thibaut Courtois to make it 1-0.
Arsenal looked in the mood to exploit Chelsea’s disarray.
They moved the ball crisply and aggressively, Iwobi at the heart of the move in the 14th minute which pulled Chelsea one way, then the other to release Bellerin, who pulled the ball back for Walcott to convert from close range. Usually it is Arsenal who capitulate within 15 minutes of this fixture. It all felt decidedly surreal.
It wasn’t just the old guard, such as Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic who looked utterly unfit for purpose for Chelsea.
N’Golo Kante was awfully ponderous when Ozil robbed him on 40 minutes. The man who defied running stats last season was last seen jogging back as the German sprinted clean away, exchanged passes with Sanchez, and shot it into the ground to see the ball loop over Courtois, hit the post and rebound into the net.
Chelsea had been out-run, out-battled and out-classed. And it is hard to see this side improving soon; the malaise of last season seems to cut too deeply into their psyche, as Conte conceded.
‘We must work a lot to improve because I think we are a great team only on paper, not on the pitch,’ he said.
‘I prefer to be a great team on the pitch because that is the truth. The pitch is the most important thing; not words. I think there are many difficulties but if we understand this, I think we are in a great position to recover.’
It took just one break from Walcott in the second half and a cross with which Sanchez so nearly connected, to prompt substitutions. Cesc Fabregas, on a miserable return home, was the man withdrawn. Marcos Alonso came on as Chelsea reverted to a back three.
It stemmed the tide of attacks for a while but didn’t threaten Arsenal. Eden Hazard and Willian were sacrificed for Pedro and Michy Batshuayi on 70 minutes. But when Pedro did appear to get a chance on goal on 73 minutes, the extraordinary pace of Bellerin and an exquisite tackle saved Arsenal. Then it was Petr Cech off his line on 84 minutes to deny Batshuayi.
In truth it was all a little late by then anyway. Arsenal had assumed a dominance more akin to the double winning side of 1998 or the Invicibles by then.
And it’s a long time since they’ve been able to say that; almost 10 years, in fact.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Cech 6.5; Bellerin 8, Mustafi 8, Koscielny 8, Monreal 7; Coquelin 6.5 (Xhaka 32, 7), Cazorla 7.5, Iwobi 7.5 (Gibbs 69, 6.5), Ozil 8, Walcott 7.5; Sanchez 8.5 (Giroud 79, 6)
SUBS NOT USED: Ospina, Perez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Holding
SCORER: Sanchez 11, Walcott 14, Ozil 40
MANAGER: Arsene Wenger 8
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Courtois 6.5; Ivanovic 5.5, Cahill 4, Luiz 5.5, Azpilicueta 5.5; Kante 6, Matic 6.5; Willian 6.5 (Pedro 71, 5.5), Fabregas 5 (Alonso 55, 6), Hazard 6.5 (Batshuayi 71, 6); Costa 6
SUBS NOT USED: Begovic, Oscar, Moses, Chalobah
BOOKED: Ivanovic, Costa
MANAGER: Antonio Conte 5.5
REFEREE: Michael Oliver 7
ATTENDANCE: 60,028
MOTM: Alexis Sanchez
* Ratings by Sami Mokbel
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Mirror:
Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea: Arsene Wenger finally ends hoodoo as Gunners run riot - 5 things we learned
BY DARREN LEWIS
Goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil saw the Gunners take the Blues apart in a mesmerising performance at the Emirates
Arsene Wenger finally ended his Chelsea hoodoo by inspiring Arsenal to their first league win over their London rivals since 2011.
Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring in the 11th minute, racing clear after seizing on a Gary Cahill mistake.
Theo Walcott added a second just two and a half minutes later, converting from close range from Hector Bellerin’s ball across the box.
The two goals for Wenger’s side had come after six games without scoring against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The impressive Mesut Ozil added a third, five minutes from half-time, when he volleyed home from Sanchez’s ball across the box.
The defeat for Antonio Conte’s side means that they are now winless in their last four in all competitions after falling 2-0 behind in three of them.
Here's five things we learned:
1. Chelsea’s psychological hold over Arsenal is over
It wasn’t just the impressive manner of the Gunners’ crushing victory.
It was their desire to wipe out the “inconvenient facts” (Wenger’s description) of the last few years. Before today Chelsea had been unbeaten in their last nine against Arsenal, failing to score a single goal in six of them.
From the outset here Arsene Wenger’s men were at the Blues throat and kept their foot on it once they went ahead. This wasn’t just a win for Arsenal, this was catharsis. This was demolition.
2. Chelsea as we know them are finished
The Chelsea as we know it is finished. The squad built by Jose Mourinho did well to win the title two seasons ago but a number of this team are no longer up to it.
It is going to be a long season for Conte who will obviously not admit as much but will know that a number of the squad slaughtered here in north London will not be back in a years’ time.
Conte was passive on the touchline as Arsenal ripped through his side to go 2-0 up during the first 14 minutes because he knew that there was little he could do. The Blues are a stale, tired, creaking side whose best days are gone. Arsenal could - and should - have scored even more during that remarkable first 45 minutes.
Chelsea have gone 2-0 down in each of their last three games now.
Questions will be asked about the young, exciting talents perennially farmed out on loan to leagues such as the Bundesliga when they should be freshening up the Blues’ squad.
Chelsea may not want to spend big on defenders, balking at the spiralling prices during the summer for the likes of Leonardo Bonucci at Juventus and others. But they need to. The manner in which Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez left them in sprawled on the Emirates turf for the second goal summed them up right now.
3. And so is Fabregas
He hadn’t started a Premier League game before this demolition and now we know why.
Fabregas fiddled while his old side burned a hole in the Chelsea defence and poured through it.
With the Blues 2-0 down he was booed by the Arsenal fans he spurned for Barcelona two years ago and while the Chelsea faithful finally accepted the reason why Conte has not been having him.
It was a surprise to see him start the second half. It was no surprise to see him last just nine minutes of it. It may be some time before he starts a Premier League game for Chelsea again.
4. It wasn't Costa's night
At times you felt for the Chelsea striker, who appeared to be holding down the fort all by himself. He was hungry and at it but too few of his team-mates followed his lead.
In addition, Costa received far too little protection from referee Michael Oliver as Arsenal’s players engaged in a series of nibbles at him.
His goals against West Ham, Watford and Swansea have papered over the cracks. Here, the full extent of the trouble with Chelsea was laid bare.
5. But it was Ozil's
So much for the big guy being a flat-track bully.
Ozil was one of the biggest thorns in Chelsea’s He glided past Chelsea players as if they were not there. He threaded passes through the Blues’ backline all evening.
So it was fitting that he should benefit from one, finishing superbly from Sanchez’s return ball five minutes before the break.
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Sun:
THREESY DOES IT Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0:
Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil all on the scoresheet as Antonio Conte’s hapless Blues are ripped apart
Conte's Chelsea bullied and outplayed by their North London rivals in one-sided derby at the Emirates
BY ANDREW DILLON AND JIM SHERIDAN
ARSENAL gave Arsene Wenger an anniversary present to remember as they tore Chelsea apart at the Emirates.
Goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil stunned Antonio Conte‘s side, who struggled playing the ball out from the back in a frantic first period.
The Gunners frontmen continually got in behind during the first 45 minutes and ran the back three of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic ragged.
Sanchez finished easily after a poor Cahill backpass put him one-on-one, before Walcott doubled the lead just two minutes later.
And Ozil all but wrapped up the three points just before the break, volleying in after a wonderful move which began with him spinning N'Golo Kante on the edge of his own box.
Chelsea improved in the second half but rarely threatened a comeback - and couldn't even muster a shot on target.
STATS, FACTS, GOALS & LOLS
Arsene Wenger has not won a match in which Michael Oliver was the ref in eight attempts before fortune changed last night.
Antonio Conte claims he can regenerate Chelsea’s defence. Yet before kick off his team had kept only one clean sheet compared to three at the same stage last year.
Chelsea were 2-0 down after only 14 minutes - a full 20 quicker than when they went two down against Leicester on Tuesday in the EFL Cup.
This stunning result is Arsenal’s first Premier League win over Chelsea since October 29 2011 - a 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge.
That was also the last time The Gunners scored three goals against their nemesis.
Furious Chelsea boss Antonio Conte kept the same XI on the pitch for the second half - refusing to let anyone hide away on the subs bench.
Cesc Fabregas’s substitution in the 55th minute meant Conte was able to deploy a three-at-the-back defensive system - his favoured one - for the first time this season.
Gary Cahill - architect of the disastrous first goal - openly rounded on Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois for dithering in the second half in a display of dissension in the ranks.
Conte couldn’t help but turn away in disgust when failing right back Branislav Ivanovic sent a desperate toe punt high over the goal in the 66th minute.
Fair play to Chelsea fans - they stayed and sang when the cause was lost - taunting Arsenal about their lack of a European Cup.
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
ARSENAL: Cech 7, Bellerin 7, Mustafi 7, Koscielny 8, Monreal 7, Cazorla 6, Coquelin 6 (Xhaka 6), Walcott 7, Ozil 8, Iwobi 6 (Gibbs 6), Sanchez 8 (Giroud 5)
Subs not used: Perez, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Holding
Goals: Sanchez 11, Walcott 14, Ozil 40
CHELSEA: Courtois 6, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 5, Luiz 6, Azpilicueta 6, Kante 6, Willian 6 (Pedro 6), Fabregas 5 (Alonso 6), Matic 6, Hazard 6 (Batshuayi 6) Costa 6
Subs not used: Begovic, Oscar, Moses, Chalobah
Booked: Ivanovic, Costa
STAR MAN: MESUT OZIL, 8
WHAT THEY SAID
Antonio Conte: "Now we are a great team on paper, not on the pitch."
"We are together in good times and bad times. I hope through work we have more good times than bad times."
Arsene Wenger: "There's room for improvement... [but] it's one of the best performances in recent years.
"It's one of those moments in your life as a manager where you think 'today is a great day'."
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Star:
Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0: Sanchez, Walcott and Ozil put Conte's side to the sword
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Arsene Wenger.
By Tony Stenson
The Frenchman celebrates 20 years as Arsenal manager this week and it could have been a damp squib against a side that has proved his nemesis since he moved to these shores.
So he certainly would not have expected Chelsea’s Gary Cahill to deliver his first gift.
The England defender hit a horrific back pass to let in Alexis Sanchez to fire Arsenal ahead.
And three minutes later it was party time, as Theo Walcott added the second.
Wenger had not enjoyed a win in nine games against Chelsea – but this was payback time and his team was up for the challenge.
Alexis Sanchez played to his full potential, Mesut Ozil oozed quality while Walcott was a constant menace.
Then there was Hector Bellerin, masterful in defence. This was Arsenal in their pomp.
Chelsea offered isolated threats but Diego Costa has never been one to throw in the towel. His hot temper finally got him a yellow card but it might have been a different result if several of his team-mates had shown the same level of commitment.
Little was seen of Eden Hazard, Willian or Cesc Fabregas, although Costa kept Arsenal’s defence on full alert.
The real quality came from Arsenal, though, with what was the best first-half performance many fans will have seen for years.
Wenger recalled a host of stars after making 11 changes from Tuesday night’s EFL Cup win at Nottingham Forest and it worked.
This was the Gunners boss’s 55th game against Chelsea – he has only faced more against Manchester United – and it could not have been sweeter, particularly during his wrestling days with Jose Mourinho.
Five wins now gives Arsenal their best start for over a year and it could not have begun better when Cahill miscued a back pass and Sanchez raced on to score after 11 minutes.
And Cahill was still holding his head in his hands when Arsenal struck again. Alex Iwobi fed Bellerin out wide on the right and his cross was sweetly turned home by Walcott.
Then it became almost showtime as Arsenal moved through the gears, having more power in defence, midfield and certainly in attack than the Blues.
The tension was high as these famous London clubs collided once more.
Tackles were flying in, making it a full-blooded game for fans and neutrals alike.
As for Chelsea supporters, they must be wondering what is going on after their fine start to the campaign.
There is certainly something missing , particularly in midfield, where there is not enough creativity.
Their defence is also looking rocky and boss Antonio Conte has a huge task ahead to restore them to their former glories.
At least Chelsea have Costa, a bull of striker who never says never. He was booed by Arsenal fans every time he touched the ball but that only made him more menacing.
He was forever in the action when Chelsea went forward, winning free-kicks as tackles thundered in on him.
But then came the killing blow as Ozil fed Sanchez, who raced the length of the pitch, Sanchez returned his pass and it was all over.
Arsenal march on but Chelsea manager Conte faces the kind of worried days that have haunted those who have gone before him. Can he survive? Owner Roman Abramovich has a short fuse.
Wenger said: “It was an outstanding team performance. We played with spirit and collective pace and movement. Always in a positive and committed team way.
“Our defenders have done extremely well today. You cannot say one player was not at the right level from Petr Cech to Alexis Sanchez.
“We wanted to start strong in a high pace and committed way.
“We started wobbly in the first 20 minutes against Southampton. We wanted to be consistent in our pressure no matter the score and we did it very well in the first half. It was in and out in the second, which was understandable.
“Ideally you want the perfect game but you never get it. We got nearly the perfect first half and that is not bad.
“Football doesn’t care for history and the anniversaries, just the result on the day. Today we had a good performance.”
ARSENAL: Cech 6; Bellerin 6, Mustafi 6, Koscielny 6, Monreal 6; Coquelin 6 (Xhaka (31st) 6), Cazorla 6; Iwboi 6 (Gibbs 80th), Ozil 6, Walcott 6; Sanchez 7 (Giroud 79th).
CHELSEA: Courtois 6; Ivanovic 6,Cahill 6, Luis 6, Azpilcueta 6; Fabregas 5 (Alonso 47th) 5), Kante 6; Hazard 5 (Batshuayi 80th), Matic 5 Willian 5 (Pedro 80th); Costa 6.
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Express:
Arsenal 3 - Chelsea 0: First win over Blues in five years sends message to title rivals
ARSENE WENGER celebrated his 20th anniversary as manager of Arsenal with a reminder to the world that his teams can still play sumptuous football filled with the swagger of potential champions.
By JIM HOLDEN
A magnificent all-round display delivered a stylish destruction of Chelsea, rivals who have so often left Wenger in the shade in recent times.
Don’t be fooled by the scoreline. This victory was an emphatic statement by Wenger’s class of 2016, and the margin could have been several goals more.
If the dynamism of Alexis Sanchez was the heartbeat of the triumph, the value of the sturdy defending by newcomer Shkodran Mustafi to stifle the threat of Chelsea striker Diego Costa should not be underestimated.
Rarely, too, can Theo Walcott have been so influential to a major victory.
Arsenal’s skill and passion was a joy to watch in the first half as they tore at Chelsea – and a cavalcade of goals was the rich reward for the diamond precision of their passing and the energy of their running.
The first goal, though, was a gift from Antonio Conte’s team in the 11th minute. England defender Gary Cahill dithered close to the halfway line and had the ball stolen from him by Sanchez, who scampered clear and found the net with a delicate chip past keeper Thibaut Courtois.
It is not the first time this season Cahill has been vulnerable in this fashion. How long before it puts his England place in jeopardy?
Three minutes later Arsenal were 2-0 up; this time the goal all of their own making in a slick passing sequence that symbolised all the virtues of Wenger’s 20 years at the helm. Mesut Ozil and Sanchez were both involved before a low pass from Hector Bellerin across the Chelsea box was tapped in by Walcott.
Before half-time it was 3-0 to the Gunners, with another gorgeous goal on the counter-attack.
Ozil began the charge by nicking the ball away from N’Golo Kante close to Arsenal’s own area and fed Sanchez. The German kept running and finished off the move with a volley that went in off a post.
The home crowd were in raptures.
Conte, by contrast, was astonished by the demolition of his team, yet made no changes at the half-time break. The Italian doesn’t smile too much at the best of times, and you had to think some serious words were spoken in the dressing room to match his severe demeanour.
When he did make a change it was to introduce a defender, Marcos Alonso in place of the utterly anonymous Cesc Fabregas. It meant a switch of formation to the 3-5-2 system that Conte has always favoured previously as a manager.
Was this the moment that Conte began his Chelsea revolution?
He certainly needs to impose his authority on the team, and swiftly. The pattern of the game had remained the same after the interval, with Arsenal sweeping forward in swift attacks, but now wasting a couple of chances with over- elaboration.
Walcott might have scored in the 69th minute as he darted into the box, but Courtois made a superb save.
Nevertheless, the three-goal victory catapulted the Gunners up to third place in the table above Liverpool and Manchester United.
This was the 1,128th match Arsenal have played under the charge of Arsene Wenger. Very few will have been more satisfying to the veteran football manager, who keeps on dreaming of winning another Premier League title.
