Observer:
Eden Hazard mesmerises Arsenal to tighten Chelsea’s Premier League grip
Chelsea 3 - 1 Arsenal
Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge
Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to this renascent Chelsea side, now the title race is starting to feel like a procession and we might be witnessing one of the great managerial performances of the modern era, is that there is still three months to go and it is difficult to see even a flicker of hope for the teams in their wing-mirrors.
What other conclusion can be drawn after the latest triumph from the Premier League’s runaway leaders and another day when it was laid out in precise terms why Antonio Conte’s men are pulling clear, with the chasing pack little more than a speck in the distance? Chelsea have won all but one of their home matches this season. A team who finished 10th last season have reinvented themselves as champions-in-waiting, averaging close to two and a half points a game, and in the process they have also managed to bring forward what is now firmly established as the annual Arsenal meltdown. First versus third, at the start of play, was nothing like as close as might have been anticipated.
Instead, it became another demonstration of why Arsène Wenger was horribly mistaken to believe his watery, lightweight team might be authentic title challengers and, with four defeats in their past nine league fixtures, the most pertinent question for Arsenal now is not whether they can make up the 12-point gap to Chelsea but if they have the fortitude to continue their long sequence of top-four finishes.
That cannot be guaranteed on the evidence provided by an afternoon memorable for Conte indulging in some impromptu crowd-surfing after Eden Hazard had waltzed through the visitors’ defence to make it 2-0 with a piece of individual brilliance. Hazard chose a good day to put in his best performance of the season and it was a wonderfully taken goal from the player whose decline epitomised the team’s shortcomings last season.
At this stage a year ago, Chelsea had 29 points and were languishing in 13th position, closer to the relegation zone than the top five. Their latest win puts them on 59 points and there is nothing whatsoever to suggest they might be susceptible to the kind of loss of nerve that might endanger other sides in this position. Arsenal, for one.
Wenger’s team have now lost in their past five visits to Stamford Bridge, with a combined score of 15-2, and perhaps the most alarming aspect for a team who last won the league 13 years ago is that it is the same deficiencies on each occasion. Every time, we come away with questions about Arsenal’s strength of personality. Once again, we saw a key game unfold without any meaningful contribution from Mesut Özil and came away wondering whether they were too fragile, mentally and physically, to sustain a title challenge – and what that said about a manager who has lost the art of assembling durable championship contenders.
Alexis Sánchez has rarely been so peripheral and the game became a personal ordeal for Petr Cech, returning to the ground where he experienced so many career highs, five minutes from the end of normal time when the goalkeeper misdirected a kick to gave the ball straight to a player in blue. That player happened to be Cesc Fàbregas, once of Arsenal, and someone of his refinement was unlikely to pass up this kind of gift, lifting the ball into an exposed goal.
The lesson for Arsenal is an old one: that no team can defend this generously and expect to get away with it. Hazard’s goal was a beauty but a more resilient side would never have allowed him to run so far. Hazard eluded four Arsenal players before aiming his shot past Cech and it probably typified the match that his 40-yard slalom began with one of the smallest players on the pitch outmuscling Francis Coquelin, supposedly Arsenal’s midfield protector.
This, however, was the theme of an afternoon in which Olivier Giroud’s stoppage-time header had little bearing other than to raise questions about whether the Frenchman should have been involved from the start rather than being used as a late substitute.
Wenger complained afterwards that Chelsea’s opening goal should not have stood because Marcos Alonso had flattened Héctor Bellerín in the process with a flying elbow and it was certainly an almighty whack that the Arsenal defender took to the side of the head.
Yet Wenger should also reflect on the fact it was Bellerín who challenged Diego Costa moments earlier when the Chelsea striker had the initial attempt at goal, and the same defender who was involved again after the ball struck the crossbar, looped up and dropped into the six-yard area. In those moments, not one of Bellerín’s team-mates helped out. Indeed, closer analysis of the goal showed Theo Walcott, the nearest player to Alonso, drifting half-heartedly back rather than showing any real desire to involve himself. Walcott’s lackadaisical efforts, coupled with Coquelin’s inability to sense danger, wer brutally exposed by Alonso’s determination to get to the ball first.
Chelsea had the mix of Costa’s power, Hazard’s nimble running and a midfielder, N’Golo Kanté, who did not give his opponents a minute’s peace. They looked stronger physically and, all the time, Conte stalked the touchline, throwing out his arms, screaming to the skies and doing a fine impression of someone whose shoes were on fire. To see the Italian is to understand why Chelsea’s players dare not lower their standards.
Gabriel, who replaced Bellerín, had a chance to equalise with a first-half header but Wenger acknowledged afterwards there was never any part of the match when the away side put their opponents under prolonged pressure. Chelsea, he said, looked like champions, playing with “full confidence – they’re powerful, strong and they don’t concede goals”. Everything, indeed, that Arsenal are not.
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Independent:
Lacking in fight, it's the same old story for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. Humiliated by Chelsea and out of the title race
Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal: Devoid of fight or belief, Arsenal are out of the title picture and battling just for a top four spot
Miguel Delaney Stamford Bridge
Chelsea continue to streak away with the title, precisely because this fixture continued the trend of the majority of its meetings over the past half-decade.
Arsenal of course lost, but there was still just enough controversy about one of the key moments to argue about that, rather than looking to why this pattern keeps repeating. A Chelsea team so clearly out for revenge for September’s 3-0 defeat the Emirates didn’t even need to be that good to win 3-1 here, even if Eden Hazard’s 53rd-minute points-sealing goal was brilliant. That decisive moment also defined the game. Chelsea showed their talent, but they were greatly aided by galling Arsenal meekness. The pathetic attempts at challenges by Francis Coquelin and Laurent Koscielny were as frustrating as Theo Walcott’s dereliction of duty for the first.
It was that 13th-minute strike that set the match, and was admittedly surrounded in controversy and debate.
After Victor Moses so easily got clear of Walcott to cross for Diego Costa to hit the bar, Marcos Alonso jumped forcefully - and aggressively - to beat Hector Bellerin to the ball and head home. The wing-back’s elbow also made clear contact with the Arsenal player’s head, meaning Bellerin had to go off injured. Had the goal been disallowed and Alonso booked, it would have been understandable.
Given that it took replays and slow-motion to properly spot that, and that there was still room for argument, it was equally understandable that an unsighted Martin Atkinson did not disallow it.
Debate on that will rage in a predictably dull manner, despite the unfair reality that referees do not have the benefit of the same technology as everyone watching on. It will happen.
What should happen, however, and what should be the real debate, should be over Arsenal’s response.
That should be the deep frustration about this game, not least for the fact that it happens so often, and has done for so many seasons.
Even if - rightly or wrongly - they were aggrieved about Alonso’s goal, they should have used such a sense of injustice to fire their reaction, to respond with the aggression required to get back at Chelsea and beat them.
It recalls Jock Stein’s famous team talk at half-time of the 1967 European Cup final, when his Celtic players were complaining about the early penalty that had given Internazionale the lead.
“If you have a grievance about the referee, there is only one bunch of people who can do anything about it: you. Go out and right it yourselves.”
Celtic did so, winning that match 2-1. Arsenal did the opposite. They collapsed, pathetically.
Chelsea got revenge for that September 3-0, but didn’t even need to be at full charge. Again, the frustration for Arsenal should be that Antonio Conte’s side did look there for the taking and a touch too complacent after going a goal ahead.
With Wenger forced to sit in the stand due to his touchline ban and forced to change his team due to absences in midfield, his impressively pragmatic 4-3-3 did initially seem to work. Arsenal did start well but, when they went behind, finished appallingly when trying to get back into it.
Gabriel should have scored a 38th-minute free header when Oxlade-Chamberlain clipped in a nice cross, Mesut Ozil should have shown much more conviction when left free in the Chelsea box moments later.
Thibaut Courtois was equal to both and it ensured that, by the end, Arsenal were nowhere near equals to Chelsea.
They are 12 points clear, as was made certain when none of their players could get close to Hazard for that second goal.
Running from the halfway line, the playmaker’s movement was brilliant, but still didn’t seem quite that brilliant to so easily leave Coquelin on the ground and Laurent Koscielny turned inside out.
They were as irrelevant to that goal as Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were to the game.
By that point, the odd moment where Courtois had to push away an Alex Iwobi header or Gary Cahill had to clear aside, Chelsea were cruising. N’Golo Kante had gone from forcefully clearing up so many Arsenal attacks to now easily surging up the pitch.
Cesc Fabregas then came on to lift the onto another level by taking advantage of a Petr Cech error to lift it over his head. Olivier Giroud did get a consolation, but there were barely even ironic celebrations.
There is nothing ironic about Arsenal by now. It’s the same story over and over and over again.
By contrast, Chelsea keep beating them, over and over and over again.
When that pattern threatened to change last September, Conte took drastic action, and the effects of it were clearly seen here.
Arsenal never take action. That could be seen right through this game, and right through the history of this fixture.
Their title challenge is over, and they face a real fight for the top four. Chelsea, just like in this match, are cruising
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Telegraph:
Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1: Eden Hazard emphasises superiority of Antonio Conte's leaders with sensational goal
Sam Wallace
There will be few goals this season that compare with Eden Hazard cutting a path through an Arsenal team variously falling over, going the wrong way or chasing in vain, and it was this one moment of individual brilliance that crystallised the difference between the two sides.
Arsenal had been a distant second all afternoon, out-played and out-manoeuvred all over the pitch with their biggest names, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, content to let the biggest game of the league season slide by as their title bid went up in flames.
By the time it was over, the gap to Chelsea was 12 points and
at least one “Enough is enough, time to go” protest board was being picked up by the television cameras in the away end.
This was peak Antonio Conte-era Chelsea, one in which they restricted a key title rival to a few meagre chances and passed around them in midfield with the crisp, one-touch style that has become the 2016-2017 trademark.
This is not a Chelsea side that keeps the ball in a holding pattern before it decides where to direct an attack, it goes for the jugular each time. The best of it was Hazard’s second-half goal in which he beat Laurent Koscielny twice and left Francis Coquelin, the wrong way round and face down on the ground, like a man who had unsuccessfully tried to intercept a runaway golf buggy.
It had Roman Abramovich high-fiving guests in the expensive seats celebrating the ultimate goal for the ultimate performance.
Can anyone catch Conte’s team now? They finished the match 12 points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in second place with 14 games to play, and Arsenal in third.
This is the first time that Arsenal have lost five in a row at Stamford Bridge since the late 1960s, and substitute Olivier Giroud scored their first goal at the ground in four seasons.
Afterwards the Chelsea manager reminded us all of his credentials when it came to heartache in football, the Champions League finals that he lost, the titles that slipped away and made the assurance that when it came to the crunch, he knew how to keep his players focussed.
But there was no doubting his total delight at victory over a team that had beaten his on Sept 24 at perhaps his lowest ebb.
“I remember then that I said we must show on the pitch we are a big team,” he reflected. “Now we are a big team.”
Conte seemed to cover as much ground in the technical area as some of Arsenal’s more peripheral figures and when Hazard scored the second, the Chelsea manager launched himself head first into the home fans in celebration.
As for Arsene Wenger in the stand, serving out his touchline ban, there were just regrets. Talking into his hands-free to the bench, he said afterwards that even his view was obscured at times although that might have been a blessing.
His big names did not come close to the quality of Hazard or Diego Costa, while Coquelin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in central midfield were overrun by N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic. When Petr Cech gifted a third goal late on to substitute Cesc Fabregas, playing against his former team, the Arsenal goalkeeper turned his eyes to the sky above a stadium at which he paraded so many trophies.
If there was a genuine grievance for Arsenal then it was about the legitimacy of Marcos Alonso’s first goal during which Hector Bellerin had been badly injured.
“Of course it was a foul,” Wenger replied, when asked about the elbow of Alonso that connected with Bellerin’s head mid-air. The young full-back was so concussed that he played no further part and Wenger said that, when asked, Bellerin had given the medics the wrong scoreline.
There was an argument for saying he was out cold at the moment of connection, which was a second before Alonso’s header hit the net.
“Referees are much more severe with tackles on the ground and let much more go with elbows in the face,” Wenger said. “It's not only today, but in many, many games I see that. But it's more dangerous to hit the head than the legs.”
Conte, on the other hand, felt that context was everything and that in England, Alonso’s leading elbow did not constitute a foul. Costa had first beaten Bellerin to head against the bar and when it came down a second time, Theo Walcott neglected to track Alonso’s run from the left. His elbow struck Bellerin flush on the jaw. He landed hard, flat out on his back without hands lowered to soften the blow.
There was a brief spell towards the end of the second half, when Arsenal were able to push the home side back into their half and the substitute Gabriel should have scored from a cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Ozil hit a left-footed shot that never troubled Thibaut Courtois and that was all Arsenal offered while the game was in the balance.
Hazard’s goal was a delight. When he squared up to Koscielny for the second time, having beaten the centre-half at the start of his run, the Arsenal man knew that Hazard would go right – he always does – but the Belgian did it so quickly and struck his shot so well that there was nothing that could be done.
Danny Welbeck came on for Arsenal and was more effective than any other attacking player on the away side. The game had already gone, however, when Cech passed straight to Fabregas with five minutes left and the midfielder chipped the ball back over him.
Fabregas made great play of refusing to celebrate the goal, although by then at least one Arsenal fan was contemplating wider issues than just his former player, and had the Wenger protest board out.
Giroud did get one back in injury-time at the end of the game and given his time again, Wenger would surely have started the Frenchman and Welbeck.
It has been a brutal afternoon for him while for Conte arguably, the best so far, with the distinct possibility of more to come.
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Mail:
Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal: Eden Hazard inspires with magical goal before Cesc Fabregas adds insult to injury against his former club
By ROB DRAPER FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
It is only just over four months from a sunny, late September afternoon to the chill of a mid-winter February day; just four months ago, when Arsenal humiliated Chelsea and even made Antonio Conte's long-term tenure as manager seem doubtful.
Yet, as late summer passes on to autumn and through into winter, so much changes. That day in September at the Emirates, you could have believed that an Arsenal squad might finally have thrown off the psychological hold Chelsea maintain over them. You could have convinced yourself this might be a squad made for a title challenge, rather than the standard top-four finish and traditional early exit from the Champions League.
But long winters bring some hard truths. Conte's story is well told, how the shambolic performance in the 3-0 defeat saw the formation changed, veterans quietly moved aside and Chelsea embarking on a run which now looks to be heading for yet another Premier League title, their fifth since Arsenal last won it.
For Arsene Wenger, stuck frustrated in the stands as he serves his four-match ban, the problem is that he has the same team as always. His journey since September has been a bit more convoluted but ultimately Arsenal have ended up in the same place: unable to mount a serious title challenge.
Not winning the league in this most competitive of seasons would be no disgrace. But not challenging seriously last season and being 12 points behind Chelsea at this stage of the season is a record which deserves to be challenged, no matter how eminent the coach.
'A lot has changed,' said a triumphant Conte. 'After those two defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal I remember I said we had faced two great teams but we are not a team. We are 11 players playing. I remember my words.
'I said we must show on the pitch to be a great team, not only because you are at Chelsea. And now we are showing this. After that situation, we totally changed the spirit, the will to fight together, to be a team, the will to try something important in this season. It changed a lot. For sure now, we are another team.'
Wenger could and did plead some mitigation. Marcos Alonso's opening goal for Chelsea on 13 minutes should have been ruled out because of his use of an arm on Hector Bellerin to win his header. Unintentional or not, it took out the player, so much so that he had to be removed with concussion. Bellerin didn't know the score when Arsenal doctor Gary O'Driscoll got to him.
'Of course it was a foul,' said Wenger. Conte smiled. 'In England, in this league, this is always goal. I can't listen in England that this is a foul!' In Italy? 'Maybe,' Conte conceded.
But it would be hard to argue that, but for that decision, Arsenal would have matched Chelsea and Wenger didn't take that line. 'Chelsea are very strong at defending and very good on transition and counter attack. And we paid for that,' he said.
'We maybe were not good enough in possession to get our game more dangerous. We lost many balls in positions where you cannot afford to lose it when you play against a team good on counter-attack. It was the kind of game Chelsea love and they mastered very well.'
Indeed Chelsea's second goal was more in keeping with the balance of the game. Eden Hazard, who was electrifying all afternoon, picked the ball up on the halfway line, shook off Laurent Koscielny once, then Francis Coquelin, Koscielny again and evaded Shkodran Mustafi's lunge to score. It wasn't quite Diego Maradona but it was a joy nonetheless.
For the always expressive Conte it prompted a delighted sprint down the touchline and a dive into the crowd, surfing the fans like a rock star.
There was worse. Arsenal conceded from their own throw-in during the midweek Watford debacle and did so again in the dying embers of the game, Petr Cech skewing his clearance to Cesc Fabregas, whose lob over the keeper was so gentle and slow that it was almost torturous in its capacity to humiliate before it dropped into the net.
Arsenal had good chances, most notably Gabriel's header from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross on 33 minutes, prompting a good save from Thibaut Courtois. Danny Welbeck's glancing header was well saved on 78 minutes, and from the resulting corner Mustafi should have scored with his header.
When they did get their goal, with Olivier Giroud heading home, it was the 91st minute and a good section of Arsenal's fans had already left. The goal raised only a murmur.
From his elevated vantage point, Wenger presumably sees the issues. It is not that Arsenal lack players of Hazard's stature. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have that capability, though they didn't show it. But Arsenal started with Coquelin playing behind Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alex Iwobi as a midfield three and in that opening half hour, Nemanja Matic and N'Golo Kante more than had their measure. They weren't just physically superior. They dominated with their positional sense and ability to retrieve possession.
Eventually, the system changed, with Ozil moving to No10. Arsenal improved and Coquelin and Oxlade-Chamberlain became an effective pair. But this team have nothing like the know-how, structure or mentality of their Chelsea counterparts.
Blame Granit Xhaka's indiscipline, Santi Cazorla's injury, Jack Wilshere's loan or Egypt's run to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. Search for your scapegoats where you like. But something is rotten with the state of Arsenal.
CHELSEA VS ARSENAL – 5 THINGS WE LEARNED
UP IN THE AIR
Two Dele Alli headers from Christian Eriksen crosses in January saw Tottenham beat Chelsea, who appear vulnerable in the air. Why, then, did Arsene Wenger not opt for a target man in Olivier Giroud up front? Giroud came on in the 65th minute and got a goal from a header in stoppage time. Wenger's game plan with Alexis Sanchez up front was ineffective.
MISSING IN MIDFIELD
Why, oh, why did Wenger not insert a recall clause in the loan contract of Jack Wilshere? Bereft of central midfielders – with no Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla – Arsenal lost that battle to Chelsea. Francis Coquelin was nowhere near good enough and Eden Hazard turned him inside out for his goal.
KING KANTE
Wenger tried to sign N'Golo Kante last summer. How he regrets not splashing the cash. Watching the master at work here was like rubbing salt in Wenger's wounds. The 25-year-old bit the ankles of Arsenal's players throughout and was tireless. He and Nemanja Matic's partnership here was pivotal to Chelsea winning.
THIBAUT TRUMPS PETR
Chelsea allowed Petr Cech to leave in 2015 as they opted for the younger version in Thibaut Courtois. The Belgium goalkeeper showed why here. Courtois produced several superb saves, one of which was world class to deny Danny Welbeck. Cech's mistake in the 84th minute was careless and gifted Cesc Fabregas a goal.
OZIL SURRENDERS
Mesut Ozil had to put in a shift for Arsenal if they were to stand a chance and, in truth, he didn't. The 50-50s went to Chelsea and Ozil's desire was in short supply. At one point he booted the ball into the stand at Stamford Bridge in frustration and it said it all. He simply seemed to shirk his responsibilities.
CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 8; Azpilicueta 7, David Luiz 7.5, Cahill 7; Moses 7 (Zouma 87), Kante 8.5, Matic 8, Alonso 7.5; Pedro 7.5 (Willian 84), Diego Costa 8, Hazard 9 (Fabregas 84).
SUBS NOT USED: Begovic, Terry, Batshuayi, Chalobah.
GOALS: Alonso 13, Hazard 53, Fabregas 86
BOOKINGS: Matic
ARSENAL: (4-1-2-3) Cech 5; Bellerin 5.5 (Gabriel 14, 5.5), Mustafi 4.5, Koscielny 4, Monreal 5; Coquelin 3.5 (Giroud 65, 6.5); Oxlade-Chamberlain 5, Iwobi 5; Walcott 4.5 (Welbeck 70, 6.5), Sanchez 4.5, Ozil 4
SUBS NOT USED: Ospina, Gibbs, Reine-Adelaide, Maitland-Niles.
GOALS: Giroud 90
BOOKINGS: Mustafi
REFEREE: Martin Atkinson
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Express:
Chelsea 3 - Arsenal 1: Antonio Conte not celebrating yet despite going 12 points clear
STILL not Chelsea's title to lose?
By NICK CALLOW
Italian boss Antonio Conte refuses to admit this win all but guarantees Chelsea another Premier League crown in his first season here, but who is he kidding?
Someone at Stamford Bridge had better overrule their genius of a coach, quickly book an open top bus and tell the local council to clear the King's Road for the last weekend in May because the title race is now officially over.
The only race left following in this season's Premier League is the one for second place.
This was a ruthless destruction of Arsenal by the runaway league leaders, who not only inflicted another body blow to the rotting corpse of Arsenal's title aspirations, but also warned the other pretenders not to bother any more.
It was all too easy for Conte's heavyweight line-up against soft, lightweight opponents, who had manager Arsene Wenger helplessly watching from the stands amid his touchline ban.
At least the French coach could see everything, for once, as a controversial early Marcos Alonso header, which left Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin unconscious, was followed by a second half Eden Hazard wonder goal and a late Cesc Fabregas lob before Olivier Giroud's meaningless injury-time header for the Gunners.
Conte was hugging Chelsea staff in the press room after the match, but gave nothing away when asked if he was celebrating the title.
“No,” he smiled. “Why? Because there are 14 games to play before the end of the season and there are 42 points to take.
“I don't slip and I don't want my players to slip. It's important this. In my squad I have a lot of players with good experience, because they won a lot in their careers.
“They know we haven't won the title yet.”
“I won a title with eight points more and before four games at the end, and another time I lost in the same way. For this reason I think I have a bit of experience to manage this situation and to try to keep our antennae very high.”
This Arsenal team featured just one change from their side that annihilated Chelsea 3-0 at home back in September, with only the injured Santi Cazorla absent.
But the Blues Brothers are an altogether different band of men four months down the line.
Conte ripped up the rule book after that painful defeat in north London, switched to three at the back and drilled a winning mentality into his men.
Conte's crew were eighth and eight points off the pace back then, with some pundits questioning whether the former Italy boss could hack it in the Premier League.
And skipper Gary Cahill admitted afterwards the entire Chelsea club had been galvanised by their Highbury humiliation.
Cahill revealed: “I felt like a mug after the game at Arsenal and we were determined not to let that happen again. For sure it added a bit of desire.
“The manager is very thorough. We created a lot. We could have had more goals. Eden scored a special goal. For me that killed the game.”
If only, from an Arsenal point of view, their manager was as bold and thorough as Conte in terms of changing his tactics and personnel.
But he refused to criticise his highly-paid super star players such as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, who once again failed to deliver when their manager and team-mates needed them most.
“For me it's very difficult to come out individually on players after a big disappointment like that,” Wenger protested. Certainly individually we were not at our best in some positions.”
Wenger also argued Chelsea's 13th minute opener should have been disallowed for Alonso's elbow on Bellerin and Conte did not disagree, but that did not decide this match and they both agreed on that score.
Then came an 85th minute deft lob from sub Cesc Fabregas against his former club following a shocking clearance by keeper Petr Cech against his ex-team-mates.
Neither Arsenal supporters nor players celebrated Giroud's header from a Nacho Monreal cross.
The game was long up by then as some might argue it was before this one-sided encounter even began.
Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill; Moses (Zouma 88), Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro (Willian 84), Diego Costa, Hazard (Fabregas 84). Subs: Begovic (GK), Terry, Chalobah, Batshuayi.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin (Gabriel 13), Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin (Giroud 65); Walcott (Welbeck 70), Ozil, Iwobi; Alexis. Subs: Ospina (GK), Gibbs, Reine-Adelaide, Maitland-Niles.
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Mirror:
Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal: Blues open up 12-point gap at top of the Premier League - 5 things we learned
Marcos Alonso scored the opening goal after 13 minutes before Eden Hazard doubled the lead with a sensational solo effort and Cesc Fabregas added a third late on
BYJOHN CROSS
Eden Hazard scored an incredible solo goal to put Chelsea 12 points clear and on the march to the title.
Hazard’s wonder strike after 53 minutes saw him run from the half way line, beat Francis Coquelin, Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi before firing past Petr Cech.
That came on top of Marcos Alonso’s controversial first half opener when TV replays suggested it could have been disallowed as the Chelsea wing back caught Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin with an elbow.
Gunners keeper Petr Cech completed Arsenal's misery with an awful back pass straight to Cesc Fabregas who fired in an 86th minute chip. Fabregas did not celebrate his goal against his old club.
Olivier Giroud grabbed an injury time consolation with a header from Nacho Monreal's cross.
But this leaves Chelsea miles ahead at the top, even though Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City can narrow the gap slightly this weekend.
1. Chelsea will have the title wrapped up by March
Chelsea finished the game 12 points clear at the top. It was a brilliant, well disciplined and hard four victory.
Chelsea are miles better than the rest, they have dominated the Premier League and Antonio Conte has outclassed his managerial rivals.
Chelsea have been fabulous this season. They will deserve to be champions - and they’ll wrap it up sooner rather than later.
2. You wouldn’t like Eden when he’s angry
Shkodran Mustafi took out Eden Hazard with a brutal foul in the first half. In the past, Hazard might have curled up and disappeared.
This time, rather like the Incredible Hulk, he showed Arsenal that they wouldn’t like him when he was angry.
Hazard was magical. His tricks, flicks and skill lit up the game. They could have used one ball for Hazard and another for the rest.
But Hazard’s goal, a wonderful solo effort, was one of the best - if not the best - you will see all season. Incredible goal, incredible player.
3. Arsenal lost - but competed
It’s one thing to lose and be humiliated. Quite another to compete and lose. It was a terrific first half, real toe-to-toe as Arsenal dug in and could have equalised after going behind early on.
There was heart there. The away fans stuck with the team, even after the second goal and this sort of performance does not warrant a total fan meltdown.
Arsenal showed some pride, a bit of heart and even though the title has gone, and grabbed themselves a consolation goal late on through Olivier Giroud.
4. Granit Xhaka is a Gooner
Fair play. Xhaka went in the away end. He’s suspended but if there is one way for a player to win back the fans then it’s to go in with them. Xhaka even posted pictures of himself in the away end on social media.
You can bet Xhaka would have got a warmer reception than Arsene Wenger who was sat in among executive Chelsea punters while serving his touchline ban.
5. Video technology can’t come soon enough
Marcos Alonso’s opening goal should have been disallowed as he led with his arm, elbowed Hector Bellerin first and then scored.
But on first glance from the press box, it looked fine. Only on the TV replay in the press box at half time could you get a better view.
That’s why we need video technology to help referees.
PLAYER RATINGS
Chelsea
Courtois - 7
Good save to deny Gabriel. Composed and comfortable, good again.
Moses - 7
Strong and powerful down the right, his end product still lacks quality.
Azpilicueta - 7
Another brilliant performance, dominates in defence. He has been fantastic.
Luiz - 7
With every week he shows what a different and improved player he is.
Cahill - 7
Good performance, won crucial aerial battles. Solid.
Alonso - 7
Scored crucial opening goal, but led with elbow. Bit lucky.
Kante - 8
Magnificent. Fabulous, marauding display and was everywhere.
Cesc Fabregas scores his team's third goal (Photo: Darren Walsh)
Matic - 7
Booked. Good performance, got the job done, made it hard for Arsenal.
Pedro - 7
His cross led to opening goal. Another lively, bright and skilful performance.
Hazard - 9
Looked really in the mood after being fired up by Mustafi challenge.
Costa - 8
Worked so hard, caused Arsenal problems and had a ding-dong with Mustafi.
Substitutes
Willian, for Pedro, 83 mins
Fabregas, for Hazard, 83 mins
Zouma, for Moses, 87 mins
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Star:
Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1: Eden Hazard's wonder goal helps Chelsea extend gap at the top
WE’VE had to wait for Eden Hazard’s first goal of 2017 - but it was worth it.
By Paul Hetherington
And Hazard’s 10th goal of the season not only killed off Arsenal in this vital, high-profile battle, it also surely ended the Gunners’ title hopes.
With Marcos Alonso opening the scoring for Chelsea and substitute Cesc Fabregas closing it, Antonio Conte’s side moved 12 points clear of Arsenal and strengthened their grip on the top prize.
Chelsea also made it 11 successive home wins in all competitions and avenged their defeat at Arsenal earlier in the season.
A happy Hazard said: “It is always good to score beautiful goals against massive teams.
“When I got the ball my thought was to dribble. I need to score more, but I have in this match, so I’m happy.
“We are full of confidence and we want to stay at the top.”
That is something which looks certain to happen in this Chelsea-dominated Premier League season.
But Conte actually went into the London derby calling - surprisingly - for tension.
The Chelsea boss wants that around the club as they strive for the title, to avoid complacency.
And there could have been too much for Conte’s liking if Arsenal had taken a second-minute lead after a careless clearance by Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois.
That led to Alex Iwobi striking the ball towards the far corner of the net from a good position, but David Luiz’s deflection took the ball inches wide.
Arsenal were fired up from the start as a heavy challenge from behind by skipper Koscielny on Diego Costa illustrated.
But they suffered a body blow in the 13th minute when Chelsea took the lead. Costa’s towering header crashed against the bar and Alonso followed up to climb high and nod home the rebound.
Chelsea would have had a great chance to increase their lead if Costa had played in the unmarked Pedro after good work by Hazard.
But Costa selfishly hung onto the ball, trying to create a shooting opportunity for himself, and the opportunity was lost.
The Blues target man should have been made to pay in the 38th minute when the Gunners had a great chance to equalise.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain delicately found substitute Gabriel in the clear in the penalty area, but his header was turned over the bar by Courtois.
And Mesut Ozil wasted another chance for Arsenal when he took too long to get the ball onto his preferred left foot before shooting weakly.
But if Arsenal still had hope then, it disappeared with Hazard’s wonder goal in the 53rd minute.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger responded by sending on Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck, who was denied a headed goal by Courtois’ fine save.
But Arsenal were fortunate to finish the match with 11 men as Gabriel escaped unpunished when he smacked Hazard in the face.
And five minutes from time, Fabregas lobbed home and pointedly didn’t celebrate against his former club after ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech had made a hash of a clearance.
Chelsea, though, were denied their 14th clean sheet in the league this season, which would have given them the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues.
Arsenal finally scored in added time when Giroud headed home from Nacho Monreal’s cross, but it wasn’t enough for the Gunners. And too often in recent times that has been the case for Arsenal, who have now lost on their last five visits to Stamford Bridge.
