Chelsea v Arsenal: Premier League – live | Premier League

90 min Arsenal are seeing this out very comfortably. There will be five minutes of added time.

89 min Gallagher almost collects Gabriel’s defensive header, but he runs past the ball and Xhaka picks it up. Arsenal break, Sterling fouls Partey and is booked.

87 min Arsenal bring on Mohamed Elneny for Martin Odegaard.

85 min Gallagher is booked for pulling back Tierney.

85 min Thomas Partey has had an extremely good game today. If Arsenal are to challenge for the title, he has to stay fit. He’s irreplaceable.

84 min A corner is half-cleared to Cucurella on the edge of the area. His shot takes a deflection and is booted clear.

82 min Another dangerous cross, this time from Gallagher, is booted away by Saliba. Chelsea are at least playing with more intent now.

81 min Sterling breaks into space down the right and slides a low cross towards Broja and Pulisic. White gets between them to make a vital clearance.

81 min: No penalty! Cucurella’s arm was just outside the area when the ball hit it.

80 min: VAR check for an Arsenal penalty! Jesus’s clipped pass hits Cucurella right on the edge of the area, and Arsenal are convinced it should be a penalty. It’s definitely handball – the only issue is whether he’s in the area.

79 min Ben White is booked for timewasting.

78 min Two changes for Chelsea: Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic replace Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount.

78 min Zinchenko is replaced by Kieran Tierney.

76 min There have been more eyecatching displays, most notably against Liverpool and Spurs, but there’s an argument that this is Arsenal’s best performance of the season. They have played like Manchester City, smothering Chelsea and eventually putting them to sleep.

75 min Saliba (I think) gets a vital touch at the near post to stop Broja’s cutback reaching Gallagher. He has been majestic. Arsenal break and Jesus beats two players before putting Odegaard through on goal. He cuts back inside Chalobah on the edge of the area but then, with Mendy well off his line, lifts the ball over the bar.

73 min Chelsea haven’t really threatened to equalise. Gallagher looks lively enough but Mount and Sterling contiune to struggle. It’s been a meek performance from Chelsea.

Meanwhile, here’s Gabriel’s goal.

71 min “Aubameyang did have a lack of service, but do you not think that’s the problem?” says Norrie Hernon. “He seems almost like a throwback now – hence why Arteta sold him. A forward now also needs to be an auxiliary midfielder, and Auba couldn’t and can’t do that. Also raises the question as to whether we’ve seen the end of pure ‘poachers’ like Fowler, whose game was built around moments and movement in the box, and a negligible amount outside it.”

I know what you mean, but have you met Erling Haaland. And yes I know he can play a bit too, but essentially he’s the Gen Z Dixie Dean.

68 min Saka has another opportunity when he runs onto a through ball, with Mendy charging riskily to the edge of his area. But that mad dash seems to put Saka off – he misses his touch and Mendy is able to claim the ball.

68 min: Chance for Saka! A cross from the left nicks off the head of somebody in the middle and reaches Saka on the fare side. He shifts the ball onto his right foot, away from Cucurella, but then sprays it wide of the near post.

67 min 26 April 2023: Manchester City v Arsenal. I’m daring to dream, and I’m only a neutral.

66 min Arsenal deserve to be ahead. They haven’t created many chances but they have been much the better side.

64 min: Chelsea substitution Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher replace Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, who was anonymous on his big day due to a complete lack of service, and Kai Havertz.

Actually, I think it’s Gabriel’s goal. Saka’s wicked, inswinging corner from the right beat everyone at the near post. It was probably going in anyway, but Gabriel made sure by roofing it gleefully from approximately 0.01 yards.

GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal (Gabriel 63)

62 min: Good save from Mendy! Great play from Jesus, who muscles Thiago off the ball in a dangerous position. It’s collected to Saka, who returns it to Jesus on the right-hand side of the area. He smashes a shot from a tight angle that is pushed round the near post by Mendy.

61 min Saka’s deep cross arrives just behind Martinelli, who screws a difficult volley back across the penalty area. Broja is about to replace Aubameyang.

60 min Chalobah is booked for taking out Jesus.

60 min There’s a whiff of stalemate about this second half. Both teams have decent options on the bench, including Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic, Armando Broja, Conor Gallagher, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah.

59 min Play has resumed at Stamford Bridge.

58 min “He’s been a Chelsea player for ages now, and I still haven’t found a satisfactory ‘Kai Havertz, and let slip the dogs of war’ pun,” says Matt Dony. “And let slip/Pulisic? War/Var? There must be one out there. Seems like I should be able to do it, but it’s just slightly out of reach. So close to being achievable. I just don’t quite have the quality to pull it off. Anyway, what were you saying about Arsenal’s title credentials?”

57 min There’s a medical emergency in the crowd, so play has been stopped.

56 min Arsenal take a short corner on the right. Odegaard moves into the area and curls a flat cross that brushes the head of the stretching Partey and flies well wide. Martinelli was right behind Partey and would have had a much easier header.

55 min A dangerous, half-volleyed cross from Jesus is punched away by decisively by Mendy.

54 min Mount’s outswinging free-kick is headed up in the air by Jesus and booted clear by Odegaard.

53 min Loftus-Cheek breaks down the right and is shoved over by Partey, who is a bit fortunate to avoid a yellow card.

53 min Chelsea have been a bit more aggressive without the ball since half-time. I don’t know what else to tell you, because nothing much is happening.

50 min Azpilicueta is booked for a high tackle on Martinelli. He won the ball but caught Martinelli in his follow through. Actually, replays suggest that Martinelli kicked the bottom of Azpilicueta’s foot. But Azpilicueta’s foot was highest and that’s why he’s been penalised, rightly or wrongly.

49 min Saliba miskicks a clearance in his own area, straight to Aubameyang. He tries to turn it back into the middle and Saliba makes up for his error with a good block.

48 min The last man White’s clearance hits Havertz’s outstretched arm and rebounds towards the Arsenal goal. Havertz is away from the defence, just past the halfway line, but he’s rightly penalised for handball.

47 min “While Zack wrote everything about Tierney conundrum, I’d add that Tierney was lying on the pitch ten minutes to go or so of the Zürich match on Thursday night so I reckon Arteta manages his minutes wisely,” says Admir Pajic. “He’s not going anywhere.”

I’ll bet you one dignity point that he’s at a different club next August. He’s too good to be a Europa League specialist.

46 min Cucurella fouls Saha straight away, and Odegaard’s free-kick is headed behind for a corner by Thiago. Nothing comes of it.

46 min Peep peep! Arsenal begin the second half.

“Curious what would make Arsenal serious title contenders?” says Leigh Rogers. “We are outplaying Chelsea. We have 32 points. We won ugly at Leeds and did not lose to Southamptom when playing badly. What is it apart that makes you doubt us apart from a confirming narrative?”

Not much, just the 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. And Alf Inge Haaland’s offspring.

“In terms of a title challenge, I think it’s fair to say that since they blow-torched the old project 18 months ago and let Arteta and Edu start again Arsenal has been pretty far ahead of schedule,” writes Zack. “I know they fluffed it at the end but no one really thought we’d be top four as late we were either.

“This year again they seem far out ahead of both external and internal expectations. In a normal year I’d say no chance but in this stop-start year if they do what they didn’t do last season and shore up properly in January then, errr MAYBE! Depends if Pep prioritises his Haaland time for Europe next spring and who City play when they don’t have Haaland, I seriously doubt he plays every league and UCL game.”

One important thing is how Arsenal deal with their first blip. That can often be a problem for young sides, and last season most of their defeats came in clusters.

Half-time reading

It starts two weeks today, you know.

Half time: Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal

45+1 min Martinelli dances past a couple of defenders near the byline to win a corner. Nothing comes of it, and that’s the end of that.

45 min One minute of added time.

41 min Saka is booked for a retaliatory foul on Cucurella. He thought Cucurella had fouled him a few seconds earlier, though it wasn’t given. Mikel Arteta and Graham Potter briefly kicked off on the touchline, though it barely registered on the Josearseneometer.

40 min Here’s that chance for Gabriel Jesus in the 29th minute. I told you Mikel Arteta should have signed Keith Houchen.

38 min Chelsea have regained a degree of control, though Arsenal are still playing like the home team. And they haven’t had a shot on target, so stick that up your narrative.

36 min “This Chelsea back four doesn’t look right or comfortable, and they’re easily outmanned in the middle with Zinchenko dropping in and Auba a passenger,” says Norrie Hernon. “Another ‘genius’ sub from Potter to pack the midfield? (Also, funny how spending almost 300m then changing manager gives a team a slightly disjointed look. It’s entirely self-inflicted.)”

The way you’re talking, you’d think Chelsea have had 16 full-time managers to Arsenal’s three in the last 25 years.

34 min Chelsea are starting to have their moments on the break. Sterling plays another good pass to the underlapping Havertz, whose cross-shot is too close to Ramsdale.

32 min Havertz, the least anonymous of Chelsea’s attacking players, slithers down the left to win a corner. Mount’s inswinger is headed over by Thiago Silva, under pressure from Partey. Actually, Partey did well to push Silva with enough strength to put him off the header, but not enough for it to be foul.

31 min Ben White aside, Aubameyang hasn’t had a kick. That’s not particularly his fault – Chelsea can’t keep the ball, never mind give him service.

29 min: Great chance for Jesus! Brilliant play again from Arsenal. Martinelli cuts inside Azpilicueta on the left and curls a lovely inswinging cross to the far post, where the unmarked Jesus puts a diving header wide from about eight yards. It wasn’t a sitter, but he still should have scored.

28 min I can’t decide whether Arsenal are serious title challengers. Probably not, if Erling Haaland stays fit. But what is abundantly clear if that they are a seriously impressive side with an age profile that means they are going to get better. If they can keep hold of all their players for the next two seasons, and that’s a big if, they will surely win things – maybe even a league title.

27 min Mendy faffs on the ball and is this close to being dispossessed by Martinelli. Then Aubameyang is booked for cleaning out Ben White. Xhaka asks for more, but a yellow card was the correct decision.