Arsenal vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Gunners’ run riot after White and Havertz goals

As a former Arsenal player, Mikel Arteta could sympathise with Mauricio Pochettino as friends shared the touchline at the Emirates. Arteta was in the Arsenal side that lost 6-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2014, as Jose Mourinho took considerable pleasure in ruining Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game in charge by handing out Chelsea’s biggest ever win over their London rivals. How times change. Now as a manager, Arteta admitted he had “all the sympathy in the world” for Pochettino after he inflicted Arsenal’s biggest ever win over Chelsea. “I’ve been on the other side as well,” Arteta said. “He’s doing a great job.”

Arteta recognised Pochettino’s plight and understood the questions that were about to come his way as Chelsea collapsed against the Premier League leaders. After Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City ruled out any chance of winning silverware in his first campaign in charge, a humiliating night was a blow for Pochettino’s hopes of qualifying for Europe next season.

The manner of it still felt more significant than that. Chelsea are 9th and another defensive disaster took their goals conceded to 57, their most ever in a Premier League season, and with six games still to play. Their capitulation was the latest indictment of a squad that is short of characters and a recruitment strategy that lacks any sense. All of which comes after £1bn spent.

So much for this being one of Arsenal’s awkward remaining fixtures, not to mention the idea the title race was over. Chelsea had other plans for all that, precisely because they couldn’t implement any kind of gameplan of their own. They couldn’t do much at all.

It means that, on a night when Arsenal went three points clear at the top with a 5-0 victory that is maybe Mikel Arteta’s best performance yet, it is hard not to talk about Chelsea. Focus will be back on Mauricio Pochettino’s future. Focus should be on the wider running of this club. This was the humiliation that Chelsea had looked in danger of suffering for some time. So much, too, for the players stepping up in the absence of an ill Cole Palmer.

They were instead just trodden on by an Arsenal side that were completely in the mood. It was one of those where it could have been much worse for Chelsea, given the amount of chances that were missed in the first half alone. Kai Havertz, a player that Chelsea sold to make way for more untried youth in this almost inexplicable recruitment model, enjoyed a signature performance of his own. The German scored twice, as did Ben White, the victory becoming so routine for Arsenal that a defender not usually known for his finishing could amble forward. Leandro Trossard opened it all after just five minutes, to ensure the match was barely ever a proper contest in any meaningful sense.

“This is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club,” Mauricio Pochettino declared on the eve of his side’s visit to Arsenal.

A little more than 24 hours later, the sight of Chelsea without their top scorer and player of the year was enough to send the majority of the away fans make the trip back across London more than 20 minutes from the end of this humiliating, dispiriting, London derby thrashing at the Emirates.

“I don’t want your shirt, I just want to fight for ours,” a young boy pleaded in the away end. Chelsea failed, spectacularly.

Mauricio Pochettino said his Chelsea team “gave up” during their heavy defeat at Arsenal in the Premier League but refused to blame his players for the collapse at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal recorded their biggest-ever victory over rivals Chelsea with a 5-0 thrashing, as the Gunners went three points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

It was an embarrassing evening for Chelsea, as Kai Havertz scored twice against his former side and Pochettino’s side fell apart without top scorer Cole Palmer.

The defeat raised more questions around Pochettino’s future at the club, but the Argentine said the performance was a result of his young team’s “inconsistency” as it came just days after they were arguably the better team against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Rio Ferdinand labelled Chelsea’s performance against Arsenal as ‘men playing against boys’ as Mauricio Pochettino’s side slumped to a 5-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for the hosts after just four minutes before a brace each for Ben White and former Chelsea star Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a comfortable win.

Speaking on TNT Sports after the match, Ferdinand claimed that the Blues were way off the level they have been hitting in recent weeks.

“I think we started the game not so well. We concede the goal and then it was difficult for us to recover from this goal. I think in the first half we compete after 10, 15 minutes. We could not approach the game like we started in the first half and we didn’t compete the way we needed to compete and then when they scored the third it was easy for Arsenal to control the game.

“I think you need to be clinical. Like against Manchester City three days ago, we were not clinical and then today the same thing happened. Difficult performance because it is not nice to see your team play like this when you are mean to have full energy. After three days when you play a fantastic game against Manchester City, today we are disappointed with the performance.”

“It is a big London derby and we know what it means for the fans. We will enjoy it and rest and get ready for the next one.

“What I would like is that the players can manage themselves in the dressing room. You have to leave them some space. They know what they are playing for. That’s what holds the team together. My role is to demand them and also in the right moments make them believe they can do it.

“We have a lot of games coming up. Let’s enjoy tonight and let’s go back to work.”

“I think the early goal helped us and after that we played so well. We had a lot of chances and we turned them into goals. It’s a great night.

“They say clean sheets help you win games. We know if we score the goal we can win 1-0. But, obviously, we want to go for more. Today is the perfect night. I think everyone works so well and hard. I am really happy to be here.

“We can only do our own job and that’s winning games. We are on track now and we will try and win the rest of the games and we will see what happens.”

This is Chelsea’s second-biggest top flight defeat in London, after a 6-0 loss at Queens Park Rangers on 31 March, 1986.

”We know we can score goals and today it was a quick game and it was important to put the ball away when we had the chance.

“It’s not just the defence keeping the clean sheets, the wingers track back as well.”