Arsenal vs Chelsea LIVE: Result and reaction from London derby as Gunners go back top of Premier League

Mikel Arteta makes three changes to the Arsenal team. Jakub Kiwior comes into defence to replace Rob Holding with Jorginho in midfield ahead of Thomas Partey. Gabriel Martinelli is on the bench with Leandro Trossard starting oon the wide left.

Frank Lampard makes just two changes for Chelsea as Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher are replaced with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Noni Madueke.

By the looks of the line-up Chelsea will set up with a back four tonight.

Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Jorginho, Xhaka Odegaard; Saka, Jesus, Trossard

Chelsea XI: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Fofana, Thiago Silva, Chilwell; Kante, Fernandez, Kovacic; Madueke, Aubameyang, Sterling

“It is difficult but in sport you have to accept the reality, and when a team is able to take the game to a different level and you’re not able to step up to that, you have to recognise that there is still work to do, not get confused, be very humble and recognise what our strengths are and what our weaknesses are to be better.”

Those were the thoughts of Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta, when assessing why his Arsenal side were so heavily beaten by Premier League title rivals Manchester City last time out.

Speaking in his press conference yesterday, Arteta added:

“The reality is as well that for 247 days we have been with them, and tomorrow can be another where we are still there. There are five games to go so there are a lot of things that we have done well for 10 months.

“It is not about the mood, it is about keeping that fire in the belly for tomorrow.”

Unsurprisingly Arsenal are the heavy favourites for to win this evening’s match against London rivals Chelsea but they’ve fallen well behind Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title with Pep Guardiola’s men now overwhelming favourites to clinch the trophy.

Here are the latest odds from BettingSites.co.uk:

Arsenal vs Chelsea match odds

Arsenal: 1/2

Draw: 10/3

Chelsea: 5/1

Premier League title winner

Man City: 1/16

Arsenal: 9/1

Arsenal have won five of the last six meetings between the two sides in all competitions. The exception being a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Emirates Stadium in August 2021.

The Gunners can beat Chelsea in three consecutive league games for the first time since 2003 to 2004.

Frank Lampard insists he still loves being at Chelsea and is relishing the challenge of turning the club’s fortunes around.

Lampard has lost all five of his games in charge since returning to the club earlier this month for a second spell as manager, this time as caretaker, after Graham Potter was sacked.

Chelsea were booed off at half-time during last week’s 2-0 home defeat to Brentford, which extended their winless run in all competitions to eight matches, and sit six points adrift of the Premier League’s top 10.

They play at title-chasing London rivals Arsenal on Tuesday and when asked if he still relished coming into work, Lampard said: “Absolutely. My eyes were open when I came into this job.”

Inthe build-up to tonight’s game Mikel Arteta was asked what more Arsenal need to do to ensure they stay in the title race and he replied:

“Win tomorrow - that’s what we have to do.

“Within the disappointment and the spirit around [the club], we need to do two things - recognise what a lot of people around the club have done to get us back into the Champions League, which was already a difficult thing to achieve.

“Not a lot of people were very optimistic that we had the ability to do that at the start of the season, and we need to start recognising the good work that a lot of people have done to achieve that.

“The second thing - which I like the most - is that even achieving that with six games to go - something that hasn’t happened in more than a decade at this club - that we are still not satisfied, still upset and we want more.

“We want the club to be consistently with the best, that’s the mentality we need and that’s what I’ve loved most over the last few days.”

Arsenal have won four of their last five Premier League games against Chelsea, as many as they had in their previous 23 against the Blues.

The Gunners are looking to win three consecutive league games against Chelsea for the first time since February 2004.

They could also achieve a second league double in three seasons against the Blues, having done so just once in the previous 20 campaigns.

Frank Lampard spoke about Arsenal’s progression under Mikel Arteta and how Chelsea should look to that formula with the goal of long term progression in mind.

“It could be either way [whether a good time to play us or not] depending on how you look at things.” said Lampard, “They’re still very much in the hunt to win the Premier League, they’re a fantastic team who have had a great season.

“If they’re wounded slightly, then that could give a big reaction but equally if we can make life difficult for them, then of course that could feel different.

“I think it’s interesting to compare the Arsenal story with ours. We all had a little insight into Arsenal and how they operate through the Amazon series and I think what you see is that there’s a long process to get to where you want to.

“Do we have the possibility to do that here at Chelsea? Yes. Will it take time and through good decisions along the way? Absolutely yes.”

The Roynaissance has come at a cost. Not to Crystal Palace or Roy Hodgson but to his captain in his last game at a World Cup. Nine years after Frank Lampard led England in a stalemate against Costa Rica to ensure Hodgson’s team left the tournament with a solitary point, he finds himself at the helm of another side facing a historic low.

Crystal Palace’s win over West Ham demoted Chelsea to the status of the sixth-best team in London, at least if the standings are to be believed, and puts them 12th in the table. End the season now and it would be their worst finish since 1994.

Yet that was before Chelsea were in the elite, before the era of the superclub. Now such clubs can only fall so far, protected by their greater resources and talent.

As a general rule, they bottom out in eighth place. Liverpool are set for a 61st consecutive top-eight finish, Manchester United for a 33rd in the top seven; even amid the seeming disaster of some seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, they never actually finished eighth, let alone below that.

Arsenal had twin years that ended in eighth under Mikel Arteta, falling as far as 15th during the 2020-21 campaign, but have not ended up any lower since 1995. Since being supercharged by Sheikh Mansour’s investment, Manchester City came fifth in the 2009-2010 campaign and in the top four ever since. Tottenham gravitated more organically to the higher bracket but even traumatic campaigns have ended in the top eight.