Chelsea vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight

Joe Cole believes Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has just six weeks to save his career at the Premier League club.

The Belgium international has had an underwhelming time at the Blues since signing from Inter Milan for £97.5m in the summer, falling out of favour with manager Thomas Tuchel and suffering from a series of injuries.

The striker came off the bench in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace but could only hit the post from point-blank range.

Speaking on ITV, Cole said: “Lukaku has six weeks to save his Chelsea career. You look at Werner and he doesn’t give up. Lukaku wants to be that focal point but he missed a chance. When it’s not going for you, it’s not going for you.”

Stamford Bridge hosts tonight London derby and it’s set to be a good night for it. Team news should be out soon.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said their rivals for the Champions League places had failed to capitalise on the “huge advantage” they were given after early cup exits allowed them to focus on the race for the top four.

Chelsea have reached the final of the FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup, as well as the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and have played more games this season than any other Premier League club.

Despite their intense schedule Chelsea have a strong grip on third place in the league, leading fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur by five points and having played two games fewer. Arsenal and Manchester United are a further three points back.

Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel, still believes that the team can be successful with Romelu Lukaku leading the line despite the forward struggling for goals throughout the season.

“We are not there anymore,” Tuchel said of the forward’s early-season form. “He doesn’t have the influence that he had then because it was a very promising start.

“There have been turbulences since then throughout this long period of time but we are trying everything and he has our support to reach this kind of level again. It’s in him and in us. I think he is still at the right place but there are things to improve from all of us so we will not give up.

“For us it’s clear that we can play with Romelu and we can be very strong with Romelu. We proved it, he proved it and he will prove it if he stays involved mentally and he stays involved in the situation. He can grow from it and come out stronger, it’s always like this.

“For sure it’s disappointing for him and not what we or what he expected at the moment but it’s not finished and we will not give in. We never give in with any players and he never gives in. We will push him as far as we can and as long as the player stays involved in the mentality that is needed to bring a team forward, he can still be a crucial player.”

More from Mikel Arteta who outlined why finishing in the Champions League spots is so important for Arsenal to achieve this season.

“Champions League brings first of all the club much closer to where we want [to be].” said the Gunners’ boss, “To play in a competition that has a huge history and relation to our club.

“And secondly, obviously, it improves every situation, with the sponsors, financially, expectations, the capacity to grow our players and expose them into a different dimension of a competition and this is where we want to be, so it’s a game-changer.

“The Champions League puts you with the best teams in Europe and we definitely want to be there.”

Arsenal are going through a tough spell of results and the pressure is mounting on manager Mikel Arteta to achieve a positive outcome against Chelsea tonight. He spoke about the Gunners’ recent form saying:

“[It’s been] very difficult, because at this club it’s only about winning, and they were three different games, but with the same outcome.

“We are extremely unsatisfied with that, we know that, we’re hurting, but at the same time we know how we lost and what we merited from those games are not reflected in the amount of points that we taken.

“We have to understand why we lost those games as well, but there is nothing to look back on. Everything is still to play for, our ambition is still in tact, our desire is still in tact. We know the challenge ahead and we’re going to go for it.”

Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal took a risk in delaying contract talks with Alexandre Lacazette until the summer – with the captain now revealing he has opened discussions with other clubs.

Lacazette’s deal expires at the end of the current season and the 30-year-old currently looks set to leave the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking to Canal Plus earlier in the week, Lacazette said he was “in discussions with a lot of clubs”, adding he was “missing” playing in the Champions League and that he had “never cut contact” with Lyon, who he left to join Arsenal five years ago.

The comments could not come at a worse time for the Gunners, who face London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening with their Premier League top-four hopes floundering.

Arsenal have now lost their last three games – to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton – and sit sixth ahead of their short hop across the capital.

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic will be missing for two weeks after injuring his ankle against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup and Callum Hudson-Odoi remains out of action with an Achilles issue, with Ben Chilwell another long-term absentee after knee surgery.

Arsenal will continue to monitor striker Alexandre Lacazette, who sat out the defeat at Southampton after testing positive for Covid but could return tonight. As could Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is nursing a calf issue, although manager Mikel Arteta thinks this game may be too soon for his return.

Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey are sidelined by knee and thigh problems respectively.

Chelsea responded from getting knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid (5-4 agg) with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace to reach the FA Cup final at the weekend. They’ll face Liverpool for the chance to lift the iconic trophy in May but beforehand have the opportunity to cement their place in Europe’s top competition next season. Last time out in the league the Blues battered Southampton 6-0 and will be hoping to do a similar job on Arsenal tonight.

The Gunners are in a serious dip of form. After going six league games unbeaten - including five victories in that run - they have won just once in their last five matches. Arsenal have only scored one goal so far in April and have slumped to defeats against Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton yet are still in the hunt for a top four finish and will draw level with fourth placed Spurs if they win this evening.

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Chelsea’s derby clash with Arsenal as the two London sides go head-to-head in the Premier League this evening.

Thomas Tuchel’s men come into the game on the back of an impressive 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup where they reached the final and have the chance of lifting silverware this season. In the league they are five points clear of Tottenham (4th), have a firm grip on a place in the top four and have at least one game in hand on the teams closest to them in the table.

Arsenal on the other hand are rocking after three straight defeats has seen them surrender a spot in the Champions League places to their north London rivals. They are currently fifth in the league but have a game in hand on Spurs and can draw level with them on points if they manage to defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this evening. Manager Mikel Arteta is in need of a win and will be hoping to get one over the Gunners’ London rivals tonight.