Arsenal vs Chelsea: Unai Emery's side close on top four with convincing Premier League win
Re-live the action from the Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal reinvigorated their hopes of finishing in the Premier League's top four with a deserved 2-0 victory over London rivals Chelsea.
Unai Emery had said on the eve of the game that a defeat at the Emirates Stadium, which would have left Arsenal nine points adrift of the fourth-placed Blues, would have meant the end of their top-four ambitions.
In truth, the hosts never looked like losing as they went at Chelsea from the off, sealing the win with first-half goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny.
Maurizio Sarri opted to set up his Chelsea side with Eden Hazard again playing at the main central attacking option and the visitors rarely threatened. Re-live the action in the blog below:
What time does it start?
Arsenal vs Chelsea kicks off at 5:30pm (GMT) on Saturday 19 January.
Where can I watch it?
Arsenal vs Chelsea will be shown live on BT Sport 1 from 5:00pm (GMT).
BT Sport subscribers can watch the action on the BT Sport app.
Highlights will be shown at 10:20pm on BBC One.
Player to watch...
Willian: The Brazilian has been a firm fixture in Maurizio Sarri’s starting XI all season and scored a beauty to clinch three points against Newcastle. The 30-year-old has played in all but one of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures, and has scored five goals in all competitions. With Eden Hazard playing up front in recent weeks, Willian and Pedro are Sarri’s preferred options out wide, keeping Callum Hudson-Odoi out of the team.
Form guide...
Arsenal: WDLWWL
Chelsea: WWDWLW
Odds...
Arsenal to win: 21/10
Chelsea to win: 11/8
Draw: 13/5
(Odds provided by Betfair)
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's evening Premier League kick-off between Arsenal and Chelsea, brought to you from the Emirates Stadium.
Teams will be out at 4.30pm an hour before kick-off, but you can follow all the build-up to the London derby here.
Evening everyone.
Less than half-an-hour until kick-off at the Emirates Stadium.
It is a huge game this evening, with Arsenal facing the prospect of being nine points behind Chelsea with a loss today. Manchester United's win means that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are ahead of Unai Emery's men, and he'll be looking for a response after defeat at West Ham last weekend.
Chelsea are unchanged for this one, with Eden Hazard remaining in the middle of a front-three lacking in a definite striking option.
Gonzalo Higuain could be on his way before the transfer window closes, but Maurizio Sarri insists he will not change his style despite a goalscoring downturn in recent weeks:
Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin and Lucas Torreira return for the home side, with Mesut Ozil on the bench.
Luke Brown is our expert on all-things-Arsenal, and he says they must shut out the noise this evening:
"Those who walk Arsenal’s corridors of power instead privately concede that the greatest signing made during Arsène Wenger’s 22 years in charge was Sven Mislintat, appointed as head of recruitment from Borussia Dortmund in November 2017 and seen as nothing short of vital to the future of the club."
Arsenal suffered an unexpected off-field disaster this week, with their key personnel-man opting to leave the club almost completely out-of-the blue 15 months after arriving.
With Sven Mislintat believed to be on his way to Bayern Munich, Luke Brown and Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney analyse why the German is such a huge loss:
It was a week of big news from Petr Cech, with the goalkeeper (a favourite at both these clubs) announcing that he will retire from football at the end of the season.
A Premier League legend.
Five minutes until kick-off at the Emirates.
Two managers in their first season in the Premier League, and two sets of fans that still have their doubts. With Manchester United back in the top-four race, Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery will be desperate for victory this evening.
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