Martin Odegaard fired Arsenal again to the highest of the Premier League because the Norway midfielder’s double impressed a 3-1 win towards woeful Chelsea on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta’s facet misplaced regulate of the identify race after remaining week’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.
But the Gunners signaled their aim to push City all of the strategy to the twine with a much-needed first win in 5 video games.
Odegaard’s brace used to be adopted by way of a Gabriel Jesus strike because the hosts raced right into a three-goal sooner than half-time on the Emirates Stadium.
Noni Madueke’s moment 1/2 target used to be no comfort for Chelsea’s wretched efficiency.
Arsenal are actually two issues transparent of second-placed City and whilst Pep Guardiola’s males stay favorites to win the identify, the north Londoners have no less than implemented a little bit power at the champions.
City will return into first position in the event that they beat West Ham at house on Wednesday within the first in their two video games in hand at Arsenal.
“The first 60 minutes, I thought we played really well. That was everything I wanted to see from our team,” Arteta stated.
“Speed, high quality, motion, two gorgeous objectives, we attached with our crowd and created an unbelievable surroundings.
“We wanted to earn the right to be top of the league. We’re happy to be there.”
After 10 weeks on the best, Arsenal had been knocked all the way down to moment position by way of City’s win at Fulham on Sunday.
Three successive attracts, together with two blown two-goal leads, and the calamitous loss at City have led Arsenal to be written off as identify race chokers.
But Arteta insisted this week that the identify used to be nonetheless winnable and his gamers answered to the Spaniard’s rallying cry.
Troubled Chelsea had been ultimate combatants for Arsenal to get again on the right track sooner than a difficult go back and forth to Newcastle on Sunday.
The Blues have now misplaced all six video games since Frank Lampard returned as caretaker boss to switch the sacked Graham Potter.
Languishing in twelfth position, Chelsea are on a nine-game winless run in all competitions and face the possibility of failing to complete within the best 1/2 of the desk for the primary time since 1996.
“We were too nice to play against in all aspects in the first half. Not good enough,” Lampard stated.
“It’s tough because you want to win games, but it’s our job, we’ll work on it.”
Rampant Arsenal
Former Arsenal ahead Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made his first Chelsea get started because the Blues misplaced 1–0 to the Gunners in November.
But Aubameyang, whose four-year spell with Arsenal ended acrimoniously in 2022, by no means had a possibility of exacting revenge on his outdated workforce sooner than being hauled off at half-time.
Arsenal had been in entire regulate from the beginning and Odegaard gave them a deserved lead within the 18th minute.
Left in acres of house, Granit Xhaka’s low move eluded Chelsea’s lackadaisical defenders and Odegaard guided a very good curling end previous Kepa Arrizabalaga from simply throughout the penalty space.
Ben Chilwell threatened a Chelsea equaliser, however Aaron Ramsdale made a high quality save to keep the lead.
That near-miss used to be a false daybreak for abysmal Chelsea because the Gunners grew to become the screw with a moment target within the thirty first minute.
Once once more, Chelsea allowed Xhaka time to move into the realm and Odegaard took complete benefit of slack marking from Raheem Sterling to fireside previous Kepa from 12 yards.
Arsenal scented blood towards spineless, disinterested combatants and the 3rd target duly arrived 3 mins later.
Ben White’s move used to be chested down by way of Jesus and when Xhaka’s shot used to be blocked, it used to be Jesus who stabbed house from close-range.
Arsenal had been rampant and Thiago Silva hooked Gabriel’s header off the road, whilst Kepa stored from Xhaka and Bukayo Saka.
Chelsea woke up from their shut eye simply lengthy sufficient to scale back the deficit within the sixty fifth minute.
Mateo Kovacic’s defence-splitting cross discovered Madueke and he deftly slotted previous Ramsdale for his first league target since signing from PSV Eindhoven in January.