Five-star Arsenal thrash Chelsea to open up league lead
Kai Havertz and Ben White on Tuesday scored twice as Arsenal thrashed Chelsea 5-0 to surge ahead in the Premier League title race and ramp up the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City.
Leandro Trossard was also on target in a record win over Chelsea for the Gunners, who moved three points clear of Liverpool and four of Manchester City.
The destiny of the title remains in City’s hands as the defending champions have two games in hand.
Liverpool have also played one fewer game than Arsenal and were to play Everton in the Merseyside derby yesterday.
However, Mikel Arteta’s men’s goal-difference advantage looks unassailable should it become decisive in the title race.
“We have made our people very proud. It is a big derby for us and I know what it means,” Arteta said. “We started the game really well, but didn’t convert all our chances — we were a bit sloppy in certain areas of the pitch. In the second half we were much more disciplined and created chances and were ruthless in front of goal.”
Chelsea and Arsenal’s title rivals were dealt a huge blow before kickoff as the Blues’ danger man Cole Palmer was ruled out due to illness.
Palmer has scored or assisted nearly 50 percent of Chelsea’s Premier League goals this season and his presence was badly missed by the visitors.
Despite enduring a disappointing first season under Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea had been unbeaten in eight consecutive league games prior to their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
However, they were blown away by an Arsenal side keen to reaffirm their title credentials after losing their last home game to Aston Villa.
“So difficult [a] result and performance [to accept] because it is not nice to see your team playing like this from the beginning of the game,” Pochettino said. “Today we didn’t compete against a team fighting for the Premier League. We need to be aware we need to compete in a different way.”