CHELSEA
stood and watched. The Chilean didn’t. He raced after it, almost pushing Ramsey – clearly in an offside position – out of the way, before lashing the ball past Courtois.
Replays showed that Arsenal’s striker had connected with his arms. Referee Anthony Taylor spoke to his assistant and awarded the goal. In the good old days, when the law was clear, the strike would not have stood.
Using the modern interpretation, the match official made the correct call although it did appear afterwards there was an infringement in the build- up. If Chelsea boss Antonio Conte ( below) had legitimate complaints about the validity of the goal, he could have none whatsoever about the score at the interval.
It had taken two stops on the line from Gary Cahill to prevent t he Gunners extending their lead.
Sanchez slipped Mesut Ozil i n. The German international clipped the ball past Courtois and the England stopper somehow produced a backheel off the line, under pressure from Danny Welbeck, to clear. Then Welbeck flicked on Ozil’s corner. It crashed into the upright and Ramsey just couldn’t chest it in. Next, Cahill raced back to clear as Welbeck looked like he had claimed a second. It was breathless stuff. Arsenal’s energy had disrupted Chelsea and it took yet another Cahill block, this time on the edge of his own six- yard area after Sanchez again broke a nonexistent offside trap. It couldn’t continue. Chelsea are too good not to pose their own threat.
Shock
Closest they came to hitting back was when Pedro sent a shot skimming past David Ospina’s goal and it was almost a shock when Conte’s men managed to find a way through with 14 minutes left. That came after Moses, booked for a foul on the excellent Welbeck, attempted to win a penalty off Alex OxladeChamberlain. That failed, he was sent off. Willian swung over a cross, Diego Costa chested down and his shot deflected into the net off Mertesacker.
But straight from the restart, Wenger threw on Olivier Giroud. With the Frenchman’s first move, he darted down Chelsea’s right flank.
His first time cross found Ramsey in acres of space and the Welshman nodded home.
It was some goal. In the finest tradition of a Wenger team. And now football waits to see if it will continue.