Arsenal have cleared another major hurdle in their bid for the Premier League title.<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta\u2019s side restored their five-point advantage at the top of the table with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Chelsea, which once again relied on their prowess at dead balls, with both of their goals coming from corners.<\/p>\n
Chelsea looked impressive for long spells and had a goal disallowed for offside in stoppage time, but were ultimately undone by Pedro Neto\u2019s second-half red card \u2014 yet another moment of indiscipline that has cost them dearly this term as they pursue Champions League qualification.<\/p>\n
We analyse the main talking points.<\/p>\n
How significant was this for Arsenal?<\/b><\/h2>\n
That\u2019s one more down, nine to go for Arsenal. Their 4-1 win over Tottenham was impressive, but Chelsea was always going to be viewed as a more stern test, and Mikel Arteta\u2019s side found a way to build on the momentum created at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.<\/p>\n
Maintaining their five-point advantage after Manchester City have won games will be a major aspect of this title race.<\/p>\n
Arteta will be particularly pleased with the result, considering that the match itself seemed to have a different rhythm from most Arsenal matches. This was much more end-to-end, with both teams creating opportunities to hit the other on the break but not fully capitalising.<\/p>\n
From an Arsenal perspective, the openings they created for Viktor Gyokeres in behind the Chelsea back line were encouraging, even if he did not score. These were the types of situations he thrived on with Sporting CP in Portugal, so if they are working on ways to find him more quickly, that could help in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
The return of Kai Havertz for the final 15 minutes will also be a major boost as Arsenal have six more games to play this month.<\/p>\n
Despite securing the win, Arteta will be mindful of individual errors that could have been costly yet again for Arsenal. Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba and Declan Rice all had strange moments on the ball that gave Chelsea more encouragement, but were lucky none came to anything.<\/p>\n
Just like against Spurs, Arsenal would have been eternally grateful for David Raya\u2019s concentration and agility in the second half. His reaction to Alejandro Garnacho\u2019s cross, just like his catch from Joao Pedro earlier in the half, didn\u2019t seem possible inside the stadium, but these are moments Arsenal need their goalkeeper for.<\/p>\n
Rock Art<\/em><\/p>\n In the wake of Wesley Fofana\u2019s red card against Burnley, Liam Rosenior could still just about credibly cling to the idea that Chelsea\u2019s indiscipline problem was easing under him.<\/p>\n No more. Pedro Neto set fire to that particular theory at the Emirates Stadium, lunging rashly in on Gabriel Martinelli by the touchline only three minutes after picking up his first yellow card from referee Darren England for dissent.<\/p>\n \n Pedro Neto brings down Gabriel Martinelli (Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The initial decision was beyond stupid, the execution of the tackle was dire and Neto then compounded his own personal farce by continuing to argue with the air of a wrongly convicted man long after he had been sent from the field.<\/p>\n Chelsea have now racked up seven red cards in the Premier League this season, three more than any other team in the division, and nine in all competitions. It is inexcusable, utterly avoidable, and it is killing their chances of qualifying for next season\u2019s Champions League \u2014 a failure that would hit many of these players directly in the pocket, given the incentivised nature of their contracts.<\/p>\n Chelsea’s red cards this season<\/p>\n Robert Sanchez<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Man Utd<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n PL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Trevoh Chalobah<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Brighton<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n PL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Jo\u00e3o Pedro<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Benfica<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n UCL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Malo want<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Nottm Forest<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n PL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Liam Delap<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Wolves<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n CC<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Moises Caicedo<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Arsenal<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n PL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Marc Cucurella<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Fulham<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n PL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Wesley Fofana<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Burnley<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n PL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Pedro Neto<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Arsenal<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n PL<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Most galling of all for the travelling Chelsea supporters on this occasion was that Neto\u2019s dismissal scuppered any chance of a fightback in a game in which their team had already proven themselves capable of responding, and Arsenal were anxious.<\/p>\n But such moments are instructive as well as decisive. Arsenal are a serious team, and Chelsea are not.<\/p>\n Liam Twomey<\/em><\/p>\n Corners were always going to have a say today.<\/p>\n Arsenal\u2019s strength from corners has been well documented in recent seasons, but Chelsea caused problems for Mikel Arteta\u2019s side with them earlier this season, as their opener in November\u2019s 1-1 draw coming from one.<\/p>\n Going ahead from corners has been a theme of Arsenal\u2019s season, with their nine opening goals from corners the most of any Premier League team in a single season since Southampton in 1995-96.<\/p>\n Arsenal opening PL goals from corners<\/p>\n Aug 17<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Manchester United<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Aug 23<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Leeds United<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Sep 13<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Nottingham Forest<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Oct 18<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Fulham<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Nov 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Burnley<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Dec 13<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Wolves<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Dec 30<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Aston Villa<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Jan 31<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Leeds United<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Mar 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Chelsea<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/div>\n The routine of going to the back post to head back across goal may seem unusual, but it has been profitable for Arsenal over the last few seasons. Before today, the most recent example was the unlikely combination of Leandro Trossard heading across to Gabriel Jesus away to Inter in January.<\/p>\n Gabriel\u2019s header across to William Saliba was his fourth league assist of the season, and his third from a corner, while Saliba became Arsenal\u2019s 16th scorer of the season, with his effort going in off Mamadou Sarr.<\/p>\n From a Chelsea perspective, targeting the near post worked at Stamford Bridge, so Arsenal would not have been surprised by them doing the same at the Emirates. Indeed, Chelsea predominantly use that tactic from corners (as do most of the Premier League \u2014 over 70 per cent of corners taken this season have been inswingers).<\/p>\n That may be why Declan Rice made first contact on the initial corner before Piero Hincapie did the same with the one that found its way beyond David Raya.<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t a one-off, either. Another brilliant Reece James delivery early in the second period also caused issues for Arsenal, with a Joao Pedro header forcing a save from Raya.<\/p>\n Arsenal, perhaps unsurprisingly, had the final word, though. Declan Rice\u2019s inswinger for Jurrien Timber was his seventh league assist of the season, and felt eerily similar to Ben White\u2019s opener in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.<\/p>\n That evening, Chelsea\u2019s defenders were preoccupied with having a hold of Arsenal\u2019s attackers instead of looking for the flight of the ball.<\/p>\n They had the same issue with Rice\u2019s corner as Timber was the one in control to put Arsenal back ahead.<\/p>\n Rock Art<\/em><\/p>\n Before the late unravelling, this was a vast improvement on Chelsea\u2019s last visit to Arsenal, a 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the start of last month.<\/p>\n On that occasion, Liam Rosenior set his side up to contain, deploying a five-man defence, an odd approach given that his side needed to overturn a 3-2 first-leg deficit.<\/p>\n Rosenior was keen to stress that he had been hampered with injuries last time out. \u201cIf you look at the team sheets they are very different to the one from today,\u201d he told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n Among the four changes from that game were starts for Cole Palmer and Reece James, two of their standout performers today.<\/p>\n Chelsea reverted back to their usual 4-2-3-1, but this was just a crude base formation, with the team rotating positions into different shapes. Palmer started on the left for the first time this season, something Chelsea experimented with at the Club World Cup, and his unfamiliar positioning caused confusion among the Arsenal ranks.<\/p>\n Palmer found plenty of pockets of space against a usually watertight Arsenal midfield, prompting Gabriel and William Saliba to effectively take turns stepping out and man-marking the roaming playmaker between them.<\/p>\n This was Arsenal\u2019s lowest share of possession (42 per cent) in a home match this season, as they struggled to suffocate Chelsea in the way they do most opponents, with Rosenior\u2019s side bravely building up from the back.<\/p>\n Ultimately, they were undone by Arsenal\u2019s set-piece brilliant and their own familiar ill-discipline, but this was an otherwise positive outing.<\/p>\n Conor O\u2019Neill<\/em><\/p>\n It took all of eight minutes for Robert Sanchez to start feeling the heat from the jeering masses of home supporters at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n By then he had almost given away one almost certain goal, presenting the ball to the onrushing Viktor Gyokeres with a loose touch before smothering the Swede\u2019s attempted shot, then scrambling to clear the ball away from Eberechi Eze following up.<\/p>\n There were also several classic Sanchez moments: waiting a beat too long to bait the press, then selecting a pass that seemed designed to sow as much anxiety in his team-mates as possible.<\/p>\n \n Robert Sanchez was put under pressure in possession (Adrian Dennis\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n This has always been part of the Sanchez experience and, you suspect, always will be.<\/p>\n Early in the first half, it did not feel like an overstatement to conclude that Chelsea\u2019s entire game plan depended on his ability to tune it all out, take a breath and see the blue shirts clearly through the fog of Arsenal pressure.<\/p>\n As the game progressed, he more regularly did so, but in the key moment of the game in the 66th minute, he disappeared into himself, getting caught under a trademark Declan Rice in-swinger and failing to react quickly enough to Jurrien Timber\u2019s header.<\/p>\n His furious protests to Darren England were undone by replays showing he had meekly allowed himself to be blocked off by team-mate Andrey Santos.<\/p>\n Sanchez has his good days for Chelsea, and he made a good save from Eberechi Eze late on, but with too many of these, and when they happen, it is hard not to conclude that they need a better goalkeeper to be a proper team.<\/p>\n Liam Twomey<\/em><\/p>\n The Arsenal manager highlighted his side\u2019s excellence at attacking set pieces as a crucial factor in their win.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were very important,\u201d he told Sky Sports. \u201cChelsea are the second best (in terms of their record) with one less goal, look at the talent they have. We have lost points to long throws, lately we haven\u2019t scored from many set pieces. Today we did it, to have these options is great.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can be a nightmare to defend against. On tactics boards we can resolve any situation, but when it\u2019s live and they are so aggressive, pushy, effective, difficult to handle, it\u2019s very tough.\u201d<\/p>\n The Chelsea head coach admitted his side\u2019s discipline was a concern after yet another red card.<\/p>\n \u201cFrustrated with the end result,\u201d he told the BBC. \u201cThere were\u00a0 lot of good things in our game but we were undone by two set pieces like we were against Burnley last week.<\/p>\n \u201cI have respect for the previous manager Enzo (Maresca). I don\u2019t speak about what happened before but it is starting to happen with me. That\u2019s something I felt we had addressed. We went 10 games without a red card, but it\u2019s now two in two games and that\u2019s a problem we need to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n Wednesday, March 4<\/strong>: Brighton & Hove Albion (Away), Premier League, 7:30pm UK, 2:30pm ET<\/p>\n Wednesday, March 4<\/strong>: Aston Villa (Away), Premier League, 7:30pm UK, 2:30pm ET<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Arsenal have cleared another major hurdle in their bid for the Premier League title. Mikel Arteta\u2019s side restored their five-point advantage at the top of the table with a hard-fought … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Neto\u2019s moment of idiocy<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n
\n Player<\/span><\/th>\n They will oppose<\/span><\/th>\n Competition<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n How did both sides make the most of corners?<\/b><\/h2>\n
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\n Date<\/span><\/th>\n Scorer<\/span><\/th>\n They will oppose<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/02\/01122728\/Screenshot-2026-03-01-at-17.24.08.png\")
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<\/p>\nDid Rosenior learn from previous defeats?<\/h2>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/03\/01132255\/image-3.png\")
<\/p>\nHow was Sanchez targeted?<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/03\/01132421\/image-4.png\")
<\/p>\nWhat did Arteta say?<\/h2>\n
What did Rosenior say?<\/h2>\n
What next for Arsenal?<\/h2>\n
What next for Chelsea?<\/h2>\n