MIKEL MERINO scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat a lacklustre Chelsea at the Emirates.
The big news ahead of kick-off was that Blues talisman Cole Palmer was OUT of the matchday squad with a minor injury.
The West London side's slow start was capitalised on by the hosts as makeshift striker Merino rose highest from a corner to flick over Robert Sánchez after 20 minutes of dominance.
Chelsea dominated possession but managed just two shots on target as Arsenal controlled the match.
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FT: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
A slender victory for The Gunners in this London derby.
Chelsea have plenty to worry about as they look to get back to where they feel the club should be.
They may be a work in progress but they do not look very far down that path currently, which should be a concern considering the financial outlay to put this squad together.
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FT: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
The referee brings the game to a close in North London.
Not a performance to set the world alight from Arsenal but they ground out the all-important win.
Sky Sports may struggle to pad out the highlights of this game to anything more than a minute.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
90+2. Irrelevant to your thoughts on the player's abilities, if more of this Chelsea side had the hunger of Cucurella they would be a far more potent threat.
They are a goal down at The Emirates, with minutes remaining, yet are playing like a team looking to see a game out for the three points.
There is something distinctly lacking in this side of Maresca's.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
90. The Gunners aree making a change with Tierney coming on.
He is replacing Odegaard for Arteta's side.
That underpins how the plan now is just to hold onto what they have.
We are going to have four added minutes.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
88. This match can be summed up by both sides predicted XG.
Arsenal's is 0.77 and Chelsea's is 0.34.
To be fair, the vistors predicted XG still seems very generous.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
86. Tosin and Gusto come on for Chelsea.
They replace Badiashille and Fofana for The Blues.
Arsenal are looking to hold onto what they have at the moment.
Credit: Getty
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
84. George is trying to make things happen out wide.
When closed down, he offloads it to Fernandez and all the tempo of the attack is lost.
Chelsea must be a frustrating watch every week for their season ticket holders.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
82. So often when a ball comes into the box, there seems to be a lack of communication from The Gunners.
Once again a player tries to win the ball when his teammate was in a far better position if he had left it.
Lavia comes on for James for Chelsea.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
80. Chelsea need to throw caution to the wind now.
Time is running out and they can ill-afford a defeat in their pursuit of a top four finish.
Sadly for the travelling fans, their team seems to have the hunger of somebody who has just returned from an all you can eat buffet.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
78. Caicedo goes in hard on Martinelli, winning the ball in the pocess.
The Brazilian goes down making a meal of the challenge.
Even Arteta has got bored of his antics it seems, he is being substituted for Nwaneri.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
76. Maresca feels it is time to freshen things up.
Nkunku and Sancho are the players to make way.
They are replaced by George and Dewsbury-Hall.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
74. Even the Arsenal fans have stopped getting so excited about their side winning corners now.
Another cross comes in that is just headed away by the visitors.
It seems gone are the days where The Gunners feel they will score every time they force one.
Ironically, that Arsenal set-piece coach is no longer seen on the touchline prior to one, maybe he feels the same way as the supporters.
Credit: Reuters
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
72. Rice and Odegaard are both stood over the free-kick.
They need to work Sanchez at the very least from this dangerous position.
Rice strikes it into the wall and it deflects behind for a corner.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
70. This is like a duel where both participants have grabbed a gun full of blanks.
Lewis-Skelly makes a charge towards goal and is bundled over by Fofana.
The referee awards a free-kick but opts not to show the Chelsea man a second yellow card much to the relief of Maresca.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
68. Am not sure Real Madrid will be watching this game fearing for their Champions League quarter-final.
That is certainly going to be a huge test for Mikel Arteta and his players.
The Spaniards have such an abundance of attacking players, it will take a tactical masterclass from The Gunners' manager to book their place in the semi-finals.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
66. The home fans have finally found their voices at The Emirates.
Hoping they can spur their team on to a second goal in this game.
Chelsea's play is summed up by the fact that Cucurella looks their most dangerous threat going forward.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
64. If this game were to end now, you could not deny that Arteta's side probably deserve the victory on the balance of play.
However, with such a slender lead they are still at risk of being hit with that sucker punch by the visitors.
Odegaard is booked for a lunging late challenge on Cucurella.
Credit: Getty
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
62. Trossard makes an embarassing dive over the leg of a Chelsea player to try and deceive the referee.
Having seen the replay, the Belgian should be embarassed with himself.
We will never stamp this play-acting out of the game until referees start booking players for it.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
60. Fofana is the next player to be shown a card in this game.
He tried to delay the restart by the hosts, throwing a second ball onto the pitch.
When referees start dishing out cards as regularly as he is here, you kind of feel it underpins that they are not in control of the game any longer.
Merino has a volley on the edge of the six yard box but Sanchez reacts well to claw it out of the goal.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
58. Neto tries his luck from distance.
His effort causes more issues for the ball boy than it does Raya.
Partey is shown a yellow card for a stamp on Fernandez in the build-up.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
56. The fans are having some fun with Sanchez whenever the ball goes near him.
Martinelli gets to the corner but is muscled off the ball by Badiashille.
Chance for The Gunners to ask more questions of the visitors' defence.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
54. Arsenal force another corner and get a teasing ball into the box.
It has got to the point in these situations where you are on the edge your seat, wondering what Sanchez will do next to entertain.
On this occasion Chelsea clear theiir lines and Gabriel is booked for a poorly timed tackle on James as they look to counter.
Credit: Reuters
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
52. It is going to be an interesting summer for many teams.
Strikers will be hunted all across the globe.
Neto is shown a yellow card for abusing the referee.
Silly boy.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
50. Partey tries to thread a pass through the defence for Trossard to run onto.
Sadly this is not a strength in his game and it is easily cut out.
It is like a library in The Emirates at the moment, we need something to happen to get this ground buzzing you feel.
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Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
48. Odegaard is having to cover some ground today in the press.
With no focal point up top, it is all hands to the pump.
Chelsea are passing it around with no end product in sight still.
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