Chelsea vs Arsenal is a fixture that goes under the radar as a local derby in the Premier League.
Both the Gunners and the Blues can get more caught up in their mutual hatred of Tottenham, but there is no love lost between the two fanbases. It’s a fixture that for many years has featured two of the best sides in the Premier League, the games often having a serious bearing on a title race or the battle for a Champions League qualification spot.
Many of the Premier League’s great players have been a part of this fixture over the years and goals are frequent. Here, we look back at some of the best instalments in recent years and who has the historic edge in fixtures between Chelsea and Arsenal.
With the Premier League season coming to an end, this was a very big game in the race for a top four place.
Coming into the match, Chelsea were in third while Arsenal were fourth, but it was the Gunners who came out on top. Despite that, they still ended up in fifth, while the Blues kept third place.
There was a cracking first half that saw Eddie Nketiah give Arsenal the lead before Timo Werner equalised, but Emile Smith Rowe made it 2-1 shortly before Cesar Azpilicueta equalised. The second half was more straightforward for Arsenal as Bukayo Saka and Nketiah secured a big win at Stamford Bridge.
This early season fixture was a chance to see how two of the Premier League’s biggest teams would cope when put up against a direct rival, and the first half suggested they could each hold their own.
There were four goals in the first half, with Spaniards Pedro and Alvaro Morata putting Chelsea 2-0 up in ten minutes before Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi equalised. With less than ten minutes to play, another Spaniard in Marcos Alonso netted for Chelsea and secured an important win.
It proved very important in the grand scheme of things as Chelsea finished two points ahead of Arsenal to qualify for the Champions League with the Gunners ending up fifth.
Once again, a place in the Champions League was the real focus here as the two London sides met in the Premier League. There was some superb late drama at the Emirates, but this time both sides missed out on Europe’s top club competition, finishing fifth and sixth.
Jack Wilshere had given Arsenal the lead but Eden Hazard got Chelsea back level with over 20 minutes to play. The contest looked to have fizzled out but a pair of Spaniards again got on the scoresheet.
Alonso put Chelsea ahead with just over five minutes to play, but Hector Bellerin rescued a point for his side in the 92nd minute with his first goal of the season. It was a poorer result for Chelsea, who were third before the game started.
There have been very few thrashings in this fixture over the past decade or so, but Arsenal really did get one here. It couldn’t have gone any worse in what was Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game as their title aspirations were severely dashed.
Samuel Eto’o and Andre Schurrle got a goal each in the first seven minutes before things got really weird. A shot from Eden Hazard was palmed away by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the box and a penalty given. Instead of the midfielder, defender Kieran Gibbs was sent off.
Yeah, the referee sent off the wrong Arsenal player for the handball.
Hazard scored the penalty and Chelsea went on to record a thumping win. Oscar bagged himself a couple, dancing away from Mikel Arteta in midfield before the second, before Mohamed Salah scored a rare goal in a Chelsea shirt.
This has to be the most thrilling game as a genuine contest. Neither side had enjoyed a wonderful start to the season but they arrived at Stamford Bridge ready to serve up a serious Premier League classic.
Frank Lampard opened the scoring but Robin van Persie soon responded, before John Terry ensured Chelsea were ahead at the break.
In the second half, Andre Santos bagged himself an equaliser which was very quickly followed by a Theo Walcott goal to put Arsenal ahead for the first time. The drama seemed to come to an end with ten minutes left when Juan Mata’s deflected shot looped in for 3-3, but a certain Dutch striker wasn’t done yet.
A slip from Terry just five minutes later allowed Van Persie to put Arsenal back in front again. He grabbed his hat-trick in stoppage time with a powerful shot that Petr Cech couldn’t keep out.
Chelsea vs Arsenal – Complete H2H record
Chelsea vs Arsenal – Premier League H2H record
Chelsea vs Arsenal – FA Cup H2H record
Top scorers in Chelsea vs Arsenal fixtures
Player | Teams represented | Goals |
|---|---|---|
Didier Drogba | Chelsea | 13 |
Bobby Tambling | Chelsea | 10 |
Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 10 |
Ray Kennedy | Arsenal | 9 |
Ian Wright | Arsenal | 8 |
