Arsenal take Chelsea to pieces in clinical celebration of Wenger's 20th anniversary
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Updated 24/09/2016 at 18:38 GMT
Premier League, The Emirates – Arsenal 3 (Sanchez 11, Walcott 14, Ozil 40) Chelsea 0
Arsenal's Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring their third goal with team mates
Image credit: Reuters
Arsenal recorded their fourth straight victory for the first time since October 2015 after brushing aside London rivals Chelsea 3-0, giving Arsene Wenger one of his best-ever wins against his rivals just two days after he marked 20 years as Arsenal manager.
All of the damage was done in the opening half, Alexis Sanchez setting the ball rolling after robbing Gary Cahill of the ball before finishing superbly past Courtois with a delightful chip.
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Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring their first goal
Image credit: Reuters
The Gunners doubled their lead within three minutes, Theo Walcott finishing off another superb move to tap home Hector Bellerin’s cross.
And the match was effectively over as a contest when Sanchez and Ozil combined for a third just before the break.
An uncharacteristically toothless Chelsea left it to the 84th minute to record their first shot on target, Petr Cech on hand to deny substitute Michy Batshuayi.
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Arsenal's English midfielder Theo Walcott celebrates scoring their second goal
Image credit: AFP
The Gunners climb to third in the table, level with Liverpool and Everton on points but with an advantage in goal difference - while Chelsea are now eighth, below Crystal Palace.
The result will be a huge morale boost for Wenger, who was unveiled as the new Arsenal boss 20 years ago on Thursday, but who has consistently faced questions about his future beyond the end of this season.
For Antonio Conte, it is practically uncharted waters as the new Chelsea boss lost consecutive league games for the first time since December 2009 while at Atalanta.
TALKING POINT
John Terry to the rescue? Antonio Conte prides himself on a mean defence but Chelsea were carved apart today. Having missed the last two games, surely the Chelsea talisman is the player needed to shore up that leaky defence.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal): On his 100th appearance for the club, Sanchez once again proved invaluable, setting the ball rolling with his 47th for the club. A close call between him and the excellent Alex Iwobi.
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Arsenal's Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring the opening goal
Image credit: AFP
PLAYER RATINGS
Arsenal: Cech 6, Bellerin 7, Mustafi 6, Koscielny 7, Monreal 6, Coquelin 6, Cazorla 6, Walcott 7, Ozil 7, Iwobi 8, Sanchez 8. SUBS: Gibbs 6, Xhaka 6, Giroud 6.
Chelsea: Courtois 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 5, David Luiz 5, Azpilicueta 6; Kante 6; Willian 6, Fabregas 6, Matic 6, Hazard 6; Diego Costa 6. SUBS: Pedro 6, Alonso 6, Batshuayi 6.
KEY MOMENTS
11’ - GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea: Cahill dallies on the ball and is robbed by Sanchez, who finishes past Courtois with a cheeky, deft chip.
14’ - GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea: Walcott finishes off another great Arsenal move, tapping home Bellerin’s pinpoint cross.
40’ - GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea: Arsenal break and have two on two. Ozil plays it wide to Sanchez and finishes off his cross, volleying into the ground and over Courtois into the far corner.
KEY STATS
Antonio Conte loses consecutive league matches as a manager for the first time since November to December 2009 when his Atalanta team lost Serie A fixtures against both Claudio Ranieri’s AS Roma (2-1, home) and Cesare Prandelli’s Fiorentina (2-0, away).
Arsenal end their longest top flight winless run against Chelsea, nine matches stretching back to the 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge on 29 October 2011.
Arsenal end a run of six PL matches without a goal against Chelsea, stretching back to when Theo Walcott found the net in the 2-1 away defeat on 20 January 2013.
Arsenal score a goal against Chelsea at Emirates Stadium for the first time in almost four years, when Gervinho netted in the 2-1 PL defeat on 29 September 2012.
Chelsea concede three goal in a PL match before half-time for the first time since New Year's Day 2015, when Tottenham were 3-1 up and eventually won 5-3.
MATCH IN A TWEET
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