March 01, (THEWILL) — A dominant set-piece display carried Arsenal to a 2-1 English Premier League victory over Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, restoring their five-point lead at the summit of the table.
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header settled a contest that was shaped throughout by dead-ball delivery.
Gabriel Magalhaes met a Bukayo Saka corner in the 21st minute and steered the ball towards William Saliba, whose header clipped Mamadou Sarr before crossing the line to give the hosts the lead.
Chelsea, however, posed threats of their own from set pieces.
David Raya produced a fine stop to deny Jorrel Hato, with Declan Rice adjudged to have held the Chelsea defender in the process, before Piero Hincapie diverted the ball into his own net on the stroke of half-time to level matters.
Joao Pedro had a penalty appeal rejected and a second-half header cleared off the line, yet Arsenal’s superiority from corners proved decisive once more.
Rice delivered with precision onto the head of Timber, leaving Robert Sanchez stranded and restoring the home side’s advantage.
Pedro Neto was cautioned for dissent immediately after the goal and dismissed fewer than three minutes later for a reckless challenge on Gabriel Martinelli, reducing Chelsea to 10 men for the closing stages.
The dismissal effectively ended the visitors’ prospects of salvaging a result.
Raya was required late on, parrying away Alejandro Garnacho’s cross to preserve the lead.
Deep into stoppage time, Liam Delap forced the ball over the line, only for the effort to be ruled out with Joao Pedro adjudged offside in the build-up, confirming a hard-earned three points for Arsenal.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
