Arsenal ease past Chelsea to return to the top of Premier League

Arsenal secured a commanding 3-1 victory over Chelsea, propelling themselves back to the top of the Premier League table ahead of Manchester City.

The Gunners demonstrated a dominant first-half performance, with Martin Odegaard's brace and Gabriel Jesus' goal putting them comfortably ahead.

Despite a slight improvement in Chelsea's gameplay in the second half, the only goal they managed to pull back was Noni Madueke's lone strike.

Arsenal's triumph places them two points ahead of City in the league standings, but they have played two more games than their rivals.

Action: Arsenal demonstrated their dominance from the beginning, as they almost broke the deadlock after just four minutes. Cesar Azpilicueta's poor header sold Kepa Arrizabalaga short, allowing Granit Xhaka to pounce, but the Spanish goalkeeper made himself big to deny the Switzerland captain's effort.

However, the Spaniard couldn't keep the Gunners at bay forever, and Martin Odegaard struck in the 18th minute. Xhaka cut back for the Norwegian, who curled in a delightful strike off the crossbar. Kepa got a fingertip to the shot, but it was not enough to prevent the ball from crossing the line.

Arsenal's captain's opener was a just reward for their sheer dominance, but Chelsea almost equalised out of nowhere in the 25th minute. Ben Chilwell broke beyond Bukayo Saka on the left and forced a brilliant save from Aaron Ramsdale.

Chelsea's relief was short-lived as Odegaard  struck again in the 31st minute. Xhaka found his captain in the box, who calmly swept the ball into the bottom corner.

Arsenal's third goal came just three minutes later. A Ben White cross from the right caused chaos in the Chelsea box, and after Xhaka's close-range effort was blocked, Gabriel Jesus fired home from a tight angle.

Mikel Arteta's men dominance resumed quickly in the second half, with Thiago Silva clearing a Gabriel Magalhaes header off the line in the 51st minute and shortly after Kepa turned Xhaka's low effort wide.

The hostss looked like scoring a fourth goal, but the Blues managed to pull one back in the 65th minute as Mateo Kovacic's cross met Noni Madueke, who bobbled the ball beyond Ramsdale.

Madueke was Chelsea's brightest spark on another poor performance from Frank Lampard's men, but Arsenal held on comfortably in the dying minutes, ensuring that they didn't suffer a late disappointment like they had against West Ham United and Liverpool.

Big Picture: Arsenal's win over Chelsea has given them a two-point lead over Manchester City in the Premier League table. However, Arsenal have played two more games than Pep Guardiola's men.

With this result, Chelsea's losing streak continues as they have now lost six consecutive games in all competitions and they remain in 12th place in the league standings.

Arsenal's next match will be a tough away fixture against Newcastle United on Sunday, while Chelsea will face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium the previous day.

xG: Arsenal (2.59) 3-1 (0.67) Chelsea

Stat of the Day: Gabriel Jesus has now scored in 55 Premier League matches and never ended on the losing side when doing so (W50 D5) – this is the most times a player has scored in a game in the competition without ever losing, surpassing James Milner (54).