The Gunners were unbeaten in the last six meetings against the Blues and continued the streak with a solid win yesterday.
The hosts took the lead with their first corner-kick goal in two months.
Mikel Merino came up with a perfectly timed header to beat Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Arsenal were unable to double their advantage despite some quality chances. Leandro Trossard was particularly woeful with his decision-making in the London derby.
Despite this, there were plenty of positives to carry forward. Merino scored his fifth league goal of the campaign as an emergency striker. It proved the match-winner.
William Saliba was tremendous in the heart of the Arsenal defence. He comfortably oversaw the threat of Christopher Nkunku and made a superb sliding challenge on Pedro Neto.
The Frenchman had 70 touches in the derby with a passing accuracy of 90 percent. He won 100 percent of his aerials (3/3) and 100 percent of his tackles (2/2).
He also made four clearances, four recoveries and two blocks. It was a fantastic showing from the central defender. He controlled proceedings with relative ease.
Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea has reduced the gap to leaders Liverpool to 12 points with nine games to play.
Liverpool have a clear advantage, but the Gunners must keep winning to capitalise on any setbacks for the Reds.
Arne Slot’s side bowed out of the Champions League and lost the Carabao Cup final in the same week.
It remains to be seen whether this impacts their league performances after the international break.
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