- Chelsea with 64 percent possession
- Arsenal takes 2-0 halftime lead
- Arrizabalaga strong in defeat
Chelsea had most of the ball but Arsenal produced almost all of the danger in a 2-0 defeat of the visiting Blues at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny scored for Unai Emery’s men, who avenged a 3-2 loss at Stamford Bridge in August to move three points back of the fourth place visitors.
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Chelsea’s opening moments were anything but stable, with a couple silly fouls and a flubbed chance by Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette off a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang feed.
Blues goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga bailed his team out when Laurent Koscielny jabbed a hard header at him off an Aaron Ramsey free kick.
The ensuing corner kick saw Lacazette put the Gunners ahead with a hard chipped finish past Arrizabalaga at the near post.
Koscielny’s shoulder turned a Sokratis shot over Arrizabalaga and inside the far post at the 40th minute.
Chelsea was a bit of a mess, but Marcos Alonso nearly pulled the deficit back to one when he headed off the post in the 45th minute.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]20 - Laurent Koscielny has scored in each of his nine seasons in the Premier League and is the first Arsenal defender to net 20 goals in the competition. Stalwart. pic.twitter.com/HfixpFAvh9
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 19, 2019
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Pedro blazed a cutback pass from Willian over the bar after running into a promising 56th minute position.
Sead Kolasinac inspired danger in the 64th minute, but Arrizabalaga stood tall for Chelsea.
Arsenal suffered a significant setback in the second half, as Hector Bellerin’s knee appeared to buckle on a non-contact injury. His leg was strapped down and the Spaniard was stretchered off the pitch.