LONDON – Kai Havertz scored twice against his former team and Ben White also scored twice as Arsenal beat a dismal Chelsea side 5-0 on Tuesday to claim their biggest ever league victory over their London rivals.
The victory ensures Arsenal go into the weekend top of the Premier League table, moving three points clear of Liverpool ahead of Wednesday’s Merseyside derby against Everton. Man City are four points behind before they play Brighton on Thursday with another game in hand.
For Chelsea, it was another disheartening defeat after their 1-0 loss to Man City in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday ended any hope of ending a disappointing season on a high.
Chelsea’s top scorer, Cole Palmer, was absent due to injury, but the way the team collapsed in the second half will only renew doubts over what progress – if any – the expensively assembled squad made in their first season under Chelsea’s management. Mauricio Pochettino.
Arsenal’s biggest previous league win over Chelsea was 5-1 in 1930.
Leandro Trossard put Arsenal ahead after just four minutes when he beat Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic at the near post from a tight angle. Petrovic made up for it by single-handedly keeping his team in the game with some good saves until the floodgates opened in the second half when the visitors’ resistance dissipated.
White scored the second in the 52nd and Havertz added the third just five minutes later with a well-taken goal after being set up by a perfect pass from Martin Odegaard. The German international, who made a costly move from Chelsea to Arsenal last summer, got another in the 65th with a shot from the center of the box, and White added to the rout with a fortunate second goal when his attempted volley sailed into the net. network at 70.
Pochettino responded by bringing on defender Thiago Silva to prevent the score from increasing further.
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AP Football:
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