A Robin Van Persie double gave Arsenal a priceless win over rivals Chelsea and were indebted to the Dutchman as Arsenal didn’t look like scoring before then. However a Chelsea side who look to have a soft centre without Essien and Drogba could not get another goal after Djourou had earlier given them the lead in the first half with an own goal.
Manuel Almunia (6): Didn’t have a great deal to do but was commanding in his goalkeeper rushing out well to deny chances.
Bakary Sagna (7): Showed why he is so important too Arsenal.Dealt well with the threat from Deco and Ashley Cole arriving late from left back. Put in some strong challenges too
William Gallas (8): Read the game well, putting in some good blocks. Was assuring in leading the defense.
Johan Djourou (6): Unfortunate with the own goal but overall had a decent game and coped well with Anelka.
Gael Clichy (6): Was penned so far back he couldn’t get into the game in the first half. Was better in the second and made a good run which was stopped illegally by Ivanovic.
Denilson (6): The Brazilian will bear the brunt of most Arsenal fans undeservedly but played well. Some good touches and looked to support the attack. Set up the first goal.
Cesc Fabregas (6): Wasn’t as influential as he would have liked as he was out numbered by the Chelsea numbers. Played some nice passes.
Alex Song (6): Positionally out of depth in the first half but steadied himself in the second to deny Chelsea.
Samir Nasri (6): Didn’t make a great impact and came too inside in the first half to allow Bosingwa space. Was better in the second.
Emmanuel Adebayor (6): Back from injury and kept the Chelsea defence on their toes however drifted offside a couple of times and away from the play. Subbed > 83 Bendtner
Robin Van Persie (8)*: Scored the priceless double when Arsenal didn’t look like scoring. Linked up play decently as well.
Substitutes
On 83: Nicklas Bendtner (6): Played Denilson in but his touch was poor towards the end. Did his job to hold up ball.
Subs not used: Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Silvestre, Wilshere, Gibbs
Chelsea: Cech (6), Bosingwa (7), Ivanovic (6), Terry (7), A Cole (7), Mikel (6) (Malouda 69 (5), Deco (6) (Stoch 81 (5), Ballack (6), Lampard (7), Kalou (6), Anelka (5)
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Bridge, Ferreira, Mineiro, Alex
Booked: Terry, Ivanovic.
Ref: Mike Dean (7)
Att: 41760
| Chelsea | Stats |
Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| 59% | Possession | 40% |
| 16 | Shots | 12 |
| 2 | Shots on target | 7 |
| 3 | Saves | 2 |
| 3 | Corners | 2 |
| 15 | Fouls | 18 |
| 5 | Offsides | 4 |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 27 | Tackles | 32 |
| 412 | Accurate passes | 257 |
| 58 | Bad passes | 65 |
| 74.1 | Tackles Success | 65.6 |
| 59.6 | Possession | 40.4 |
| 48.7 | Territorial Advantage | 51.3 |
The Arsenal Column 
RVP
I have to say song had a brilliant game today, his best for the club. Sagna was immense too along with Gallas.
I thought Djourou was fantastic today. The back four actually looked like a unit for a change. That was down to Song and Djourou being included.
Yeah the defence played well; maybe a 7 would have been better for Djourou but because of the unfortunate own goal I marked him down probably unfairly. Song played better in the second in my view; in the first he was slightly out of his depth and was told by Wenger and Gallas to drop deeper and defend more.
We are not getting as much possession at the moment against the big teams which is un-Arsenal like and especially as this is close to our real first team.