Champions League finalists Chelsea host fellow London side in an all-important Premier League clash this Wednesday. Chelsea are fourth in the table, two points behind third-placed Leicester City. Chelsea sacked Lampard mid-season and appointed Tuchel, who has done extremely well with the talented players at his disposal. Chelsea defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League semis to reach the final.
Arsenal are 9th in the league table at the moment with just 52 points from 35 games. They are out of the top four race and it’ll be a miracle if they somehow manage to get European football next season.
Here we take a look at how the last five meetings between Chelsea and Arsenal panned out:
5. Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal (Europa League Final)
Venue – Baki Olimpiya Stadionu, Azerbaijan
Date – 30th May 2019
It was an all-English Europa League final at Baku as Chelsea faced Arsenal. Chelsea had already finished third in the Premier League and have directly qualified for the Champions League. But Arsenal, who finished fifth, needs to win this game to play Champions League football next season. The first half ended goallessly. Giroud opened the scoring for the Blues early in the second half. Hazard scored the second through a brace as Chelsea defeated Arsenal 4-1 in the final.
4. Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League)
Venue – Emirates Stadium
Date – 29th December 2019
After Unai Emery’s sacking, Arteta took charge and it was the Spaniard's first home game in charge. Chelsea came into the game suffering a third defeat in five games when they lost against the Saints. Gabonese striker Aubameyang opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 13th minutes through a pouncing header. Chelsea made a late comeback and scored two goals in four minutes to seal the victory and three points. Jorginho and Tammy Abraham made it into the scoresheet.
3. Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Venue – Stamford Bridge
Date – 22nd January 2020
Chelsea hosted Arsenal at Stamford Bridge as they hoped to bounce back from an agonizing defeat against Newcastle. The Gunners were unbeaten in their last four games and sought improvement in the final third. Jorginho scored Chelsea’s first goal of the game through a penalty. Martinelli equalized in the 63rd minutes for the Gunners. Azpilicueta scored from Hudson-Odoi’s corner kick to take the lead again. However, Arsenal had other plans and three minutes later, Bellerin scored a left-footed curler to equalize again.
2. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (FA Cup final)
Venue – Wembley Stadium
Date – 1st August 2020
This was the third FA Cup final with Chelsea and Arsenal as finalists. Previously in 2002 & 2017, Arsenal trumped the Blues to lift the trophy. Chelsea started strong as Pulisic gave them an early lead by dinking Giroud’s flick over Martinez. Arsenal equalized in the 28th minutes through Aubameyang’s penalty. The Gunners took the lead in the 67th minute as Aubameyang glided past Christensen and lobbed the ball over Caballero. Arsenal lifted their record 14th FA Cup, thanks to Aubameyang’s brace.
1. Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Venue – Emirates Stadium
Date – 26th December 2020
Arsenal under Arteta were struggling before this game and had failed to register a win in their last seven games. Chelsea were struggling as well but they eased past West Ham in their previous game. Lacazette scored from the spot in the 34th minute after James brought down Tierney inside the box. Xhaka doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 44th minute through a stunning free-kick. Arsenal scored their third in the 56th minutes through Saka’s bending effort.