Chelsea beat 9-man Arsenal 2-0 to register second Premier League win of the season

Two goals in the second half for Chelsea was enough to consign Arsenal to a defeat at Stamford Bridge. The key talking points though will be the two red cards to Arsenal players in either half. A controversial straight red for Gabriel and two yellows too much for Santi Cazorla meant that the Gunners finished the game with 2 men short of their starting XI.

A goal from Kurt Zouma at the beginning of the second period and another from Chelsea’s reigning Player of the Season last time Eden Hazard towards the end of the game sealed the win for the home side. Although the Belgian’s strike had a big deflection from Calum Chambers en route to goal and could be changed to an own goal.

Line-ups

Chelsea XI: Begovic; Ivanovic (c), Zouma, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Pedro, Oscar, Hazard; Diego Costa

Subs: Blackman, Terry, Mikel, Ramires, Loftus-Cheek, Falcao and Remy

Arsenal XI: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis, Walcott

Subs: Ospina, Chambers, Debuchy, Gibbs, Arteta, Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain

Two red cards tell the tale for Arsenal

After what was nervy start for Chelsea during which Begovic rushed out unnecessarily almost conceding the initiative to the onrushing Theo Walcott whose touch was too heavy, the first half had little to offer, till the final few minutes of the game.

The protagonist of the plot, for all the wrong reasons, once again was Diego Costa. The Spanish forward was lucky to get away with what seemed like a blatant foul on Koscielny that he could have been given marching orders for. In the immediate aftermath, a supine Diego Costa got off the pitch in no time to knock the French defender off his feet with a chestbump.

Koscielny’s Arsenal defensive partner appeared on the scene to calm things down and was himself caught in the melee as things started getting heated up between Costa and Gabriel. As a result, the two men were shown yellow cards by referee Mike Dean and sent away but the Chelsea striker kept a vocal barrage going at the Brazilian and eventually as the two clashed again just minutes later Gabriel appeared to raise his foot in the direction of Costa almost as if he was nonchalantly playing a backheel, only without the ball.

Though the referee did not spot the foul rightaway, Costa and the Chelsea players were quick to draw the officials attention and after consulting with the other referees, Mike Dean issued a straight red to the Arsenal defender.

A 0-0 scoreline at half-time was down to some poor shots and few clear cut chances but the tie was still there to win for both sides until Paulista was sent off, skewing the odds in Chelsea’s favour.

The second half predictably started in Chelsea’s favour as they had the man advantage in the situation and they took the opportunity in the 53rd minute when Aaron Ramsey brought down Cesc Fabregas in a dangerous position and the former Arsenal man then stood over the freekick.

As the Spanish midfielder floated a ball into Arsenal’s box, an unmarked Kurt Zouma was at the end of it to guide it past Petr Cech at the Arsenal keeper's near post. It made a massive task all the more tougher for the away side.

The Gunners would have a few chances but no clear cut ones as Arsenal tried to get back in the game despite the handicap. It would soon get worse for them though as Santi Cazorla came in late on his compatriot Fabregas to get his second yellow of the game and become the second Arsenal player to be sent off in the game.

Eden Hazard has now scored 38 goals in Premier League history. The only Chelsea player with more in the current squad is John Terry (39).

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 19, 2015

A high-flying Chelsea team would then confirm their 3 points with a deflected Hazard strike in the 91st minute going past Petr Cech. The result is a huge one for Chelsea as it makes it all the more unlikely that they will slip into the relegation zone, a bizarre concern for the reigning champions. But they still won’t break into the top half of the table but it will do wonders for the team’s confidence.

Arsenal on the other hand now have 2 losses on the trot in all competitions and need to pick up the pace to keep up with the competition but both teams pale in comparison to Manchester City’s run so far this season.

A disappointing result for Arsenal no doubt, but the most mysterious statistic of the game at the end was Diego Costa’s foul count at the end – 0.