It had been a long time since Arsenal managed to nick a victory over bitter rivals Chelsea. However, all the agony was forgotten after a sublime display of football from the Gunners as they thrashed the Blues by an emphatic 3-0 scoreline at the Emirates on Saturday.
The last time Arsenal beat Chelsea in the Premier League was way back in 2011, when the Gunners had a certain Robin van Persie in murderous form amidst their ranks. Back then, he helped his side to a 5-3 victory over their London rivals. Who would have thought that it would be a long time until Wenger’s side tasted success once again in their bitter rivalry with the Blues?
However, all the pain and agony suffered over the course of the 5 years between that distant afternoon at Stamford Bridge and this Saturday will be forgotten after a memorable evening of football saw the Gunners take the game to Chelsea in a 3-0 thrashing of Antonio Conte’s team. It was the ideal gift the players could provide Wenger on a day that marked his 20th year as boss of Arsenal.
Here’s how we line up for #AFCvCFC pic.twitter.com/QDS2oNU6BF
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) September 24, 2016
30 mins to go. Here’s how the Blues are likely to line up today… pic.twitter.com/7J7Dsb2p0h
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 24, 2016
Goals from Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott rounded off a near perfect afternoon for the Gunners who put up arguably their best display of football in recent years to put themselves back in contention for the Premier League.
Chelsea most certainly had an evening to forget, potentially leaving Antonio Conte with a lot of decisions to make over the course of the upcoming weeks regarding his team. But it was a time to celebrate for Arsenal supporters who held nothing back on twitter. They sung songs of praise for their heroes while also voicing their traditional disregard for the Blues.
That was the best game of football by Arsenal in a while. Every single player, from GK to CF, was on point; intensity, aggression & desire.
— FK² (@fkhanage) September 24, 2016
Arsenal were sizzling. Chelsea were roasted. #AFCvCFC
— Jim Beglin (@jimbeglin) September 24, 2016
Best group of players for a very long time. Pace, power and hungry. On we go!
— Darren (@DarrenArsenal1) September 24, 2016
King Of Assists. ? pic.twitter.com/0xd7Yx3zDT
— Arsenal TV (@Arsenal__Live) September 24, 2016
FT. 3-0. So many great performances today but for me, MoM is @MesutOzil1088. He’s run the show. #afc
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 24, 2016
Arsenal have been magnificent but Chelsea…dear oh dear. Absolutely wretched.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) September 24, 2016
Best half of football I can remember Arsenal playing since we moved to the Emirates. #afc
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 24, 2016
You OK, Cheques @cesc4official ?
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 24, 2016
Coquelin’s injury the only negative today. Need that depth in quality that allows you to put in these fantastic performances 3x in a week.
— The Arsenal (@DareToWenger) September 24, 2016
Mustafi partnering Koscielny could be a solid pair at the heart of defence and will be very tough to get past as an attacker. Costa who?!
— Arsenal (@tomgunner14) September 24, 2016
.@MesutOzil1088: MotM vs Chelsea @Arsenal #AFCvCFC pic.twitter.com/MBOS9KiZhp
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) September 24, 2016
Hector Bellerin is so good. pic.twitter.com/DAx2piTZV3
— Arsenal Related ⚽? (@ArsenalsRelated) September 24, 2016
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: “I’m very happy. We needed to change the recent history. I think we did it in style and steel” pic.twitter.com/yRuWZcL5Bc
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 24, 2016
??? Nothing more to say ⚽️⚽️⚽️ #sm20 #AFCvCFC @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/KZtFnPEefh
— Shkodran Mustafi (@MustafiOfficial) September 24, 2016
Arsenal have won 4 consecutive league games for the first time since October 2015.
Back to their best. pic.twitter.com/susJJl4eMM
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 24, 2016
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal seal the 3 points in style against Chelsea with a football masterclass ??? pic.twitter.com/CBjVEhAG7s
— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) September 24, 2016
Good to see Arsenal putting midtable riff raff to the sword by half time.
— Tim Stillman (@Stillberto) September 24, 2016
The Big Teams beating the small teams today:
Liverpool 5-1 Hull
United 4-1 Leicester
City 3-1 Swansea
Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea— Anything Liverpool (@Anything_LFC) September 24, 2016
Full time. Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea. Highlights of Chelsea’s defensive performance will make up a nice comedy video.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) September 24, 2016
Full time: Arsene Wenger returns to the dressing room as Arsenal beat Chelsea for the first time in 5 years #ArsvChehttps://t.co/940xtprVxh pic.twitter.com/l9ajTMH8B0
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) September 24, 2016
So happy with that @Arsenal performance! Huge win. ?
— MGH (@OfficialMgh) September 24, 2016
For a day, London belongs to Arsenal. pic.twitter.com/q5HiantCpM
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) September 24, 2016
This is why it’s the best game in the world. Arsenal fans in Sao Paulo… ? @jessmirandinha pic.twitter.com/cf82G8SHcl
— Copa90 (@Copa90) September 24, 2016
Arsenal fans right now: pic.twitter.com/JCgzza5XNK
— Arsenal (@ffarsenalfc) September 24, 2016
Right, I’m out! Can’t watch this defence! Chocolate fire guards! Well done for winning the league in Sept, Arsenal! ????
— KP (@KP24) September 24, 2016