Arsenal Overcomes London Rivals Chelsea 1-0
Arsenal defeated London rivals Chelsea 1-0 for their first win in four Premier League games on Sunday, as a headed goal by stand-in striker Mikel Merino boosted their faint hopes of catching up with runaway leaders Liverpool.
Merino scored in the 20th minute when he stooped to flick his looping header over Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal after a Martin Odegaard corner.
The Spanish midfielder, who has led Arsenal’s attack in the absence of injured colleagues in recent weeks, came close to a second goal in the 60th minute but his side-footed volley was kept out by a fine save by Sanchez.
The win left second-placed Arsenal 12 points behind Liverpool who face Newcastle United in the League Cup final.
“It was a big game and we wanted to win against a top team,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “We did enough to deserve to win the game.”
“Now we have the international break so let’s take a chance to breathe and bring some players back hopefully.”
Both the top two teams have played 29 games with a further nine rounds of fixtures to go.
Chelsea are fourth, one point ahead of Manchester City and five behind third-placed Nottingham Forest.
“We want to play Champions League football next season,” Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo said after the match. “The teams are close but we are just focused on ourselves because that is the most important thing. Champions League football is our target.”
Sunday’s Premier League results
Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
Fulham 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Leicester City 0-3 Manchester United.
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