A William Gallas header gives Arsenal victory over Chelsea at The Emirates Stadium.
After Manchester United’s 1-0 win against Liverpool, Arsenal returned to the top of the Premiership with a victory over Chelsea which may cost The Blues more than the loss of three points.
Terry pain and Gallas glory
Following recent matches in which Arsenal appeared to have suffered due to the absences of important players, The Gunners welcomed back Mathieu Flamini, Alexander Hleb and Cesc Fabregas to a five man midfield that supported Emmanuel Adebayor in his lone striking role.
Despite the return of these skilful ball players, the first half of the match was a niggley affair, punctuated by two major incidents.
The first occurred on thirty eight minutes when John Terry went into a challenge on the edge of his own area with Emmanuel Eboue and was caught on the foot by the Arsenal player. The injury sustained by the Chelsea captain meant that he had to be replaced by Tal Ben-Haim and a subsequent examination discovered that Terry had broken three bones and could be out for up to six weeks, missing the important Christmas period.
Eboue may not have been hurt during the tackle with Terry, but he also now faces a layoff due to injury following a collision with Joe Cole half way through the second half. Although Eboue did not make it to the end of the game, he was on the field long enough to see Arsenal take the lead and, just like Manchester United, they won the match from a corner right at the end of the first half.
Surprisingly the blame for the goal lay mainly with the ultra-reliable Petr Cech who appeared to misjudge the flight of the Fabregas’ cross and got caught underneath its flight, allowing William Gallas the opportunity to head home.
Missed Opportunities
After the break both sides had chances to change the game in their favour but wasted their openings.
Probably the worst culprit was Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips who directed his first time shot from only a few yards in front of Arsenal’s goal wide of Manuel Almunia’s post.
Wright-Phillips was not the only unlucky player, however. As the clock began to wind towards ninety minutes holes began to appear in both sides defences. For Arsenal, substitute Robin Van Persie fired over and Cesc Fabregas had a shot saved by Petr Cech. At the other end, Chelsea’s final attacking move saw Alumnia push Andriy Shevchenko’s driven free kick over his bar.
By the time the full time whistle blew, five players from each side had been booked and Chelsea were left sitting six points adrift of The Gunners who moved back to the Premiership summit. The final situation could be even worse for The Blues, however, with The FA investigating an alleged gesture made by Ashley Cole to home fans which could result in the Chelsea left back receiving a suspension.
