SPORTS

FIVE memorable Chelsea vs Arsenal matches

February 03, 2017 10:23 IST

Arsenal take on leaders Chelsea in a high-profile clash on Saturday knowing that another defeat at Stamford Bridge would dent their English Premier League title hopes big time.

Victory for Chelsea will send the Blues 12 points clear at the top and draw a definitive line under the 3-0 mauling Antonio Conte's side suffered at the Emirates in September.

Chelsea went on a 13-match winning run after that setback -- their heaviest loss of the campaign so far -- and are favourites against third-placed opponents shocked by a stinging 2-1 home loss to Watford in midweek.

A look back at five standout clashes between Arsenal and Chelsea:

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 3, Premier League, October 1999

IMAGE: Arsenal's players celebrate winning their match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in London, on October 23, 1999. Photograph: Reuters

Nigerian Nwankwo Kanu produced an outstanding performance for Arsenal, scoring a hat-trick in the final 15 minutes as Chelsea appeared to be coasting to a comfortable 2-0 home win.

Manager Gianluca Vialli's Chelsea had yet to give away a league goal at Stamford Bridge that season and were in front thanks to headers from Tore Andre Flo and Dan Petrescu.

Kanu drew Arsenal level with goals in the 75th and 83rd minutes and scored the winner in the 90th from a narrow angle after rounding goalkeeper Ed De Goey.

Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2, Champions League, April 2004

IMAGE: Chelsea's players celebrate victory against Arsenal, at Highbury, in London, on April 6, 2004. Photograph: Mike Finn-Kelcey/Reuters

Manager Arsene Wenger's great Arsenal side were dubbed the "Invincibles" and were clear favourites at Highbury to build on a 1-1 draw in the away leg of their quarter-final clash.

Jose Antonio Reyes put the Gunners in front before halftime but Chelsea rallied to equalise through Frank Lampard and left back Wayne Bridge hit the winner past Jens Lehmann to end Chelsea's run of 17 matches without a win against Arsenal.

It was a high point of Italian Claudio Ranieri's spell in charge of Chelsea, whom he left at the end of that season still searching for his first major league title which he achieved last year with Leicester City.

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1, League Cup final, February 2007

IMAGE: Arsenal and Chelsea players scuffle during the League Cup final, at the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, on February 25, 2007. Photograph: Stephen Hird/Reuters

Didier Drogba, the top scorer in the Chelsea-Arsenal derby with 13 goals, netted twice in a League Cup final marred by three red cards in added time.

A 17-year-old Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead with his first goal for the club in the 12th minute but Drogba equalised in the 20th and headed the winner from Arjen Robben's cross six minutes from fulltime.

In a pressure cooker atmosphere a clash between Jon Obi Mikel and Kolo Toure in added time sparked a free-for-all which ended with both sent off along with Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor.

Chelsea 3 Arsenal 5, Premier League, October 2011

IMAGE: Robin Van Persie gets the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech to score Arsenal's fourth goal, at Stamford Bridge, in London, on October 29, 2011. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

There was another hat-trick by an Arsenal player at Stamford Bridge as Robin van Persie starred in an exciting clash, helping the visitors fight back from 2-1 down at halftime.

The score was 3-3 with 10 minutes remaining when Van Persie pounced on a slip by Chelsea captain John Terry to put Arsenal in front in the 85th minute, before the Dutchman completed his hat-trick in stoppage time.

Terry had put Chelsea 2-1 ahead at the interval after Van Persie had cancelled out Frank Lampard's opener.

Andre Santos and Theo Walcott turned the score back in Arsenal's favour before a fine strike from Juan Mata drew Chelsea level before Van Persie's winning flourish.

Chelsea 6 Arsenal 0, Premier League, March 2014

IMAGE: Chelsea's Andre Schurrle, right, celebrates with team mates after scoring a goal against Arsenal, at Stamford Bridge, in London, on October 29, 2011. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Wenger's 1,000th match in charge of Arsenal was ruined as Chelsea ran riot with the biggest victory ever in the fixture.

Chelsea were 3-0 up inside 17 minutes and Arsenal were a man down, after defender Kieran Gibbs was wrongly dismissed for a handball committed by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that conceded a penalty converted by Eden Hazard.

Brazil's Oscar scored twice with the other goals coming from Samuel Eto'o, Andre Schuerrle and Mohamed Salah.

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Recommended by Rediff.com

NEXT ARTICLE

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email