Saturday night’s London derby lived up to the fixture’s reputation in every sense, with Chelsea recording a 2-0 victory over Arsenal in the midst of high controversy.
Second-half goals to Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard were overshadowed by two red cards shown to the Gunners by referee Mike Dean.
The visitors found it difficult to generate momentum and find space to move freely in the early going, while Chelsea were able to pass the ball around the 18-yard area in search of clear opportunities. However, the match exploded when defender Gabriel was given a straight red card on the stroke of half-time for kicking out at Diego Costa, although it could reasonably be argued that the Spaniard did enough during the exchange to earn his own marching orders.
Chelsea was largely free to apply more pressure and took the lead soon after the break, Zouma nodding home a classic Cesc Fabregas set piece delivery into the box. With Arsene Wenger’s men trying to find any way back, the drama would then hit another peak in the 73rd minute when Santi Cazorla was also sent-off for a second bookable offence, leaving the travelling supporters irate. There was little more that Arsenal could do with nine men on the field and a goal credited to Hazard after being deflected into the net off Calum Chambers sealed a second league win of 2015-16 for the reigning champions.
The FA have charged Diego Costa with violent conduct & Gabriel with improper conduct after their fracas on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/ACDAMI4znl
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) September 21, 2015
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