Arsenal vs Chelsea

Arsenal edged past Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates on Sunday, 6 September 2026 in a game that had plenty of needle to it without ever boiling over completely. The home side found the net first, only for Chelsea to hit back before the break, and it was 1-1 at half-time after a scrappy, back-and-forth opening period. Neither defence looked entirely comfortable, and chances came at both ends before the interval whistle brought a bit of relief. The second half was tighter, with Arsenal doing just enough to nose ahead again and see the game out. It wasn't a classic, but three points at home against a rival like Chelsea will do nicely. For Chelsea, there's plenty to work on defensively after conceding twice, but the away performance had spells that suggested they can trouble better sides than this if they tidy up the details. Arsenal, meanwhile, will take the bragging rights and move on encouraged.

Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 at Emirates Stadium, and the numbers from the match back up how the game played out. Arsenal also had the better share of the ball, holding 55% possession, which usually goes hand in hand with the extra control a winning side tends to show. The shot count told a similar story, with 16 attempts from Arsenal against 13 from Chelsea over the course of the game. Chelsea had their moments and did not make it easy from start to finish, but ultimately came up short on the day. Small margins like this one tend to add up over a season, and results such as this are often what separates teams in the table further down the line. Here is a closer look at exactly how the two sides compared, statistically.