It was a memorable night under the lights at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal made light work of Chelsea in a very one-sided London derby. Mauricio Pochettino’s side never recovered from Leandro Trossard’s early opening goal and were outclassed by the ruthless Gunners on a sobering evening for the Blues. Ally McCoist believes the result was an emphatic answer to Arsenal’s critics. Ally McCoist believes Arsenal have shown that they can stick it out to the very end of the Premier League title race after thrashing Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday night.
A brace each for Ben White and Kai Havertz, alongside a goal for Leandro Trossard, sealed the Gunners’ biggest-ever win over their London rivals to go three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table.
The result carried on the winning momentum after a 2-0 win away at Wolves last weekend, helping erase memories of their recent defeat to Aston Villa and their UEFA Champions League quarter-final exit to Bayern Munich. “Let’s be honest, we were all asking a couple of questions a week ago,” said TNT Sports co-commentator McCoist.
“It’s no disgrace getting beaten by Aston Villa, who have beaten Arsenal twice this year. They also beat Manchester City [1-0 in December].
“You can argue that Bayern Munich have not had their finest team in years, but they’re still Bayern Munich and are a very good side.
“They recovered very well at the weekend against Wolves, but tonight, if there were any doubts at all, they’ve put them to bed.
“They’re here to stay and they can go on and win it. There’s no reason why they can’t go on and win it.
“They might need one or two hiccups elsewhere, but that performance tells me that they can win it.”
Victory for Mikel Arteta’s side puts the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City over the next two days.
Jurgen Klopp’s side can move level on points with Arsenal at the top with a win at Everton in the Merseyside derby away on Wednesday – although their goal difference is vastly inferior.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s side will regain their place at the summit if they beat Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Thursday.
Up next for the Gunners is a tantalising north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.