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By ISAAN KHAN, REPORTER and KIERAN GILL, MAIL SPORT REPORTER Published: 05: 53 AEDT, 2 March 2026 | Updated: 05: 58 AEDT, 2 March 2026 9 View comments Arsenal restored their five-point lead over Manchester City in the Premier League title race with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday. After returning to winning ways in the North London Derby last week, the Gunners edged out a crucial result against Liam Rosenior's side thanks to another two goals from set-pieces through William Saliba and Jurrien Timber. Chelsea grabbed a goal of their own from a corner just before the break to cancel out Saliba's 21st-minute opener and nearly equalised again at the death through Liam Delap, before his tap-in was ruled out for an offside in the build-up. Daily Mail Sport's ISAAN KHAN and KIERAN GILL were at the Emirates on Sunday to assess the performances of Arsenal and Chelsea respectively. Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates on Sunday to restore their five-point lead at the top Goalkeeper David Raya proved crucial for the Gunners as he masterfully kept Chelsea at bay ARSENAL (4-2-3-1) David Raya - 8. 5 Expertly dealt with Martin Zubimendi’s awful pass, and stopped a corner deflecting off Declan Rice going in. Kept out Alejandro Garnacho’s cross-shot in injury time to round off a crucial display. Jurrien Timber - 7. 5 Good all-round showing, and a threat going forward. Converted Rice’s corner to win Arsenal the game. William Saliba - 7 Strong at the back and up for duels. His header initially put the Gunners ahead, nodding the ball in off Mamadou Sarr. Gabriel Magalhaes - 6. 5 A big physical battle with Joao Pedro which he often got on top of. His header off a corner set up Saliba’s goal. Piero Hincapie - 7. 5 Solid display, featuring darting runs forward and defensive sturdiness, but spoiled by his own goal. Martin Zubimendi - 5. 5 Rescued by Raya when his poor pass was cleared. Looked nervy when receiving under pressure. Declan Rice - 6. 5 Tussled away in a real midfield battle. Accurate corner which set up Timber. Uncharacteristically kicked the ball out for a corner on 69 minutes. Gabriel Magalhaes (left) and William Saliba (right) put in strong performances again for Arsenal Bukayo Saka - 6 Tried to get his team-mates involved in play. Would’ve wanted to get on the ball more. His looping corner led to Saliba’s goal. Eberechi Eze - 5. 5 A drop off from his stellar performance against Tottenham last weekend. Too wasteful on the ball. Tried to chip Robert Sanchez. Leandro Trossard - 4. 5 A series of misplaced passes which hurt his team in a poor display. Substituted on 56 minutes but should’ve come off earlier. Viktor Gyokeres - 6. 5 Put Sanchez under huge pressure, which contributed to the keeper’s instability on the ball. Good hold-up play throughout. SUBSTITUTES Gabriel Martinelli – 7 Kai Havertz – N/A Christian Norgaard – N/A MANAGER Mikel Arteta - 6. 5 Didn’t get desperate with the score at 1-1. A big victory for Arsenal with Manchester City so close behind. Declan Rice set up Jurrien Timber's winner and fought hard in what was a tough midfield battle CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez – 5 Nearly gifted away a goal within five minutes as Viktor Gyokeres robbed him of possession, but cleaned up that mess he made. Conceded two goals to Arsenal corners, and especially showed a lack of authority for the second one. Reece James – 7 The Premier League’s best crosser in my book, and his corner led to the leveller after being beaten in the air by the towering Gabriel Magalhaes for Arsenal’s opener. Chelsea’s most impressive performer here, though others hardly set the bar too high. Mamadou Sarr – 6 First-ever Premier League start for the 20-year-old. Couldn’t finish an early set-piece opportunity on an awkward volley. Then the ball smacked off him on its way in from William Saliba. Trevoh Chalobah – 6 Found himself one-v-one with Gyokeres a few times. Largely coped well with Arsenal’s striker in those instances, including giving him grief after he tried to buy a penalty. Jorrel Hato – 6. 5 No Marc Cucurella to take care of Bukayo Saka so this was a huge game for 19-year-old Hato. Handled himself well defensively. Even flew forward down the left to act as a makeshift winger. Andrey Santos – 5. 5 He was the one marking Saliba as he nodded in Arsenal’s first goal, though it was an almighty mess in that six-yard box. His overall influence in midfield was not overly noticeable. Moises Caicedo – 5. 5 At least managed to avoid adding to his eight bookings this season – needs to avoid 10 which would equal a two-match suspension. But Chelsea’s midfield was often wasteful. Pedro Neto – 2 Failed to make much happen when he was in possession on the right wing, and then earned himself a stupid second yellow which killed Chelsea’s chances. It was a bad day at the office for Pedro Neto (left) who was sent off during the second half Cole Palmer – 5 Popped up in a few promising positions, though never managed to make the most of them. Concern when he dropped down injured off the ball, but continued after treatment. Enzo Fernandez – 5 Very much thought Chelsea deserved a penalty when Declan Rice handled the ball at a corner – as did I – and booked for dissent before being substituted. Joao Pedro – 5. 5 Had Gabriel all over him on multiple occasions but our referee, Darren England, rarely took notice. Neither did the VAR John Brooks when Saliba and David Raya possibly fouled him at the same time at a corner. SUBSTITUTES Malo Gusto – 5. 5 Romeo Lavia – 6. 5 Liam Delap – N/A Alejandro Garnacho – N/A Tosin Adarabioyo – N/A MANAGER Liam Rosenior – 5. 5 At the start of the second half and while 1-1, Chelsea were on top. Then they hit the self-destruct button yet again as they finished another match with 10 men.
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