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Premier League reaction as Arsenal move five points clear at the top of the table with a 2-1 win over Chelsea Arsenal scored from two trademark corners to take the points - their 16th goal from corners this season; equaling the most by any side in a Premier League season, alongside Oldham (1992-93) and West Brom (2016-17) Liverpool manager Arne Slot says set-pieces are the 'new reality' of the Premier League and it is 'not as much a joy to watch' Slot says Florian Wirtz is likely to be out for 'next two games' Written by Adwaidh Rajan, Millie Sian, Ailsa Cowen & Grace Wheeler. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Leon Osman Former Everton midfielder on BBC Sport I didn't think there was an awful lot between the two teams, but Arsenal came out on top and at this stage of the season that's vital, isn't it? If your strengths are pacy wide men that create things all the time, you give them the ball all the time. If your strength is set-pieces, you try to win set-pieces and score from them and they're very good at it, very effective. And ultimately that was that was the difference between the teams, but Arsenal won't care because it's another three points. Click 'Get Involved' to have your say I don't get the narrative around them being "ugly", I think they just cheat and that's where the discussion should be. The constant diving, the rugby tackles when defending corners, the consistent time wasting, the "dark arts", a fancy word for cheating. It all detracts from a very good side. Lewis, London It's hard to accept the 'ugly' + 'set-piece' narratives coming off the back of 4 open play goals away at Spurs. Arsenal are top of the league because they can win in various ways rather than no playing without a Plan B. VCC, Sussex Why is it ugly to score goals from a set-piece? We're 3 ahead, which means before yesterday it was 1. Why is it a problem because its The Arsenal? It's not a problem for anyone else. Alun, London Wolves v Liverpool (Tue, 20: 15 GMT) Aadam Patel Football Reporter During his news conference, Arne Slot admitted that set-pieces are the “new reality of the Premier League” and that he believes most Premier League games are no longer a joy to watch because of the reliance on them. His side were joint-bottom when it came to scoring from set-pieces (excluding penalties) from the start of the season until 31 December but since the turn of the year, no team has scored more from set-pieces than Liverpool. "Do I like it? My football heart doesn't like it, " Slot said. "When I think about football, I think about the Barcelona team 10-15 years ago. Now it is not as much a joy to watch but it is always competitive. The Dutchman may not like it but it’s clear enough that his side have no choice but to embrace it. And embrace it, they have. The fact that Slot hopes Florian Wirtz will be back next week is also encouraging for Liverpool. Given the uncertainty over the last week, there were some doubts that his absence could be longer but Wirtz will most likely return at some point next week, against either Galatasaray or Tottenham. A reminder that we will be bringing you all the quotes from the Liverpool boss later. Arsenal 2-1 Cheslea BBC 5 Live Breakfast Mikel Arteta's former assistant coach at Arsenal, Steve Round, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, after Arsenal's win against Chelsea last: "It is a massive win for Arsenal. Off the back of a run of poor results and to bounce back with two wins like that, it has out. them back in poll position. "They have to find a way to win and they can do that with set-pieces. " Click 'Get Involved' to have your say Maybe they will be the ugliest winners but honestly who cares? ! Most supporters myself included would much rather be where Arsenal are. Does anyone remember the late Wenger years where Arsenal would look to score the perfect goal every time and finish 4th every season? Tom, Worthing I enjoy how when other teams win ugly, it's 'the sign of a great team' but when Arsenal do it they are the ugliest team ever. Make it make sense. Leroy, Corralejo Ask any supporter if they would accept being ugly to win the title and everyone would accept. It is a surprise with all these ‘world-class’ forwards that Arsenal have that they can’t hit a cows backside with a banjo (that’s the bigger question that needs asking! ) Graham, Essex Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Arsenal This video can not be played Arteta delighted with win over 'top side' Chelsea Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the 2-1 win against Chelsea: "It's not ugly, you have to play the game that is there for you to play, and against Chelsea, you know exactly the game you're going to play. "For me, it's a beautiful game to play because there is so much quality and you have to adapt so much to what they do, and they have to do the same against us, so the margins are very, very small, and the duels at the end decide these kind of games. " Click 'Get Involved' to have your say Lots of chatter about Arsenal winning ugly. I really don’t care, so long as we’re winning! I just hope the team can block out all the negativity and keep going…. Mary, Lancaster Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Patrick Vieira Former Arsenal captain on Sky Sports From an Arsenal point of view, what really matters is the three points. When you look at the game deeper, scoring two goals from set-pieces, it wasn't open. When you are top of the Champions League and Premier League table, you expect Arsenal to go forward. It was difficult for Arsenal to take chances. The expectation is higher, you expect more from Arsenal. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Arsenal So going back to Premier League frontrunners Arsenal. .. Questions remain about the manner in which the Gunners are winning games as they look to secure the Premier League title for the first time since 2003-04. Chris Sutton, a former title winner with Blackburn Rovers, told BBC Radio 5 Live after the Gunners' win against Chelsea: "Set-piece Arsenal, again. I think they are going to win it. "If they get over the line – will they be the ugliest Premier League-winning team in history? The performance wasn't there. " Mikel Arteta was asked his side's 'ugly' win in his post-match news conference. Arteta said "it's not ugly. .. for me it's a beautiful game to play because there is so much quality and you have to adapt so much to what they do. " So, do you think Mikel Arteta's side are set to become the ugliest Premier League winners in history? Hit thumbs up or thumbs down to let us know. Wolves v Liverpool (Tues, 20: 15 GMT) Liverpool And here is Arne Slot's reply to the Florian Wirtz question. "I don't have anything different to say to what I said after the game [against West Ham], " Slot said. "The game tomorrow will probably come too soon, and maybe the game at the weekend as well. "But let's see how it all ends up. We hope to have him back sometime next week, maybe a bit earlier or a bit later, but that is the timescale. " We will be bringing you all the quotes from the Liverpool boss later, so stay with us. Wolves v Liverpool (Tue, 20: 15 GMT) Aadam Patel Football Reporter Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Arne Slot is currently speaking at his news conference before the Reds face bottom side Wolves on Tuesday. On Saturday, Slot admitted that he thinks tomorrow’s game against Wolves would be “too early” for Florian Wirtz to return to the Liverpool side. The German pulled up with a back injury during the warm up when Liverpool took on Nottingham Forest last weekend and has been out since. Given his recent form, Wirtz is a big miss for Liverpool but they have won both games in his absence but an exact timescale on his return is still uncertain. Aside from that, Liverpool are going through a relatively decent run of form and with Aston Villa and Manchester United not in action till Wednesday. Slot’s side could potentially go third if they win by three goals at Molineux tomorrow. Click 'Get Involved' to have your say The latest round of ‘will they, won’t they? ’ It has been going on since before Christmas. Arsenal have scored the most goals and conceded the fewest in the Premier League. I just hope the players and coaches can block out the noise for another couple of months. Floyd, Luton Great win for Arsenal, it doesn’t matter how you win? As long as we win at this stage of the season! Scrappy well earned points! Still not 100% convinced by Gyokeres yet, very hardworking but his first touch and passing were poor! He needs to raise his game quickly Rob, Sutton Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Arsenal Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Arsenal Jurrien Timber's winner against Chelsea last night was Arsenal's 16th goal from a corner this season - that is three more than any other side in the Premier League this season. The Gunners' prowess from set-pieces has been a huge part of their title challenge this season. They have now equalled the record for the most goals scored from corners in a single Premier League season, alongside Oldham in 1992-93, West Brom in 2016-17, and the Gunners themselves in 2023-24. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Arsenal Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the 2-1 win against Chelsea: "I will try and stay calm, but obviously we weren't getting the dominance and the sequences of play that we wanted and expected against the 10 men. "So you have to navigate through that, and it's a big part of the game. When you see the manner in which other teams are winning games, everybody's suffering. The manner and the margins are so small, so it's good. "Very, very happy. The players made an incredible performance as well and put so much into the game. After the great victory against Spurs, this would be even another level of difficulty. "Against 10 men, I expected a different game. " Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea The numbers from Sunday show just how close Arsenal’s win over Chelsea was. Arsenal only generated an x G of 1. 09 with five of their 12 shots on target, but scored twice. However, Chelsea were not far behind with the Blues registering an x G of 1. 07 with nine attempted efforts and three on target. They also hit the woodwork once. Liam Rosenior's side also had 58. 9% of the possession but they are now winless in their past three games. But his counterpart, Mikel Arteta, would be happy to take the points however they come as long as they keep coming at this stage. Click 'Get Involved' to have your say It's time to get your thoughts in! We would love to hear from you on the Premier League title race, particularly after Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top with the 2-1 win over Chelsea. Or maybe you've got something to say on the relegation battle, particularly after Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and West Ham all failed to pick up points this weekend? Or anything in between? Click 'Get Involved' on this page to have your say. Premier League All 20 Premier League teams will play on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday this week, before the FA Cup fifth-round action this weekend. The fixtures just keep coming and coming at the minute. .. Premier League We'll be bringing you all the major talking points from that game and more shortly. And with midweek points up for grabs, there are plenty of Premier League news conferences for us to get stuck into today too. We'll have the top lines from each of them, with Arne Slot set to speak first at 09: 00 GMT. Here's the full list of today's news conferences: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea With Arsenal capitalising on 10-man Chelsea and Manchester City clinching all three points against Leeds United, things are exactly as they were at the top of the table. So we think it's fair to say the Gunners' fate is in their own hands going into the run-in. Here's how the Premier League table is shaping up. .. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.