Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Gunners grit teeth, strengthen title case with win over 10-man Blues

Arsenal got set-piece goals from William Saliba and Jurrien Timber to beat 10-man Chelsea 2-1 in a top-five clash at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

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Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Gunners grit teeth, strengthen title case with win over 10-man Blues

Joe Prince-Wright, Nicholas Mendola

Sun, March 1, 2026 at 6:28 PM UTC·
10 min read

LONDON — Arsenal got set-piece goals from William Saliba and Jurrien Timber to beat 10-man Chelsea 2-1 in a top-five clash at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The Gunners ran their Premier League table lead to five points over Manchester City, having played one more game than the second-place Citizens.

WATCH — Arsenal v Chelsea full match replay

A Piero Hincapie own goal accounted for Chelsea's goal, and the Blues trailed 2-1 when Pedro Neto picked up his second yellow card of the game.

Chelsea remain sixth on the table with 45 points, three back of Liverpool and six behind Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Gritty Gunners put in a shift

This was a throwback game, where grappling and shirt-pulling had as much of a hold on the game as any sort of style. All three goals came off corner kicks, where the boxes were littered with arm bars and bear hugs, and Arsenal were responsible for all three of the goals when you include Piero Hincapie's header into his own goal. This was a proper London derby between two giant sides who seemed to be more interested in not losing than winning. Jokes about Set Piece FC aside, Arsenal may well win a title off their acumen in the box and their daring of the referees to call fouls on their aggressive chance-seekers. And if you're jealous, you should've thought of it first. — NM

What’s next?

Arsenal have a Premier League away day at Brighton on Wednesday, then go to Mansfield Town on Saturday in the FA Cup.

Chelsea have two on the road as well, visiting Aston Villa for a Wednesday match in the league before heading to Wrexham in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Arsenal vs Chelsea final score: 2-1

William Saliba 21', Jurrien Timber 66’; Piero Hincapie o.g. 45+2'

Arsenal vs Chelsea live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright at Emirates Stadium

Chelsea put it home at the death but...

Joao Pedro was clearly offside before Delap bundled his rebound home.

One more Chelsea move

Tosin Adarabioyo is a 90th-minute entry for Mamadou Sarr.

Two more subs for Blues

The days of Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer are done, and Alejandro Garnacho and Liam Delap will try to get Chelsea level over the final five minutes plus stoppage.

Chelsea, Arsenal make subs

Jorell Hato and Andrey Santos leave the match for Romeo Lavia and Malo Gusto.

For Arsenal, Kai Havertz and Christian Norgaard enter the game in place of Viktor Gyokeres and Declan Rice.

Pedro Neto sent off

Chelsea are down to 10 players as Pedro Neto is sent off. He complained about Arsenal's goal and was booked and now he is shown a second yellow for cutting down Gabriel Martinelli on an Arsenal counterattack.

Arsenal goal — Timber finishes from a corner!

Relief from the home fans as Timber bundles home. 2-1 to Arsenal!

Nervous energy building

The home fans want their team to attack quicker.

Arsenal are on the ball and the home fans are getting restless with them not going forward quickly enough. Jurrien Timber gestures to the fans to calm down. Getting a bit nervous in here. #AFC 1-1 #CFC

— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) March 1, 2026

Martinelli on for Trossard

Arsenal make the first switch as Gabriel Martinelli comes on for Leonardo Trossard on the left wing. Trossard has really struggled to get into the game today. Martinelli loves a big goal, usually late on, in these types of games...

Joao Pedro has to put Chelsea ahead!

A corner is flicked on at the near post, again, and Joao Pedro is totally free, three yards out, but his header lacks power and Raya saves. Chelsea have wasted a glorious chance.

Enzo Fernandez has a shot pushed away

Chelsea break and Joao Pedro lays it off to Enzo Fernandez. His shot from distance is lacking a bit of power but Raya still has to push it away for a corner.

Second half is underway and it is set up perfectly...

No changes at the break and this is perfectly poised for a brilliant second half. The onus is on Arsenal to come out and force the issue, but Chelsea are really good on the counter.

Half time: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea, and the home fans are a little bemused at that.

WATCH live + analysis, videos ➡️ https://t.co/PxVWTz5BuW

3 things I want to see in the second half ⤵️ #AFC #CFC pic.twitter.com/7cMoCGdy21

— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) March 1, 2026

Chelsea goal — Hincapie flicks the ball into his own goal!

It is 1-1 here as James' corner is flicked on at the near post by Piero Hincapie and it beats everyone and goes into his own net. Chelsea can't quite believe they are level, but they are. Their fans in the away section have gone bonkers.

Raya with a superb save!

A corner flicks off Rice's shoulder and towards his own goal but David Raya does superbly to save it.

Caicedo is spoken to

This is getting a bit lively now. Caicedo pushes Hincapie and the ref has a word. Caicedo was sent off in the reverse game earlier this season, remember...

The game is opening up now

Chelsea have the ball in the box but Arsenal eventually clear as Palmer is struggling to get the ball under control. Arsenal break up the other end but Timber can't make the most of an opportunity.

Cole Palmer is down but is carrying on, for now

Palmer has had no luck with injuries this season, and he goes down to receive treatment. He seems to be holding his right groin and hip area. He is back on the pitch for now but isn't moving freely.

Zubimendi almost makes a huge mistake

A really poor pass back from Zubimendi to Raya puts the goalkeeper under pressure but he clears just before Joao Pedro gets there. That was needlessly risky from Zubimendi.

Arsenal goal — Saliba heads home from a corner!

Saka whips in a great corner to the back post and Gabriel heads it back across where his center back partner Saliba heads into the net, as Sarr can only deflect it past his own goalkeeper. This place is rocking! Another set piece goal from Arsenal.

James’ corner almost sneaks in

Reece James whips in a corner to the near post and it gets pretty close to sneaking in, but Raya sees it out. That was close. Chelsea will be happy enough with this start. They look great going forward but a little ropey at the back.

Sanchez just keeps giving it away

This is pretty ridiculous. Every time he gets on the ball Sanchez is getting heckled by the home fans and more often than not he is giving it away. Arsenal will surely make the most of this slack passing.

Eze shoots from wayyyy out

A long ball forward sees Gyokeres get there first and the ball drops to Eze. He spots Sanchez off his line and has a pop from over 45 yards out, but Chelsea's goalkeeper gets back to save.

Sarr with a big chance!

A free kick is clipped in and Sarr finds himself free in the box, but gets it a bit wrong and his effort is harmless. It was a tough chance, and he may have been offside, but Arsenal won't like how much space Sarr had there.

Palmer and Zubimendi both smash over

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