Mikel Arteta's side edged a tight London derby at the Emirates Stadium thanks to the Spain international's first-half header
Arsenal got back to winning ways in the Premier League as Mikel Merino's first half header saw them edge past Chelsea 1-0 at Emirates Stadium and restore their four-point advantage of second placed Nottingham Forest.
Despite having gone three games without a win in the league, Mikel Arteta's flew out of the blocks early on and created several good chances, with Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli all having good sights of goal.
But it was Merino who finally broke the deadlock when he met Martin Odegaard's corner and glanced on a header which looped superbly into the far corner to make it four goals in seven appearances for Arsenal's makeshift striker.
It was a lead Arsenal held onto during a scrappy second half which saw neither team really threaten, although Robert Sanchez was called into action once to deny Merino a second when he clawed away the Spaniard's volley.
GOAL rates Arsenal's players from Emirates Stadium…
AFPGoalkeeper & Defence
David Raya (7/10):
Very fortunate when he allowed Cucurella's volley to squirm through him. Aside from that, a typically fine display.
Jurrien Timber (8/10):
Drove forward well down the right and kept Nkunku largely quiet. Excellent.
William Saliba (7/10):
Had the Emirates on its feet with one superb tackle on Neto. Solid.
Gabriel Magalhaes (7/10):
Used the ball nicely when coming out with possession. Dropped in well to cover Enzo.
Myles Lewis-Skelly (7/10):
Got the nod ahead of Calafiori and performed well ahead of linking up with England. Industrious as always.
AdvertisementAFPMidfield
Thomas Partey (7/10):
Moved the ball well and tidied up in front of the back four.
Declan Rice (8/10):
Strong performance again in the heart of midfield. Tireless.
Martin Odegaard (6/10):
Produced some nice touches in the first half and set up Merino's goal with a decent delivery from a corner, but Arsenal still need more from him in the final third.
AFPAttack
Leandro Trossard (6/10):
Lively, but his end product was poor. Wasted some good chances in the first half.
Mikel Merino (7/10):
Superb header to break the deadlock. Worked really hard in the striker role. Good shift from the makeshift forward.
Gabriel Martinelli (6/10):
First start since his return from injury and caused Chelsea some problems when he ran at them. Fired one decent effort over in the first half. Tired after the interval.
Getty Images SportSubs & Manager
Ethan Nwaneri (N/A):
On for the final 10 minutes for the tiring Martinelli.
Kieran Tierney (N/A):
Brought on in the final minute.
Mikel Arteta (6/10):
Only made one change before the 90th minute, which was a surprise as his players seemed to tire in the second half. Went with Merino up top again and was rewarded with the goal.