Arsenal 2 Chelsea 0
Top four race heats up as Lacazette and Koscielny lead way for Arsenal in huge win over Chelsea
Gunners worked their socks off to stifle Chelsea at the Emirates and put themselves three points behind fourth-place Blues in table
LAURENT KOSCIELNY recalled in his captain’s programme notes the first time he and Eden Hazard had played against each other.
It was nine seasons ago Koscielny’s Lorient started their French Ligue 1 campaign with a 2-1 win at Lille, who had an 18-year-old Hazard on the wing.
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On this occasion Arsenal stalwart Koscielny not only did his job in keeping Hazard quiet in the false nine role he enjoys so little.
The French defender, 33, also made a crucial, albeit lucky, intervention at the other end, scoring a bizarre but deserved second goal.
Koscielny personified the extra desire in both penalty areas that Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri claimed was responsible for the Gunners’ triumph.
It was, on one level, derby-day revenge for the slightly unfortunate defeat the Gunners had suffered at Stamford Bridge on the second weekend of the season.
More significantly, it suggested Unai Emery’s men may yet prove they are moving in the right direction while Sarri’s Chelsea are stalling.
Emery’s side are now within three points of the fourth-placed Blues. At this stage last season, they were eight points off the Champions League places.
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As for Chelsea, they continue to live down to the expectations Sarri was trying to set even while his side was matching City and Liverpool’s unbeaten starts to the campaign.
The successful launch of Sarri-ball felt like a long time ago during yet another sterile, predictable display.
Sure, his players must look at themselves, but the Italian’s refusal to change his approach must be a factor in their lack of motivation.
While Sarri stuck with the formation and the XI which had just about beaten Newcastle a week before, Emery made three changes to the side whose 1-0 defeat at West Ham had looked so damaging.
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Aaron Ramsey, whose summer move to Juventus moved a step closer during the week, found himself in the playmaker role.
Arsenal’s actual No 10 Mesut Ozil, the man they threw £350,000 a week at to stop him doing a Ramsey last year, was on the bench.
If the club had not panicked and given Ozil that contract, they would have had the money to pay Ramsey, a player Emery actually seems to rate, what he was demanding.
Likewise with AC Milan’s decision to hire the man primarily responsible for the mess, Ivan Gazidis, who is to Arsenal’s situation what David Cameron is to the Brexit-inspired mayhem.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang almost connected with an Alexandre Lacazette cross inside four minutes, then Sokratis headed a Granit Xhaka delivery wide.
Hazard was off-target with a decent chance before the passage of play which brought the first goal.
Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga did not know much about his save from Koscielny’s header.
And he could not do much when, from the resulting corner, Arsenal worked the ball into Lacazette and the Frenchman turned past Pedro and Marcos Alonso before firing into the roof of the net.
If Aubameyang had beaten Kepa after robbing Cesar Azpilicueta on the touchline and weaving his way into the box, Arsenal would have had a deservedly bigger lead.
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Instead, Chelsea almost equalised with the combination that had brought their opening goal against Newcastle the previous weekend.
Once again Pedro timed his run well to latch on to a lofted ball by David Luiz but this time the Spaniard’s lob dropped just wide of the goal. It was breathless stuff.
Aubameyang almost doubled the lead with a spectacular effort but the second goal came from a far less likely, and graceful, source.
At times this season Arsenal’s various centre-back pairings have been as hapless as Laurel and Hardy, but without the excuse of doing it deliberately.
This time, the way Sokratis and Koscielny combined was slapstick the home fans could enjoy.
Sokratis’ cross was mis-hit. Koscielny’s attempted header was misjudged. But the ball struck the Frenchman’s shoulder and looped into the corner of Kepa’s net.
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There was still time for Alonso to hit the post with a header from a Willian corner before the half-time whistle. After the break Chelsea enjoyed possession but no penetration, before Hector Bellerin failed to make the most of an Arsenal break.
Sarri made changes and old warhorse Koscielny blocked a Ross Barkley effort before Hazard, back in his favoured left-wing slot after the introduction of Olivier Giroud, at last escaped.
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But he pulled his effort from a tight angle across the goal.
Arsenal No 1 Bernd Leno, who had barely had a save to make, beat away Alonso’s cross-shot, but that was all Chelsea could muster.
Koscielny may not have many more chances to test himself against Hazard, especially if the Belgian heads for Real Madrid.
What may be their last meeting will be a happy memory, just as the first is.
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