{"id":5189,"date":"2026-03-01T20:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T20:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/arsenal-restore-five-point-lead-at-top-of-table-with-2-1-win-over-chelsea\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T20:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T20:37:17","slug":"arsenal-restore-five-point-lead-at-top-of-table-with-2-1-win-over-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/arsenal-restore-five-point-lead-at-top-of-table-with-2-1-win-over-chelsea\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal restore five-point lead at top of table with 2-1 win over Chelsea"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Arsenal have won their set-piece battle with 10-man Chelsea as Jurrien Timber sealed the Premier League leaders\u2019 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/liveblog\/2026\/3\/1\/live-arsenal-vs-chelsea-premier-league\">crucial 2-1 victory<\/a> over their London rivals.<\/p>\n<p>Mikel Arteta\u2019s side struck twice from corners and also conceded from the same route in a match on Sunday that underlined the increasing importance of set pieces in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/2\/25\/fifas-infantino-plays-down-world-cup-concerns-despite-violence-in-mexico\">FIFA\u2019s Infantino plays down World Cup concerns despite violence in Mexico<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/2\/26\/real-madrid-ban-club-member-who-did-nazi-salute-during-benfica-match\">Real Madrid bans club member over Nazi salute during Benfica match<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/2\/27\/man-city-play-real-madrid-psg-face-chelsea-in-champions-league-last-16\">City vs Real Madrid and PSG vs Chelsea to headline Champions League last 16<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/2\/28\/lamine-yamal-hits-hat-trick-as-barcelona-beat-villarreal-4-1-in-la-liga\">Lamine Yamal hits hat-trick as Barcelona beat Villarreal 4-1 in La Liga<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>William Saliba\u2019s first goal since December 2024 put Arsenal ahead in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Piero Hincapie\u2019s own goal drew Chelsea level from one of Reece James\u2019s deadly corners just before the break.<\/p>\n<p>But Timber won a priceless three points for Arsenal with his second-half header before Chelsea winger Pedro Neto was sent off for a second booking.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners\u2019 second successive league win reestablished their five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand and had closed the gap with a 1-0 victory at Leeds on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>After enduring scathing criticism of their mentality during a recent wobble that breathed new life into the title race, Arsenal have got back on track just in time as they followed last weekend\u2019s 4-1 rout of Tottenham with a far more tense triumph.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal travel to Brighton on Wednesday with nine games left in their bid to win a first English title since 2004.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners, through to the League Cup final, the Champions League last 16 and the FA Cup fifth round, have just one match left in England\u2019s top-flight football league against sides currently in the top six \u2013 a potentially decisive trip to Manchester City on April 18.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea\u2019s third consecutive game without a win was a blow to their bid to qualify for next season\u2019s Champions League.<\/p>\n<p>They dropped to sixth place after losing to Arsenal for the third time in Liam Rosenior\u2019s brief reign.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Sanchez nearly gifted Arsenal an early goal when the Chelsea goalkeeper stumbled under pressure from Viktor Gyokeres, but he managed a last-ditch clearance to avert the danger.<\/p>\n<p>When Sanchez gave the ball away with another nervous clearance, Rosenior held his head in frustration.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta preyed on Chelsea\u2019s weakness at the back to take the lead with one of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover\u2019s trademark routines in the 21st minute.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel Magalhaes towered above Reece James and Joao Pedro to nod Bukayo Saka\u2019s corner into the six-yard box, where Saliba\u2019s goal-bound header deflected in off Chelsea\u2019s Mamadou Sarr.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea have conceded eight goals from set pieces in Rosenior\u2019s first 13 matches, and four of those have been against Arsenal.<\/p>\n<p>But the Blues got their revenge on the stroke of half-time.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal were given a warning when James\u2019s corner hit Declan Rice\u2019s shoulder, forcing David Raya to make a superb save.<\/p>\n<p>But they did not learn the lesson, and from the resulting corner, James\u2019s in-swinger was headed into his own net by Hincapie.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal remained vulnerable from James\u2019s corners, and Joao Pedro should have done better than head straight at Raya before nodding wide from another of the Chelsea captain\u2019s teasing set pieces.<\/p>\n<p>Those misses proved costly for Chelsea as Arsenal once again showed their own set-piece prowess in the 66th minute.<\/p>\n<p>Timber made a perfectly timed run to head home from Rice\u2019s corner, with Chelsea\u2019s furious appeals for a foul on Sanchez failing to get the goal overturned.<\/p>\n<p>It was the 16th league goal scored from a corner by the Gunners this season, and their jubilant fans celebrated by chanting \u201cset piece again, ole, ole\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Neto, booked for protesting in the aftermath of Timber\u2019s goal, rashly took out his frustration on Gabriel Martinelli, chopping down the Arsenal winger to earn his marching orders in the 70th minute.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal still needed a brilliant stoppage-time save from Raya to deny Alejandro Garnacho before they could celebrate.<\/p>\n<p>Timber said Arsenal should \u201cenjoy\u201d the thrilling title race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to enjoy it. It is a privilege to be standing here with my teammates fighting for this title. It is a beautiful place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are nine games to go, but we have to go game by game. Hopefully, there will be something beautiful at the end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>James, meanwhile, admitted that Chelsea are receiving too many red cards due to ill-discipline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have spoken. It has come up a number of times. Every time, it is someone different. We need to review it internally,\u201d the Chelsea captain said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, it is a problem. We are playing in the toughest league in the world. [Having] 11 vs 11 [players] is tough. [Having] 10 vs 11 is even harder, no matter who you\u2019re playing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier on Sunday, Manchester United climbed up to third place in the Premier League with a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n<p>Benjamin Sesko\u2019s seventh goal in eight games sealed the win at Old Trafford that moved United above Aston Villa on goal difference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels like a big result,\u201d said United captain Bruno Fernandes, who scored from the penalty spot.<\/p>\n<p>At the other end of the table, Tottenham\u2019s winless run extended to 10 games after a 2-1 loss at Fulham \u2013 leaving them mired in a fight to avoid relegation.<\/p>\n<p>Nottingham Forest also failed to pull further away from the drop zone after a 2-1 loss at Brighton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal have won their set-piece battle with 10-man Chelsea as Jurrien Timber sealed the Premier League leaders\u2019 crucial 2-1 victory over their London rivals. Mikel Arteta\u2019s side struck twice from corners and also conceded from the same route in a match on Sunday that underlined the increasing importance of set pieces in the Premier League. &#8230; <a title=\"Arsenal restore five-point lead at top of table with 2-1 win over Chelsea\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/arsenal-restore-five-point-lead-at-top-of-table-with-2-1-win-over-chelsea\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Arsenal restore five-point lead at top of table with 2-1 win over Chelsea\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}