Premier League - Chelsea thump Arsenal

Eurosport - Mon, 11 May 08:59:00 2009

Chelsea secured at least a third-place finish in the Premier League after a 4-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Premier League Arsenal-Chelsea Alex scores - 0

Alex and Nicolas Anelka - playing against his former club - were on target during an entertaining opening period before Kolo Toure put past his own keeper to add a third just four minutes into the second half.

Substitute Nicklas Bendtner gave hope to Arsenal by pulling one back with 20 minutes remaining, but Florent Malouda's late strike sealed all three points for Guus Hiddink's side.

Victory saw Chelsea extend their lead over Arsenal to nine points with just two games remaining. And with third place safely in the bag, they are assured of entering next season's Champions League group stage directly.

The Gunners meanwhile will have to settle for a fourth-placed finish - and the final Champions League qualifying round.

Arsenal bossed the early exchanges, enjoying more possession and creating the better chances, yet it was Chelsea who went in at the break two goals to the good.

The reasons for that statistic were two-fold - a lack of composure at one end, and two exquisite demonstrations of the art of finishing at the other.

While Arsenal huffed and puffed in the Chelsea half, Theo Walcott in particular causing a number of problems for the visitors' defence, crucially they lacked a cool head in front of goal.

Walcott, for all his endeavour on the right wing, was as guilty as anyone and put three decent chances wide of the mark during the first half and a further one after the break.

Abou Diaby should also have done better on 12 minutes, slicing his effort wide after good work by Walcott, while Alexandre Song could only fire the wrong side of the post on the turn from close range after 24 minutes.

And the Gunners were made to pay when Alex showed them exactly how to do it, the Brazilian defender rising majestically to meet a free-kick on 28 minutes with a towering header from around the penalty spot that beat Lukasz Fabianski all ends up and crashed in off the underside of the bar.

Despite going behind, Arsenal continued to press forward and they nearly found an equaliser eight minutes after the opener went in, Robin van Persie seeing a neat flick cleared off the line by Jose Bosingwa.

Chelsea stood firm and they were rewarded with a second on 39 minutes, Anelka ghosting past Samir Nasri in midfield before surging forward and unleashing a swerving shot that found the bottom corner.

The former Gunner could have added to his own personal tally just before the half-time whistle, but Fabianski was equal to his first-time strike from Malouda's cross.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger opted not to make any changes at the break, and Chelsea continued where they left off - celebrating a goal.

This time there was an element of fortune to the breakthrough, Toure the unfortunate player who slid in to meet Ashley Cole's driven cross and divert it into his own net.

On the hour mark, Wenger finally decided to shuffle his pack, bringing on Bendtner for Diaby. The move invigorated the hosts and their attractive passing play was finally rewarded with a goal 10 minutes later, the Dane rising above Michael Essien to head home.

The goal gave the Gunners hope, and for another 10 minutes they were roared on by the home crowd in the hope of pulling back another goal to set up a grandstand finish.

Bendtner, again, and Robin van Persie both headed on target while substitute Emmanuel Adebayor had a loud penalty appeal waved away and Mikael Silvestre saw a close-range effort blocked by Cech.

But the hosts just could not breach the Chelsea back line, and their efforts were proved in vain when Malouda grabbed a fourth on 86 minutes, the Frenchman stabbing home from close range after his own initial effort had been saved and Anelka had hit the post with the follow up.

Replays showed Malouda to have been in an offside position when Anelka struck his shot, but with just four minutes remaining, had the goal been chalked off, the decision would probably have come too late to change the outcome of the game.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

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  1. No-one wants to hear the man u fans go celebrate­ somewhere else (cristiano ronaldo you girl)
    and whoever­ mentions about the french people being stuck up has­ their head stuck in the news (doesn't anyone­ understand it is biased and 99.9% of the time a waste­ of money?)
    and 284 has a point. can't anyone just­ wait until the summer to judge what is going on in­ arsene wenger's mind? please coz i am getting bored­ of the man u and chelsea fans
    (drogba diver)

    From famrich5, on Tue 12 May 6:19PM

  2. arsene!!!!!arsene!!!!yu can say this again..he will­ never listen bringing on bentner who needs twenty or so­ shots to score a goal diaby who is never going to be a­ midfielder buying one mr mikael after man u had done­ away with him-he is french wenger is for no good we­ want results not pleasing our employers-and by the way­ a die hard fan hang himself in nairobi afta seing­ arsenal loose to man in the quarters

    From alvin m, on Tue 12 May 9:29AM

  3. arsenal.... lol need i say more. there behing Chelsea­ by 9 points for a reason.

    long live drogba

    From kadenowns, on Tue 12 May 4:56AM

  4. ARSENAL THE REAL HOME OF FOOTBALL!!!

    From patchworxmessy, on Tue 12 May 1:30AM

  5. This Arsenal concern Wenger I respect you the only­ thing is try to sale Adebayor is not good enougth
    as­ Viera or Henry the only things he just use is black­ magic but desn't work let him go other wise next­ season wil be the some even my boy he 5year old he does­ like Adebayo.
    Arsenal is big team i respect that you­ should win at least on triumph let Adebayo to go and­ by new player like Eto'o or Kalu, Arsenal is house­ of Football .

    From Alfonso, on Mon 11 May 11:28PM

  6. i would just like to let the chelsea fans know that one­ of your fans is a dirty transvestite ladyboy who goes­ by the name of GO so watch your arses cos he will bum­ you he as a lover called lfcool another tranny scouse­ bumboy there filthy dirty scummers who service fat­ business men for a fiver

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Mon 11 May 10:37PM

  7. i would just like to let the chelsea fans know that one­ of your fans is a dirty transvestite ladyboy who goes­ by the name of GO so watch your arses cos he will bum­ you he as a lover called lfcool another tranny scouse­ bumboy there filthy dirty scummers who service fat­ business men for a fiver

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Mon 11 May 10:37PM

  8. i would just like to let the chelsea fans know that one­ of your fans is a dirty transvestite ladyboy who goes­ by the name of GO so watch your arses cos he will bum­ you he as a lover called lfcool another tranny scouse­ bumboy there filthy dirty scummers who service fat­ business men for a fiver

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Mon 11 May 10:37PM

  9. i would just like to let the chelsea fans know that one­ of your fans is a dirty transvestite ladyboy who goes­ by the name of GO so watch your arses cos he will bum­ you he as a lover called lfcool another tranny scouse­ bumboy there filthy dirty scummers who service fat­ business men for a fiver

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Mon 11 May 10:37PM

  10. a least ARSENAL have won more troghy,s then chelsea any­ way in the champion,s want was it 1 v 0 and they messed­ it up 1 v 0 and they meeed it up. chelsea scum.

    From s.coleman972, on Mon 11 May 7:47PM

  11. Chealsea are not as bad as asenal so if you suport­ asenal ha theres man u to come dont be scared yeaaaa

    From Chingi James Junior, on Mon 11 May 7:09PM

  12. why u always blame wenger 4 not spending­ money?????....can someone tell me how much money­ available for him?????....that's the BOARD(owners)­ policy.....not wenger..think smart guys!!!!! arsene is­ genius...i hope he stay for life...

    From mongoliwok, on Mon 11 May 4:18PM

  13. Phil Scolari cost Chelsea the Premier League. He just­ couldn't manage this team of big headed­ professionals left by J. Mourinho. The latter made them­ believe they were the greatests of all time. That's­ what you call mind games aimed at getting the best out­ of players. Hence the true CHARACTER.
    Scolari never­ knew none of this and cost Chelsea precious points that­ they are now made to pay for.
    Sacking him was the only­ alternative to getting back Chelsea to winning ways­ with a tactically sharp and strong manager like Guus­ Hiddink. The man is just good at his job, eventhough­ he's no "professor".
    At least he gets his­ tactics right and knows how to motivate them and get­ the best out of them(he didn't buy any player, he­ inherited the same old ones left by his predecessors).­ Look at the result today and judge for yourself.

    1)­ WHY SPEND 16.5M ON ARSHAVIN IF HE IS TO BE LEFT OUT OF­ GREAT GAMES WHERE HE SHOULD BE PLAYING?
    2) WHY WHY TRY­ TO PLAY A GAME LIKE THIS AGGRESSIVELY, IF U CAN'T­ KEEP UP THE PRESSURE AND MATERIALISE WITH A GREAT­ FINISH?
    3) WHY LEAVE ADEBAYOR ON THE BENCH (i suspect­ because Mr Professor doesn't like opinionated­ players) WHILE HE SHOULD HAVE STARTED THE GAME WITH RVP­ UPFRONT TO COUNTERBALANCE CHELSEA'S LINE UP OF THE­ DAY?
    4) WHY IS THIS MAN SO STUBBORN AND NEVER LISTENS­ TO ANYBODY OR LEARN LESSONS FROM HIS PAST MISTAKES?­ (because he is too arrogant and too full of himself,­ just like most of the french people i know)
    5) WHY­ BOAST THE BEST STADIUM IN THE LAND IF WE ARE TO LOSE­ THE TWENTY SOMETHING UNBEATEN RUN ON ITS VERY FIELD?­ (does this man know how much that hurts? We don't­ mind losing an unbeaten run in the league as it will­ always happen, but not at HOME Mr. Professor)
    6) WHY BE­ SO TIGHT WITH THE MONEY THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOUR­ PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT? JUST GET OUT THERE AND SPEND TO­ BRING IN WHAT WE NEED AT THIS CLUB. YOU HAVE PLAYED­ ENOUGH WITH OUR PATIENCE, YOU HAVE CAUSED HEARTACHES TO­ A LOT, YO

    From A., on Mon 11 May 3:49PM

  14. ARSE-ANAL vs CHELSAW.. two blind men fighting and­ trading blows because one called
    the other "you­ blind fool" hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
    WE­ WILL WIN THE LEAGUE THIS SEASON... GO MAN UNITED..­ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    BEL pa zed

    From Brian, on Mon 11 May 3:08PM

  15. ARSE-ANAL vs CHELSAW.. two blind men fighting and­ trading blows because one called
    the other "you­ blind fool" hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
    WE­ WILL WIN THE LEAGUE THIS SEASON... GO MAN UNITED..­ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    BEL pa zed

    From Brian, on Mon 11 May 3:08PM

  16. ARSE-ANAL vs CHELSAW.. two blind men fighting and­ trading blows because one called
    the other "you­ blind fool" hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
    WE­ WILL WIN THE LEAGUE THIS SEASON... GO MAN UNITED..­ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    BEL pa zed

    From Brian, on Mon 11 May 3:07PM

  17. ha ha ha 276. Yeah go away chelsea- what are you gonna­ do, get drogba and ballack to rant at the ref until he­ gives you what you want?? i bet they paid him- sorry­ no-one had any money on them for the ref on wednesday

    From famrich5, on Mon 11 May 2:28PM

  18. #281 the reason we lost the semi final was because­ Arshavin was left on the bench which i don't­ understand one bit. Hes a game changer and if he was­ playing we could of won that game.

    I think we need­ 3-4 Experienced defenders because if the current ones­ get injured we have to rely on youngsters. I don't­ no why wenger says he keeps faith in the youth policy­ because whenever he gives the younger ones a try like­ Vela, they do really well but then just goes back to­ the normal line up and struggle against low sides.

    From Cosia, on Mon 11 May 1:36PM

  19. Wenger...a "Genius" who finds it impossible­ to play people in the natural positions, persitently­ playing Diaby and Bendtner and Walcott wide when it is­ clear to everyone that they are not effective there. In­ fact Walcott should not be playing at all, he­ couldn't finish his dinner or cross the road! A man­ who cannot motivate his team no matter how high the­ stakes. The only person on planet earth who believes in­ the defence even though the Titanic is more water­ tight! Also where in the club do we have a defensive­ midfielder with strength and pace to cover Cesc's­ lack of.
    A man who knows that Arsenal were "out­ muscled" by Chelsea in the FA cup so leaves his­ biggest, strongest players on the bench....hhmmmmmmm!
    A­ man who constantly makes tactical howlers of gargantuan­ proportion reserving his best @#$% ups for the most­ important games, yet is still regarded a "les­ proffesuer" by pundits who should know better.­ Makes me chuckle, if I was as bad at my job as he is I­ would be a statistic right now! Perhaps all the pundits­ and Fergie like him so much now because he has lost the­ plot and Arsenal are no longer a threat.
    Do us all a­ favour Arsene, go manage Real Madrid and let us get a­ manager not afraid to stick the boot in when this over­ paid bunch of prima donna's don't perform!

    From Stephen S, on Mon 11 May 1:14PM

  20. I don't know why chelsea fans are celebrating it­ they have one any trophy. You have lost premier, You­ have lost Champions legue trophy. You have just­ collected 3 point which basically we did last time at­ stanford bridge. Why fuss about it. Let us (Arsenal)­ mourn in quietness. Our problems have not been caused­ by Chelsea or Manure, but self iflicting because of­ faulty decision of the coach no recruiting mature and­ able players.

    From asenambo, on Mon 11 May 12:45PM
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