Chelsea regained their nine-point lead in the English Premier League on Sunday, beating Arsenal 2-0 on goals by Arjen Robben and Joe Cole.
The victory maintained the Blues’ mastery over the Gunners, and ended Arsenal’s string of 13 league victories at Highbury.
Chelsea are unbeaten against Arsenal in their past seven games in all competitions. In their first league showdown this season, Chelsea defeated Arsenal 1-0 at Stamford Bridge for their first league win against the Gunners since 1995.
Chelsea also defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the preseason Community Shield.
”This is always a great game to play, and we have to continue like this,” Robben said. ”As a team, we needed a good game because the last two games we didn’t play well.
”Today we showed everybody in the country why we’re top of the league.”
Added Cole: ”Chelsea are flying at the moment and it’s all good for us.”
Chelsea have 46 points and have allowed only seven goals in 17 league games. Manchester United are in second with 37 points, followed by Liverpool and Tottenham with 31 each. Arsenal stayed in eighth place with only 26 points — 20 behind Chelsea.
In the day’s other Premier League game, Mido scored an 83rd-minute goal to rally Tottenham to a 3-3 draw at Middlesbrough.
Robben scored Chelsea’s first goal in the 39th minute after Arsenal missed two earlier chances. Following a throw-in from midfield, Robben raced down the left side and left-footed the ball behind diving Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
Cole sealed the win in the 73rd minute, breaking from the right wing and beating Lehmann from 18m.
Chelsea applied all the early pressure, but it was Arsenal who had the best two early scoring chances. In the 20th, Thierry Henry skipped into the area and rolled a shot on the ground from 15m hit the post to the left of goalkeeper Petr Cech.
A minute later, Arsenal’s Robin van Persie put the ball into the net off a left-wing shot, but the play was ruled offside. A television replay showed Persie was onside, but Henry was offside.
The Gunners never recovered, although Henry had a couple more chances, including a close-in header in the 67th minute that Cech dived to save.
Tottenham took a 1-0 lead in the 25th, thanks to a mistake by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. The Australian came out to catch a high cross, but the ball bounced off his hands with Robbie Keane dribbling a weak shot into an empty net.
Middlesbrough levelled five minutes later when Aiyegbeni Yakubu scored on a powerful 10m volley that slipped inside the post. Yakubu was also involved in the go-ahead goal in the 43rd minute when James Morrison’s shot deflected off him and into the net behind Paul Robinson.
Spurs equalised in the 63rd when Jermaine Jenas’s free kick from 20m curled into the net and beat Schwarzer diving to his right.
Middlesbrough went ahead again in the 69th when Franck Queudrue scored on a 10m header that dropped over the line behind Robinson. This set the stage for Mido’s 83rd-minute equaliser.
”If we are a bit cleverer, we can win these sorts of games,” Tottenham coach Martin Jol said. ”Last year we could not do it, and I think we have improved in certain areas and it showed.”
Morrison was knocked unconscious in a collision with Keane five minutes from the end. He was taken off the field on a stretcher, but did not need hospital treatment.
On Saturday, it was: Aston Villa 0, Manchester United 2; Everton 0, Bolton 4; Fulham 2, Blackburn 1; Portsmouth 1, West Brom 0; Wigan 3, Charlton 0; West Ham 2, Newcastle 4; and Manchester City 4, Birmingham 1.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney scored in each half for Manchester United on Saturday. Villa are winless in their past 21 games against the Red Devils.
Despite being knocked out of the Champions League group stage for the first time in a decade, the Red Devils have won five of their past six league games. — Sapa-AP