In a fierce and stressful Super Sunday London derby, Arsenal defeated Chelsea 1-0 thanks to a header from Mikel Merino in the first half.
The Gunners ended a lengthy run without a goal from a corner when Merino headed in Martin Odegaard’s set-piece at the near post after 20 minutes.
This was their 15th corner goal of the season, and they had made 51 attempts since their last one against Spurs on January 15.
Arsenal deserved their lead and could have been disappointed not to have been awarded a penalty for a handball by Marc Cucurella prior to their first goal.
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Cucurella’s arm was judged to be in an expected position with no obvious or intentional action towards the ball, hence VAR verified the referee’s decision to not award a penalty for handball.
— March 16, 2025, Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre)
Up until the 35-minute mark, when Cucurella’s effort almost passed David Raya and into the far corner, much to the relief of the Arsenal goalkeeper, they controlled a sluggish Chelsea.
Seven yellow cards were given out during a heated second half that saw fewer opportunities. After making a superb save at the near post on the goal line to deny Merino a second, Sanchez made another excellent save to deny Odegaard.
Chelsea’s sole attempt on goal in the second half was a poor header into the ground from Cucurella, who was sidelined by Cole Palmer due to a training-field injury on Friday.
With one goal from 20 shots between them, both sides, who began the match without designated No. 9s, demonstrated their need for more quality up front. However, Arsenal’s substitute forward made the difference that day.
Arteta of matchwinner Merino stated, “It was an emergency position we are in at the moment, but the way he is treating it is great.”
“He wants to learn from and comprehend everything. He constantly criticizes himself, but the truth is that he is winning football games, which is amazing. He has never in his life played that position in football.
Maresca: We are close and headed in the right direction.
Enzo Maresca, head coach of Chelsea:
“I can say that there is not much of a gap between us and them based on the first leg against Arsenal and today’s match. This indicates that I believe we are headed in the correct direction ever since I came. We are also pretty close.
To compete in these kinds of games, we need to take a step ahead, but that step can also come from placing in the top four out of five Champions League spots, where you can develop in that competition.
“If you consider that Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and Noni Madueke—the three players with the most goals—were not on the field today, and two of them are already out for the long term, there is a significant difference.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Raya (6); Timber (7), Saliba (8), Gabriel (7), Lewis-Skelly (7); Partey (7), Rice (7), Odegaard (8); Martinelli (7), Merino (7), Trossard (6)
Subs used: Nwaneri (6), Tierney (n/a)
Chelsea: Sanchez (6); Fofana (6), Colwill (6), Badiashile (6), Cucurella (6); James (5), Caicedo (6), Enzo (6); Sancho (5), Neto (5), Nkunku (5)
Subs used: Dewsbury-Hall (6), George (6), Lavia (n/a), Tosin (n/a), Gusto (n/a)
Player of the match: William Saliba (Arsenal)
“It’s normal that offensively we can struggle a little bit, even if until today we are the second or third best attacks in the league. That means we are in any case doing well without those players. But we could do better without the injured players.
“They don’t concede many goals. They are the first or the second one, so it’s not easy to create chances against them.”
Chelsea’s blunt attack in stats
- Chelsea are winless in their last seven away games in the Premier League (D2 L5); their longest run without a league victory on the road since October 2022-February 2023 under Graham Potter (D4 L4).
- Chelsea attempted just eight shots against Arsenal; their joint-fewest in a Premier League match this season (also eight v Brighton last month). Indeed, their xG total at the Emirates (0.35) was their lowest in a match in any competition under Enzo Maresca.
- The Blues also registered just eight touches in the opposition’s box; their fewest in a league game since November 2022 v Newcastle (7).
- Since the start of last season, Arsenal have opened the scoring with a goal from a corner on 11 occasions in the Premier League; more than any other side. Their 27 goals from corners in this period are also a league-high (10 more than any other team).
- Since Cole Palmer joined the club, Chelsea have played three domestic away games without him and lost all three, while failing to score a single goal (eight conceded). This was their first league match without Palmer since April 2024, which was also an away defeat to Arsenal (0-5).
Arteta praises Arsenal against ‘best attack in the league’
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
“We continue to do a lot of things defensively so well that earn us the right to attack open spaces but there were so many situations, huge advantages that we just gave away.
“So we have to track back 70 metres and on that face, we were one of the best teams in the world today because we were unbelievable in the way we’ve done it. We haven’t conceded almost [anything] apart from the strange save from David. Because in my opinion they’re the best attacking team in the league.
“By a mile. The stats say it, everything I’ve seen says it in open play. They can open you, they can run in transitions, they have individual quality, any player in the defensive line can threaten in side. They can combine on both sides, their weaker sides, they are missing some big players at the moment.
Are Chelsea going to be a threat next season? “Yeah. I think if they didn’t have to play Thursday-Saturday and the amount of injuries they have as well, the would be on the edge. Because the manager they have is really good and the players and the squad, the quality they have.”
