Arsenal enjoyed the “perfect night” on Tuesday as they beat Chelsea 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium to go three points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
The Gunners got off to the perfect start when Declan Rice found Leandro Trossard for the opener, beating goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic at the near post.
The hosts failed to make their early dominance count, allowing Chelsea to gradually get into the game more and more as the first half wore on.
But Mikel Arteta’s men put the foot on the neck of their London rivals after the break, with Ben White and Kai Havertz grabbing a brace each to demolish the Blues.
“I think the early goal helped us and after that we played so well,” Trossard told TNT Sports. “We had a lot of chances and we turned them into goals. It’s a great night.
“They say clean sheets help you win games. We know if we score the goal we can win 1-0. But, obviously, we want to go for more. Today is the perfect night. I think everyone works so well and hard. I am really happy to be here.”
Ben White added: “We know we can score goals and today it was a quick game and it was important to put the ball away when we had the chance.”
The full-back’s second goal, which looped over the goalkeeper, was a tad fortunate, but he refused to say whether he meant the finish or not. “I don’t know. I’ll let everyone else decide!”
The result puts Arsenal three points ahead of Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and four ahead of Manchester City, who have two games in hand.
“We can only do our own job and that’s winning games,” Trossard said on the title race. “We are on track now and we will try and win the rest of the games and we will see what happens.”
Liverpool can go level with Arsenal by beating Everton on Wednesday night, while Man City face Brighton on Thursday.
