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Arsenal managed a crucial 1-0 win over Chelsea to secure a vital three points and take one more step towards Champions League qualification.
Arsenal's 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Emirates won't win any awards for aesthetics, but Mikel Arteta's side got the right result, and at this time of year, that is all that matters.
After again dominating the opening stages of a match, this time, the Gunners were rewarded in the 20th minute when Mikel Merino flicked on Martin Odegaard's corner to give the hosts a deserved lead.
And in truth, the Gunners, like against PSV, should have been multiple goals to the good had they taken their chances and put the game to bed. But that left the door ajar for Chelsea and the visitors started to look menacing.
Arsenal manages gritty 1-0 win over Chelsea
But to Arsenal's credit, it dug in and didn't give much away at all aside from David Raya going close to fumbling an easy shot into the net.
The win now marks the first win in the last four games for Arsenal as it moves four points clear of Nottingham Forest in third and 11 ahead of Chelsea in fourth.
"Yes, very happy obviously with the result, with big parts of that performance," Arteta said via arsenal.com. "I love the attitude of the team from the beginning, the way we approached it, how aggressive we were with our goal, score a goal. We haven't conceded almost anything apart from that strange save from David I would say, and that's a big credit to the team because in my opinion they are the best attacking team in the league."
It wasn't an outstanding performance by any means, but the Gunners, unlike the game against Manchester United, managed to get an early goal for their efforts, and the game shifted.
Defensively, Arsenal was again resolute and as Arteta alluded to, the team didn't really give Chelsea much of a sniff of anything aside from Raya's odd moment in the second half.
With the win, confidence can now start to be built, and it was good for the soul to see Gabriel Martinelli get another match under his belt as he works his way back to full fitness.
This one won't live long in the memory, but all Arsenal had to do was win, and with Merino's goal, it did just that.