– It is terribly useless

Sport: Captain Martin Ødegaard was very setting the tone even though he did not score a goal. He contributed two assists as both Kai Havertz and Ben White scored two goals, while Leandro Trossard also scored for the hosts.

With the win, Arsenal are three points behind Liverpool and four behind Manchester City. Liverpool have one less game played, while City have two.

Arsenal were clearly the best on their own turf and put the Chelsea defense to many great tests. It could easily have been more than just 1-0 after the first 45 minutes, and perhaps Chelsea should have been reduced to ten men. In any case, the Viaplay experts Jan Åge Fjørtoft and Pål André Helland were clear on that.

After ten minutes, Takehiro Tomiyasu was tagged by Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, but the referee did not consider that he deserved a card.

– Tomiyasu’s career could have been ruined there, so it’s a clear red card for me, said Fjørtoft.

– It is bad for the referee not to see it, and it is terribly useless for VAR not to see it, was the former Rosenborg player’s clear message.

In the end, it was a clear victory for Ødegaard’s team. Chelsea hung on for large parts of the second half and could not give title-chasing Arsenal a fight.

Chelsea had to do without an ill Cole Palmer in the big game in North London. The Englishman has netted 20 times in the league this season and is joint top scorer with Erling Braut Haaland.

Back Malo Gusto was also missing in the away game. Chelsea are in ninth place with six games left in the season.

There was a high tempo in the match and after 25 minutes Arsenal produced two great chances to increase the lead, but Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic had both Havertz’s shots saved. A few minutes later, Chelsea were also dangerous going forward, but they did not succeed.

The home side controlled most of the field play and forced the Chelsea defense to run a lot. Arsenal continued to press after the break and the reward came early. The ball fell to White in the box and the back was clinical. And the home team really ran over the visitors in blue from a little further south in the capital.

During the next quarter, Havertz scored twice against his old club, while White also scored two goals 20 minutes before the end. That attack was directed by Ødegaard when he lobbed the ball nicely over to White who in turn placed the ball in the far corner with a great finish. It looked like a cross, but the ball crept in at the far post.

Helland was very clear in his judgment of the situation. He skinned the video refereeing tool VAR.

Arsenal took the lead after just four minutes when Declan Rice got into the penalty area. He dropped the ball perfectly to Trossard, who tapped it into the net.

(© NTB)