Arsenal

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Premier League leaders Arsenal take on a Chelsea side who have not beaten them since August 2021. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Sunday's match (16:30 GMT).

More capital gains for Gunners?

After losing ground in the title race with back-to-back draws, Arsenal regained momentum by beating Tottenham 4-1 last weekend – their biggest victory away to their north London rivals since 1978.

The win extended their excellent run of results in derby matches. The Gunners have lost just one of their previous 25 Premier League matches against sides from the capital, and it is a similar story when facing Chelsea.

Arsenal have been beaten in only one of their past 15 meetings with the Blues in all competitions and have won seven and lost none of the 10 most recent encounters.

Mikel Arteta's side now have 10 games left as they look to secure a first league title since 2004. Sunday's fixture is one of just two against sides currently in the top six, along with a potentially decisive trip to second-placed Manchester City on 18 April.

Arteta has a full week to prepare his side for this match, a rare luxury in an increasingly congested calendar. The last time the Gunners had no midweek action was in mid-December.

Familiar failings again costly for Chelsea

Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Burnley followed a frustratingly familiar script for the west London side.

Having surrendered a two-goal lead in the draw with Leeds earlier this month, the Blues again faltered versus newly promoted opposition, conceding an injury-time equaliser from Burnley's Zian Flemming.

They have already dropped 19 points from winning positions this season - the second-highest figure in the top flight prior to the latest round of matches.

Another costly habit has been losing players to red cards at key moments. Chelsea did not allow Burnley a shot on target while they had 11 men on the pitch but understandably looked more vulnerable once Wesley Fofana was sent off in the 72nd minute.

The Frenchman became the eighth Chelsea player to be dismissed this season in all competitions, comfortably the highest total of any Premier League club.

And while Fofana's red was the first since Liam Rosenior's appointment last month, the Blues will need to tread carefully against Arsenal, having had Moises Caicedo sent off in November's 1-1 draw between the sides.

Scarlet Katz Roberts
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal's record against Chelsea lately is nothing short of dominance. Last weekend we confirmed that North London is still red. It would be nice to rubber stamp the rest of the city this weekend with a win against the Blues.

But it wasn't always that way… In fact, it used to be horrible. Back in the early to mid 2000s, we were routinely walloped by Chelsea's wise veterans.

That's what makes putting this young Chelsea team to the sword and beating them, rubbing their noses in their optimism, all the more important for an Arsenal team potentially on the verge of emulating their success. I don't just want to beat Chelsea, I want to patronise them, because of all the times they made me feel stupid for even hoping. So here they are, five times Chelsea ruined my childhood in chronological order.

1. League Cup Final 2007: 2-1 defeat

Jon Champion described it as the "velvet glove of Arsenal's sophisticated youth against the iron fist of Chelsea's relentless power". Theo Walcott, barely out of the crib, put Arsenal one up inside 15 minutes. I remember sitting in the car, listening on the radio, hearing men against boys twisted around to flatter Arsenal's youthful line-up.

Everything seemed to be going so well until the inevitable Didier Drogba delivered an equaliser that was probably offside. It all went downhill from there. Michael Essien somehow escaped a red card after kicking Julio Baptista in the chest, and then a second yellow after cutting Denilson down on the break. In the 84th minute it was Drogba, the spectre of my nightmares for years to come, who rose above Senderos to head Chelsea in front. I heard Arsenal ended that game with nine men. I wouldn't know - I'd asked my parents to turn the radio off.

Image source, Getty Images

2. Ruined my first trip to Wembley: 2009 FA cup semi final: 2-1 defeat

Obviously it wasn't a final, so this isn't as bad as the first time. But it was Theo Walcott who put us ahead again in a cruel echo of the last time we met Chelsea in the late stages of a cup competition. Malouda equalised before guess who (Didier Drogba) scored an 84th minute winner to send me home from my first trip to Wembley with a defeat.

3. Drogba again: 2009: 3-0 defeat at home

Arsenal didn't really put up a fight in this game, which is why I remember very little. What I can't forget is Drogba slamming an Ashley Cole cross in off the underside of the bar, before booting a free kick in for 3-0. Humiliation. Turn off the TV.

4. Wenger's 1,000th game: 2014: 6-0 at The Bridge

I had the good fortune of attending this game and sitting in the home end with the Chelsea fans. They couldn't understand why I wasn't jubilant when Mourinho followed up his 'specialist in failure' jibe with a 6-0 drubbing famous for its case of mistaken identity, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made a diving save from Eden Hazard on the line. But instead of him being sent off, it was Kieran Gibbs who walked for Arsenal. We also handed the great Mo Salah his first Premier League goal for 6-0.

Image source, Getty Images

5. Eden Hazard: 2016 3-1 at the Bridge

It was February 2016 and Arsenal's title hopes were dwindling. We'd actually managed to beat Chelsea at home that season, so I had cautious hope. But that didn't stop Eden Hazard from turning Francis Coquelin into a human fidget spinner, somehow beating Laurent Koscielny twice in the same move, before scoring past Petr Cech for 2-0. To cap things off, Chelsea got their third thanks to none other than former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas. We did get them back that year, beating them 2-1 in the FA cup final!

Honourable mentions must go to Baku, Alex's freekick and Michael Essien's wonderstrike. On Sunday it will be Arsenal's 'iron fist' against Chelsea's 'velvet glove'. History tells us that the 'iron fist' usually prevails. I hope we win.

Find more from Scarlet Katz Roberts at the Goal Difference podcast, external

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Chelsea at Emirates Stadium (kick-off 16:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He said he is waiting for Saturday before giving team news as that's "the last training session to understand if we have one or two available".

• Max Dowman "will play some minutes tonight with the under-21s" so could be available for Sunday, while Kai Havertz will train and be assessed on Saturday.

• On the mood after a dominant north London derby win: "Not too high, not too low. I try to be as stable as possible, I try to have perspectives always about what a result or a performance brings outside or within the group and I always try to be positive about it."

• He said Viktor Gyokeres is "undoubtedly an incredible striker," but they "need to feed to his quality and need to understand him better" which comes with time. Arteta added that they are going "in the right trajectory" when it comes to utilising Gyokeres and him picking up his form.

• On whether his players are nervous in the title race: "I want to see signs of confidence, enthusiasm and the will to win what's in front of us. That's what I see every single day from the team."

• He said Eberechi Eze's "role has been modified a few times throughout the season and his reaction has always been top" but it is now about transferring that into his performances.

• More on Eze: "He's been exceptional in the manner he is behaving every single day, but what we need now is that those manners are transformed into huge performances that decide football matches. That's the reason we bought him."

• On opponents Chelsea: "They've done different things, and they can change throughout the game. They have the players and they have a manager who is very comfortable doing that - so we're prepared."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary of Arsenal vs Chelsea on BBC Radio 5 Live from 16:30 GMT on Sunday.

Got a question about Arsenal? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal can plot their route to the Champions League final now the draw for the knockout stage of the competition has been completed.

The Gunners will player Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 and, if they get past the German side, it is Sporting or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals for a place in the last four.

Beyond that, they would face one of Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Newcastle or Tottenham in the semi‑finals.

The big news for Mikel Arteta's side, not that there are any guarantees in knockout football, is that they have avoided Paris St-Germain, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, who are all on the other side of the draw.

The match against Bayer Leverkusen will give Piero Hincapie a chance to come up against his former side. The defender is on loan with the Gunners, though they do have the option to make that deal permanent.

There's still a long way to go but it keeps Arsenal's hopes of trophies this season alive and the draw will have fans speculating about whether they could actually win the quadruple.

The Gunners are top of the Premier League, in the Carabao Cup final, have a favourable route in the Champions League and face League One side Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round.

Image source, Getty Images

The Champions League last-16 draw has been made and a route to the final has been plotted for all six Premier League sides in the competition.

The first legs will be played on the 10 and 11 March, the second on 17 and 18 March.

Here are the ties:

• Atalanta v Bayern Munich

• Atletico Madrid v Tottenham

• Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal

• Bodo/Glimt v Sporting

• Galatasaray v Liverpool

• Newcastle v Barcelona

• Paris St-Germain v Chelsea

• Real Madrid v Manchester City

Get live reaction and consider your route to the final here

Daniel Austin
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Fans of the Premier League's six wealthiest clubs are paying an average of £74 per ticket for each match they attend, while ticket revenues are soaring, according to data from a new report.

The Uefa European club finance and investment landscape report shows that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham earned an average of 19% more money from selling tickets for home matches in 2025 than in 2024.

Among Premier League clubs, Arsenal made the most per fan, per match, earning an average of £89 per ticket.

The biggest increase in ticket income was earned by Liverpool, who made 27% more than the previous year, for a total of £120m.

The figures include matches in all European and domestic competitions and comprise the average price for general admission and hospitality tickets.

The data shows all 20 Premier League clubs made a combined total of £920m from ticket sales last year - an increase of £90m from the previous year.

That total is almost double the total of £514m in ticket income earned by Spanish clubs.

Nine Premier League clubs feature in Europe's top 25 for gate revenue, with the wealthiest six all in the top 11.

The report shows the 20 Premier League clubs are well ahead of their European rivals when it comes to overall revenue, earning a combined total of £6.5bn.

That is almost double the revenue of the next highest division, Germany's Bundesliga, whose 18 clubs made a total of £3.4bn.

Of the 25 clubs who generated the most revenue, 11 were English.

But those revenues did not mean the Premier League clubs turned a collective profit, as only five made a profit while 15 made losses and across the division, there was a combined pre-tax loss of £559m.

Chelsea - with £355m - made the second-highest loss in European football history while Spurs (£129m) were the the third-biggest losers in 2025, with Aston Villa fifth (£85m).

Read Dan's piece in full

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

St Totteringham's Day and when it could happen has been the subject of several questions sent in via our Ask Me Anything service recently.

St Totteringham's Day is an unofficial celebration for Arsenal fans that marks the date on which the Gunners are guaranteed to finish higher in the table than Tottenham.

Arsenal can mathematically secure their finish above their north London rivals on Sunday, 1 March with 10 games to spare in the Premier League season.

Spurs can achieve a maximum of 62 points if they win their remaining 11 games, meaning if Igor Tudor's side draw or lose against Fulham, whatever happens at Arsenal will not matter.

If Spurs do beat Fulham and Arsenal also beat Chelsea at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta's side will secure their earliest 'St Totteringham's Day' on record.

The earliest it has happened so far came on 9 March 2008 when an Arsene Wenger-led Arsenal finished the season 37 points ahead of their rivals.

The portmanteau is believed to have originated from Arsenal supporter Julian Shulman on fan website Arseweb in the early 2000s. It gained popularity during a period when the Gunners finished higher than Spurs for 21 consecutive seasons between 1995 and 2016.

The date has also been referred to as St Totteridge and was referenced in the Arsenal matchday programme as early as 2008.

On social media, people have also referred to it as St Hotspurs Day.

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

Find out more here

Arsenal and Manchester City are considering bids of £30m for Atalanta left-back Honest Ahanor. Chelsea are also interested in the 18-year-old Nigerian. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal will find out who their opponents will be in the round of 16 of the Champions League when the draw takes place on Friday.

The Gunners have a 100% record in the Champions League so far and finished in first place in the league phase table.

The teams who finished in the top eight of the league phase will face a side who won their play-off match and had finished between 8th and 16th in the league phase.

After finishing first, Arsenal are guaranteed to play one of the sides that finished between 15th and 18th place.

The Gunners now know that they will face a trip to Italy or Germany as after winning their play-off matches, against Borussia Dortmund and Olympiakos respectively, Arsenal could face Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen.

The Champions League knockout draw takes place on Friday at 11:00 GMT and with the fixtures put in brackets, Arsenal will be able to plot their potential route to the final.

Eintracht Frankfurt's 22-year-old Germany defender Nnamdi Collins is the subject of interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are closely monitoring the development of Ajax's 18-year-old Dutch midfielder Sean Steur.

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

If Arsenal hadn't beaten Tottenham, they would have been written off as bottlers. They might even have been given their worst-imaginable soubriquet; they could have been called 'Spursy'. Fortunately, for Mikel Arteta, that looked very unlikely against everyone's favourite opponent right now.

Each decision made by Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola over coming weeks and months will be scrutinised. The Gunners had to decide who was right to dismantle an admittedly dysfunctional Spurs and Arteta went for Viktor Gyokeres over Gabriel Jesus and Eberechi Eze instead of Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.

These were two big calls on two players who have been in and out of form, but both proved to be inspired decisions, getting all four goals between them. With five goals now in two games for Arsenal against Spurs for Eze, you can see some of the manager's thinking, but it was a shrewd decision nonetheless.

Now all he has to do is keep making good calls for the next two months solid.

Fortunately, those choices generally only affect the creative top end of the team as the goalkeeper, back line and two deeper midfield positions are not a problem. Maybe that has been another advantage over Man City, who have had to chop and change their back line this season, but now, with Marc Guehi alongside either Abdukodir Khusanov or Ruben Dias, that seems fixed. So, from here on in, every creative call by either boss could win or lose them the title. No pressure then.

Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter

Arsenal are preparing to make 24-year-old Ecuador defender Piero Hincapie's loan deal from Bayer Leverkusen permanent for £45m. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal's No More Red campaign continues to fight against the root causes of youth violence in London.

The club - in conjunction with shirt manufacturer Adidas - marked the initiative this year with a community walk, featuring fans, campaigners and players Noni Madueke and Alessia Russo.

The walk was significant, with the family of Arsenal supporter Tashan Daniel taking part.

Tashan died in 2019, aged 20, when he was stabbed on his way to watch the Gunners.

The walk concluded with his parents making their way to his seat at Emirates Stadium.

Since No More Red was launched, Arsenal and their partners have delivered four new and refurbished pitches in north London, creating safe places for young people to play.

In addition, almost 800 training sessions have been delivered on the pitches, with over 1500 young people engaging with the club's community coaches.

Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott says a "fitter" Viktor Gyokeres is showing signs of growth as he fully settles into life as a Premier League striker.

Gyokeres now has 15 goals in all competitions this season, including four in his last five appearances.

Walcott told Monday Night Club: "The fact he has had to adapt very quickly, the expectation to win the league is kind of all on him. At the start of the season he put too much pressure on himself and kind of went away from what he is good at.

"I feel like he's not overthinking it. If I had more time I would then make a rash decision or overthink it. I just feel like he's not overthinking it now."

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton replied: "My game was always about building relationships with players, understanding. That certainly comes with time. I think that is what has happened with Gyokeres."

Hit play on the clips above or below, or watch Monday Night Club on iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

BBC Sport's tactics correspondent Umir Irfan analyses how Mikel Arteta got the best out of Viktor Gyokeres in the north London derby win over Tottenham and how Arsenal have not always played to the striker's strengths this season.

• Read Danny Murphy's piece on Arsenal's victory

On the latest episode of BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, the panel discuss the Premier League title race.

It could be argued that the narrative has slightly shifted in the last few weeks, giving Manchester City a more favourable shot at the title - but former Premier League striker Chris Sutton isn't buying it.

"Pep Guardiola is trying to show that the confidence and belief is there for the final run-in, but I'm not sure that it washes," Sutton said.

"The reason I think Arsenal will still win it is looking at their bench against Tottenham - they don't have a weak spot. It is an amazing bench."

The Observer's Rory Smith added: "[Everyone has been saying] Arsenal are stumbling, choking, and Manchester City are coming and gathering strength - but they have had the exact same record this calendar year. Arsenal were two points clear at Christmas and are two points clear now [assuming City win their game in hand]."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott believes the Carabao Cup final is critical in deciding who goes on to win the Premier League.

Monday Night Club presenter Mark Chapman explained he feels "the noise" around the Gunners will be significant if they lose to Manchester City at Wembley on 22 March.

"That's the game," Walcott added. "That's the one that essentially sets the tone for how this whole year is going to look for Arsenal."

But ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton said: "I really don't think the League Cup final has any bearing on the Premier League.

"I actually think you could flip that - whoever loses that thinks: 'Do you know what, let's go.'"

Watch Monday Night Club on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Laura Kirk-Francis
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

In the aftermath of Arsenal's 4-1 win in the north London derby, the headlines will rightly belong to Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres. The game was defined by their firepower, and it was their goals that proved the gulf in class between the two sides.

'To the Viktor go the spoils' of course, but Arsenal's victory was enabled by a remarkably mature performance from Cristian Mosquera.

Jurrien Timber has looked tired in recent weeks, with his performance in the draw at Wolves perhaps one of his worst in an Arsenal shirt. Substituted on 57 minutes just moments after Randal Kolo Muani's goal was disallowed, the game was finely balanced and the atmosphere raucous.

Spurs had also found some joy targeting the space behind Timber, so it was perhaps no surprise, with the player on a yellow card, that Mikel Arteta decided to make the change.

Mosquera, who is only 21, played with the cool head of a player several years his senior.

Moments after coming on, he even created a big chance for Bukayo Saka, having won the ball. For the rest of his 33 minutes, he also completed two clearances, made five tackles and won each of the five duels he faced.

Arsenal's defensive security has recently faced some scrutiny, with mistakes coming from senior players that have cost the team dearly.

There is a calmness to Mosquera and an assurance that meant Spurs no longer had much success on his flank. He quietly and efficiently took a lot of the sting out of the game, giving Arsenal's forward players the confidence to push on.

One day Arsenal fans will have to consider life beyond Gabriel and William Saliba. But with a player as promising as Mosquera making his mark in the side, their legacy looks like it will simply continue with this next generation.

Find more from Laura Kirk-Francis at the Latte Firm podcast, external

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal defender William Saliba spoke to the media after Sunday's derby victory: "We are so happy, and we know it's a big game agaisnt Tottenham.

"We were so bad against Wolves and a good game to respond. We wanted to show it was just a mistake. We are so happy to bounce back."

On Viktor Gyokeres and his recent form: "I never doubted him. I know that he's good. I played against him last season and we found it very difficult to play against him. Now he is showing everyone the guy that he is and I hope he will keep going and I'm sure he will. He's a top player for us and he will score more goals."

On the title race: "It's good, but we know that it's not finished. We have 10 more games, but we know that it's in our hands - if we do well, if we win all next 10 games we would win this league but we know that it's not easy. There is always a pressure because it's the best league in the world but we'll give everything and we will embrace the pressure."

Image source, Getty Images

The north London derby was "a good game to play" for Arsenal players after recent scrutiny over dropped points, says former defender Lee Dixon.

A draw against Wolves on Wednesday, having been two goals up, left many questioning the Gunners' mentality to win the Premier League title.

But an emphatic 4-1 win on Sunday against north London rivals Tottenham, who have been dragged into a relegation battle, will have given Mikel Arteta's squad a much-needed lift.

"For the players as well as fans [it was a psychologically important win]. With the criticism, and quite rightly so when they dropped two points against Wolves midweek having been two goals up, everybody piled in saying they are going bottle it again," Dixon said on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast.

"From the player point of view, it was probably a good game to play because, north London derby, you are on the front foot anyway regardless of where anybody is in the league table. But I think in that respect, it was a good game for them because they knew what they were going to be up against.

"When they got control of the game early on, you could see Tottenham weren't quite up to the standard of Arsenal's play. From the players' point of view, it is quite easy to go into your own little world when you're under pressure, and I think they showed a real team spirit.

"Everything went well for them and they played a really poor Spurs side on the day."

Listen back to the full discussion from 1:52:00 on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Whoever wins the Carabao Cup final will also "go on and win the Premier League", says former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison.

Before they beat Tottenham on Sunday, Arsenal's lead in the league had been cut to two points by Manchester City.

The two sides will also be battling it out for the first trophy of the season in less than a month's time when they meet at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on 22 March.

That is a match Morrison believes could have a decisive say in the Premier League title race.

"Arsenal are making defensive mistakes. You saw it against Wolves with Gabriel and [David] Raya. Raya didn't need to come for it. Gabriel is going to deal with it and then they scored the equaliser. [On Sunday], I think against a better team, they will get punished," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"Tottenham are not a good team at the moment with all the injuries they've got. They aren't good enough to go toe-to-toe with Arsenal. So that was always going to be a struggle, but against the better teams they'll get punished with the mistakes they're making.

"I still think this is going to go down to the wire. I think this will be decided at the Carabao Cup final. Whoever wins that will go on and win the Premier League, because if they don't get over the line, Arsenal, in that game, then City play them two games later, and if City take the lead they will be celebrating again.

"If Manchester City take the lead, they're not getting caught, that's my opinion."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds