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78 min Merino is booked for a brazen tactical foul on Joao Pedro.
77 min The resulting corner leads to an excellent chance for Gabriel, whose header from six yards bounces up and over the bar.
76 min: Fine save by Sanchez! Arrizabalaga’s long punt is held up excellently by Gyokeres, which precipitates a big scramble for possession in the Chelsea area. Eventually the ball loops invitingly for Merino, who smashes a right-foot volley across goal from eight yards. Sanchez, his right leg at full stretch as the rest of his body is moving in the opposite direction, deflects the ball past the post.
Updated at 16.39 EST
76 min Arrizabalaga is booked for timewasting.
Updated at 16.39 EST
75 min: Chelsea substitution Jorrel Hato replaces Wesley Fofana.
74 min “Call me a spoilsport, but I don’t really get Arsenal fans ragging on Gyokeres,” says Chris Lambert. “He’s an honest pro, working hard, making an impact. He’s still our top scorer this season and a return of one in three in his first six months moving from a league no one knows the name of, to the top of the most watched league on the planet, is really not that shabby.”
72 min That was the goal of a No9, not a No6. His blood ran cold as he ignored the challenges of Santos and Fofana, and the finish was emphatic.
Merino fed the ball into Gyokeres, who touched it off to Zubimendi just inside the area. He walked away from Andrey Santos and then Fofana – who sold himself a bit too easily – and rammed a left-foot shot past Sanchez.
ShareGOAL! Chelsea 1-3 Arsenal (Zubimendi 71)
Martin Zubimendi restores Arsenal’s two-goal lead with a fine solo goal!
68 min: Arsenal substitutions Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli replace Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard.
67 min Rice, whose first free-kick against Real Madrid last season was from a not dissimilar position, curls this one over the bar.
67 min We’re still waiting for Arsenal to take that free-kick. Odegaard and Rice are over it.
66 min “Pleased to see Swansea legend Gyokeres get his goal,” writes Matt Dony. “(Loan spell; 11 games, 0 goals.)”
65 min Arsenal have a decent spell of possession until Saka is wiped out from behind by Badiashile. He’s booked and Arsenal have a free-kick 22 yards from goal.
Updated at 16.26 EST
63 min “Both Charlie Nicholas goals, which ended Ian Rush’s invincible-record-whenever-he-scored in the Cocamilkelows Cup final of 1987, were abysmal,” writes Ian Rush Paul Griffin. “The first was the footballing equivalent of watching a man in a beige tracksuit retrieving a small number of plastic spoons he has dropped on a shopping precinct table. The second had the panache of the disclaimer at the back of a Flemish maintenance manual for a discontinued caravan tow-bar. YouTube should not allow them to be uploaded.”
60 min Estevao crackles infiueld from the right and whips a Saka-like curler towards the far corner. Gabriel takes no chances and heads behind for a corner. This is Chelsea’s best spell of the game.
59 min Saka’s corner is punched away by Sanchez at the near post. The ball bounces up towards Odegaard, just inside the area, but he can’t control a shot that swerves well wide.
Chelsea are back in it. Pedro Neto’s chipped cross from the right side of the area cleared everyone in the six-yard box and reached the substitute Garnacho beyond the far post. He took a touch and swished a shot through the legs of the outrushing Kepa. A nice finish and a crucial goal.
Alejandro Garnacho pulls a goal back for the home side. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 16.25 EST
GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal (Garnacho 57)
Ahem.
57 min Arsenal could put this tie to bed, with a hot water bottle and an appropriate dose of Zopiclone, in the next 10 minutes.
56 min There are unconfirmed reports that Charles Antaki (50 min) has found a late-night provider and is having VG tattoed on his forehead.
55 min Arsenal v Manchester City would be a mouthwatering final, eh.
54 min Odegaard hits a sweet strike from 25 yards that is punched away to his left by Sanchez. A comfortable save.
53 min: Chelsea substitutions Alejandro Garnacho and Benoit Badiashile replace Josh Acheampong and Marc Guiu. Achemapong played pretty well but Guiu got lost in the aura of Saliba and Gabriel. No shame in that.
Joao Pedro will move up front with Pedro Neto (I think) playing as the No10. Badiashile has gone to centre-back with Wesley Fofana switching to the right.
52 min That’s a really nice moment for Gyokeres, his eighth goal for Arsenal and the most important to date.
50 min “He always had my complete confidence,” writes Charles Antaki, who as we speak is buying up www.viktorgyokeresfanclub.com.
Saka ran at Cucurella, waited for White’s overlapping run and played a perfectly weighted pass down the line. White slid a low cross that went through the hands of the diving Sanchez and was swept into the net from three yards by Gyokeres. That’s another bad mistake from Sanchez I’m afraid.
Viktor Gyokeres slots the ball home from close range to double Arsenal’s lead. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/ReutersCue the trademark celebration. Photograph: Nick Potts/PAWhich pleases the gooners. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/ReutersShare
Updated at 16.21 EST
GOAL! Chelsea 0-2 Arsenal (Gyokeres 49)
A poacher’s goal for Viktor Gyokeres!
48 min Enzo Fernandez clips a nice pass towards Neto, making a good run infield from the left. Arrizabalaga charges towards the edge of the area but Gabriel takes no chances by lumping the ball out of play.
46 min Chelsea begin the second half. No changes on either side yet.
Martin Widdicks has nominated another naff goal involving Arsenal in the League Cup.
“Thanks to Nick Hornby for immortalizing this beauty from Danny Wilson. It’s at 6:27 in this clip and had me singing Mary’s Prayer in my head.”
Updated at 15.58 EST
Half-time reading
ShareHalf time: Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal lead at Stamford Bridge after quietly dominating a half of few chances. Ben White headed the only goal in the seventh minute after Robert Sanchez flailed at Declan Rice’s corner. Chelsea, who are without a number of key players, responded quite well without putting Fort Knox under any sustained pressure.
44 min In a shocking development, Cucurella has been booked for a foul on Saka. The half-time break will come at a good time for Chelsea, who are struggling to lay a glove on Arsenal in an attacking sense.
ShareChelsea’s Estevao has a chuckle to himself after being shown a yellow card by referee Simon Hooper. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
42 min Trossard fouls the raiding Acheampong and is booked – as is Estevao for waving an imaginary card.
Updated at 15.53 EST
41 min “My judgment may be influenced by the grandness of the occasion, and the greatness of the players involved, but the opening goal in Barcelona’s 2-0 victory in Pep Guardiola’s first Clásico was memorably crap,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Xavi sends in an okay corner, Puyol rises high and heads the ball into Samuel Eto’o, who basically just gets hit by it. Luckily for him, Casillas jumps out of the way for some reason and since none of the Real Madrid defenders react quickly enough, the ball bounces in slow motion over the line. Mind you, the second goal was more of what you think of when you think of the greatest club side of recent decades (possibly).”
40 min I’d love to know how many times Chelsea have lost the ball in their defensive third tonight. Love it. It has just happened again, leading to a long throw from Rice that is hoofed clear at the near post.
Arsenal regain possession and Saliba, still upfield, curls a fine effort from the edge of the area that ripples the roof of the net.
36 min Estevao runs at Trossard and thinks he has won a corner. The assistant referee does not concur.
Updated at 15.50 EST
34 min Trossard, in the D, turns and hooks a bouncing ball over the bar.