FULL-TIME REPORT: Arsenal 0-3 Chelsea - Drogba Double Takes Blues 5 Points Clear In EPL

Chelsea have beaten Arsenal 3-0 in their Premier League match at The Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Didier Drogba opened the scoring minutes before half-time, with Thomas Vermaelen scoring an own-goal on the stroke of half-time.

Drogba sealed his brace late in the second-half to seal the win for Chelsea.

Arsenal fought hard, but failed to stop Chelsea from moving five points clear at the top of the EPL, ahead of second placed Manchester United.

Arsenal were without a string of first-choice players for the match, with Nicklas Bendtner (groin) and fellow striker Robin van Persie (ankle) both out, as are Gael Clichy (back) Abou Diaby (calf) and Kieran Gibbs (metatarsal).

Andriy Arshavin started alongside Eduardo and Samir Nasri in attack for The Gunners.

Frank Lampard returned to the Chelsea side after recovering from a torn thigh muscle, while Nicolas Anelka started against his former side, alongside Didier Drogba in attack for Chelsea.

The game started in torrential rain, with both sides taking their time to settle, and neither side able to penetrate the opposition’s defence.

It took 18 minutes before a shot was crafted by either side, with Frank Lampard shooting well wide of the Arsenal goal from long-range.

As the heavy rain began to lessen, the match began to spring to life.

Nicolas Anelka broke through the Arsenal defence and was just about to shoot before Bacary Sagna came in with a last-ditch tackle to block the shot, with replays showing that the Arsenal defender was lucky not to have conceded a penalty after hauling down the French striker.

The first shot on-target came in the 23rd minute, a tame header from Didier Drogba that went straight into the arms of Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal’s first shot came a minute later from Samir Nasri, but his shot was also straight at the keeper, with Petr Cech saving easily.

The home-side began to get into their flow, but were denied by some excellent defending from the visitors, while Chelsea always threatened on the break.

Petr Cech came off his line very quickly to deny Eduardo, who had broken through the Chelsea defence, with the Czech keeper doing well to get hold of the ball in the slippery conditions.

Didier Drogba broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute with a close-range shot.

Former Arsenal left-back Ashley Cole, who was being barracked heavily by the Arsenal fans, received the ball on the left edge of the penalty area, crossing perfectly into the path of Drogba, who flicked the ball into the right corner of goal past Almunia to make it 1-0 to Chelsea.

An own-goal from Thomas Vermaelen gifted Chelsea a second goal in the 45th minute.

A cross from Ashley Cole beat William Gallas, with the ball ricocheting off Vermaelen's shin and into the net to make it 2-0.

The game went into half-time 2-0 to the visitors, while Arsenal have looked the more threatening side in the opening half and were unlucky to concede the second goal.

Arsenal brought on Theo Walcott for the second-half, with Walcott replacing Alex Song and the England International immediately brought some extra pace to the Arsenal attack.

A goalmouth scramble saw Andriy Arshavin eventually net the ball minutes after the break, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on Petr Cech by Arsenal’s Eduardo, much to the disappointment of the Arsenal faithful.

Mexican striker Carlos Vela replaced Eduardo Da Silva in the 56th minute as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looked for more attacking options.

Arsenal continued to press for a goal, but some excellent defending from John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Ricardo Carvalho continued to frustrate the Arsenal attackers.

Despite Arsenal’s dominance in possession, Chelsea almost extended their lead in the 64th minute, but Almunia was alert enough to dive low to parry away a shot from Frank Lampard.

Samir Nasri was replaced by Tomas Rosicky in the 65th minute, while Chelsea’s Joe Cole was replaced by Portuguese winger Deco for the remainder of the match.

Despite Arsenal shading the possession, they just couldn’t find a way through the Chelsea defence, who hadn’t conceded a goal in their three matches previous to this and their desperation to draw a goal back led to Chelsea scoring their third goal.

A foul by Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas on Michael Essien gave Chelsea a free-kick in a dangerous area, and Didier Drogba stepped up to score with a superbly directed free-kick that flew past Manuel Almunia’s left arm to make it 3-0 to Chelsea and seal a brace for the Ivorian striker with just four minutes of normal time remaining.

The match finished 3-0 to Chelsea who, despite Arsenal’s dominance in possession, deserved the win after an excellent defensive display that The Gunners just couldn’t break down.

Chelsea are now five points clear of second-placed Manchester United in the Premiership, while Arsenal remain in 4th place.

Arsenal v Chelsea Full Teamsheets:

Arsenal Team: Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Traore, Fabregas, Nasri (Rosicky, 65), Denilson, Song Billong, Arshavin, Eduardo (Vela, 56).

Arsenal Substitutes Not Used: Fabianski, Silvestre, Eboue, Walcott, Ramsey.

Chelsea Team: Cech, Ivanovic, Ashley Cole (Ferreira, 72), Carvalho, Terry, Essien, Lampard, Joe Cole (Deco, 68), Mikel, Drogba, Anelka.

Chelsea Substitutes Not Used: Hilario, Ballack, Malouda, Zhirkov, Kalou.