Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry

The rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea is a football local derby in London between the two clubs. Arsenal play their home games at the Emirates Stadium, while Chelsea play their home games at Stamford Bridge.

Background

While they never considered each other primary rivals, as the two top clubs in London there has always been strong needle between the fans dating back to the 1930s. Matches between them would often attract large attendances.

The Arsenal and Chelsea rivalry has been more recently considered an important derby, after Chelsea's rise to the top class of the Premier League in the 2000s, when the two started to compete constantly for the English Championship.

According to an internet survey of fans in December 2003, the Arsenal fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Chelsea as their third rival, after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.^[2]

Those Chelsea fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Arsenal as their main rival, however Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers are their more traditional rivals.^[2]

In a 2009 survey by the Football Fans Census, Arsenal fans named Chelsea as the club they disliked the most, ahead of their traditional rivals Tottenham. Chelsea fans named Arsenal as their second most-disliked club, behind Liverpool.^[3] A 2014 Bleacher Report article ranks Arsenal as Chelsea's second-most hated rival.^[4]

History

The first league meeting between the two teams took place on 9 November 1907 at Stamford Bridge. This was the first Football League First Division game played between two London clubs and drew a then First Division record crowd of 65,000. A match between the clubs at Stamford Bridge in 1935 drew a crowd of 82,905, the second highest recorded attendance for an English league match. They met in two close contested FA Cup semi-finals in the 1950s, with Arsenal winning both times. In the 1960s Chelsea dominated the tie with 14 wins, two draws and just two losses during the decade.^[5]

More recently, the clubs have contested two major finals: the 2002 FA Cup Final, which Arsenal won 2–0, and the 2007 Football League Cup Final, which Chelsea won 2–1. The two teams have also met in the UEFA Champions League in the quarter-finals in 2003–04, drawing 1–1 at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea winning 2–1 at Highbury to go through to the semi-finals.

In 2006, the transfer of Ashley Cole from Arsenal to Chelsea further stoked the rivalry, as Cole had been caught meeting Chelsea officials months before.^[6]

The 2007 League Cup final was one of the most noted incidents. The game was marred by a fracas involving Frank Lampard, Cesc Fàbregas and others that resulted in yellow cards for the two and three other players sent off, the dismissal of Emmanuel Adebayor and incidents of Chelsea fans throwing celery at Arsenal players. This led the media to dub it the "Snarling Cup final". The match ended in a 2–1 victory for Chelsea.

On 27 December 2010, Chelsea came into the Emirates having beaten Arsenal five times in a row by a goal differencial of 13–2. Arsenal, however, were victorious, 3–1.

On 29 October 2011, another thrilling game was played at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal won 5–3 with Robin van Persie scoring a hat-trick and André Santos and Theo Walcott scoring one goal each. Frank Lampard, John Terry and Juan Mata scored the goals for Chelsea.^[7]

On 22 March 2014, in Arsène Wenger's 1,000th game in charge, Chelsea won 6–0. This marked the most goals Chelsea had scored against Arsenal, Chelsea's biggest margin of victory against Arsenal and the joint heaviest margin of defeat suffered by Wenger at Arsenal.^[8] Notable incidents in the match included Chelsea jumping out to a three-goal lead inside of 15 minutes, as well as the sending off of Kieran Gibbs by referee Andre Marriner for a handball committed by his teammate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

On 5 October 2014, Chelsea beat Arsenal 2–0, which meant Arsenal manager Wenger had not won against José Mourinho in 12 attempts. This game also featured former Arsenal captain Cesc Fàbregas playing against his former club for Chelsea for the first time, recording an assist on Diego Costa's goal. The match, however, is most notable for a touchline fracas that occurred between the managers in the technical area during the fierce match.^[9]

On 2 August 2015, Wenger finally recorded a win against Mourinho, defeating Chelsea 1–0 in the 2015 FA Community Shield.^[10]

On 24 September 2016, Arsenal beat Chelsea 3–0 at the Emirates Stadium. It was the first time Arsenal scored against Chelsea since 2013, and Arsenal's first win since 2011 in the Premier League. All three goals were scored in the first half by Alexis Sánchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Özil.^[11] It was Arsenal's biggest win over Chelsea since 1997.^[12]

Overall, Arsenal have won the more games in history, having won 73 times to Chelsea's 61, with 54 draws (as of 24 September 2016).^[13] Arsenal's record win was a 5–1 victory in a First Division match at Stamford Bridge on 29 November 1930. Chelsea's record win was a 6–0 victory at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on 22 March 2014. Chelsea also had scored five goals against Arsenal at Highbury on 11 November 1998. On 29 September 2012, where Chelsea became the first team to beat Arsenal three times at the Emirates with a 2–1 away victory. This followed a 4–1 win in 2009 and a 3–0 scoreline later that year. Didier Drogba holds the mark for the most derby goals with 13 in all competitions.^[14]

Players who have played for or managed both teams

• Sandy MacFarlane (as player: Arsenal 1896–1897 / Chelsea 1913–1914)
• Jimmy Sharp (as player: Arsenal 1905–1908 / Chelsea 1912–1915)
• Leslie Knighton (as manager: Arsenal 1919–1925 / Chelsea 1933–1939)
• Bob Turnbull (as player: Arsenal 1923–1924 / Chelsea 1925–1928)
• Ted Drake (as player: Arsenal 1934–1945) / (as manager: Chelsea 1952–1961)
• Tommy Lawton (as player: Chelsea 1945–1947 / Arsenal 1953–1955)
• Bill Dickson (as player: Chelsea 1947–1953 / Arsenal 1953–1956)
• Tommy Docherty (as player: Arsenal 1958–1961 / Chelsea 1961–1962) / (as manager: Chelsea 1961–1967)
• Allan Young (as player: Arsenal 1959–1961 / Chelsea 1961–1969)
• John Hollins (as player: Chelsea 1963–1975 / Arsenal 1979–1983 / Chelsea 1983–84) / (as manager: Chelsea 1985–88)
• Tommy Baldwin (as player: Arsenal 1964–1966 / Chelsea 1966–1974)
• George Graham (as player: Chelsea 1964–1966 / Arsenal 1966–1972) / (as manager: Arsenal 1986–95)
• Stewart Houston (as player: Chelsea 1967–1972) / (as caretaker manager: Arsenal 1995 / as caretaker manager: Arsenal 1996)
• Alan Hudson (as player: Chelsea 1968–1974 / Arsenal 1976–1978 / Chelsea 1983–1984)
• Graham Rix (as player: Arsenal 1975–1988 / Chelsea 1995) / (as youth team manager: Chelsea 1993–1996 / as assistant manager: Chelsea 1996–1999 / as caretaker manager: Chelsea 2000)
• Colin Pates (as player: Chelsea 1979–1988 / Arsenal 1990–1993)
• Clive Allen (as player: Arsenal 1980 / Chelsea 1991–1992)
• Peter Nicholas (as player: Arsenal 1981–1983 / Chelsea 1988–91) / (as youth team manager: Chelsea 199?–9?)
• David Rocastle (as player: Arsenal 1984–1992 / Chelsea 1994–1998)
• Emmanuel Petit (as player: Arsenal 1997–2000 / Chelsea 2001–2004)
• Nicolas Anelka (as player: Arsenal 1997–1999 / Chelsea 2008–2012)
• Ashley Cole (as player: Arsenal 1999–2006 / Chelsea 2006–2014)
• William Gallas (as player: Chelsea 2001–2006 / Arsenal 2006–2010)
• Lassana Diarra (as player: Chelsea 2005–2007 / Arsenal 2007–2008)
• Yossi Benayoun (as player: Chelsea 2010–2013 / Arsenal on loan 2011–2012)
• Cesc Fàbregas (as player: Arsenal 2003–2011 / Chelsea 2014–present)
• Petr Čech (as player: Chelsea 2004–2015 / Arsenal 2015–present)

Top scorers in the Premier League

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals
1	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	8
	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	8
3	Ian Wright	Arsenal	7
4	Robin van Persie	Arsenal	5
5	Dennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	4
	Theo Walcott	Arsenal	4
7	Dennis Wise	Chelsea	3
	Nwankwo Kanu	Arsenal	3
	Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea	3
	John Terry	Chelsea	3
	Juan Mata	Chelsea	3
	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	3

Honours

^[15][16]

Statistics

Chelsea's traditional home kit

Arsenal's traditional home kit

As of 24 September 2016.^[17]

Biggest attendances

1. Chelsea 2–1 Arsenal: 88,103 (04/18/2009), Wembley (neutral)^[18]

2. Arsenal 1–0 Chelsea: 85,437 (08/02/2015), Wembley (neutral)

3. Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal: 82,905 (12/10/1935), Stamford Bridge (Chelsea home)^[19]

4. Arsenal 2–0 Chelsea: 73,963 (05/04/2002), Millennium (neutral)^[18]

5. Arsenal 1–1 Chelsea: 68,084 (04/05/1952), White Hart Lane (Tottenham home)^[18]

6. Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea: 62,642 (03/20/1973), Highbury (Arsenal home)^[18]

7. Arsenal 1–0 Chelsea: 60,139 (12/16/2007), Emirates (Arsenal home)^[18]

8. Arsenal 3–0 Chelsea: 60,028 (9/24/2016), Emirates (Arsenal home)^[20]

See also

• Arsenal F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry
• Chelsea F.C.–Leeds United A.F.C. rivalry
• Chelsea F.C.-Tottenham Hotspur F.C. rivalry
• North London derby
• West London derby

References

External links

• Soccerbase