From the vault

From the vault: Six fine home wins against Chelsea

Sol Campbell scores against Chelsea in 2001

Whenever Chelsea cross the capital to face us in north London, it's always a big game - and we've picked out some cherished wins against the Blues for you to enjoy.

We've delved through our archives to bring you some of the best results against the side from Stamford Bridge over the past four decades, which conjured up plenty of goals, drama and talking points.

Here are six of the best to get you in the mood for tonight's game:

September 15, 1990
Arsenal 4-1 Chelsea

After the first half finished goalless no-one would have predicted this final scoreline, but Anders Limpar had other ideas. The Swede fired home a Paul Merson knock-down on 52 minutes, and then Limpar was tripped for a penalty which was converted by Lee Dixon.

Just after the hour-mark, the recent arrival from Cremonese teed up Merson to scramble home another, before slipping a fine pass to David Rocastle who tucked away our fourth of the afternoon. Kevin Wilson pulled back what was a mere consolation for the Blues, but it was definitely Limpar’s day.

December 26, 2001
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

Fresh off the back of our win at Liverpool, Sylvain Wiltord came off the bench to help us overturn a first-half Frank Lampard opener and snatch all three points as we headed for the top of the table.

Sol Campbell starred and triggered a second-half comeback when he scored the equaliser minutes after the break - his first goal for the club - and Sylvain finished the job to become the hero three minutes into his introduction.

January 1, 2003
Arsenal 3-2 Chelsea

Emmanuel Petit returned to Highbury on New Year’s Day and despite scoring against his old club, he and the rest of his Chelsea teammates were outgunned in a frantic final 10 minutes.

Marcel Desailly scored an own goal to split the table’s top two early on, and it stayed like that until Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Thierry Henry scored within 60 seconds of each other to put us three ahead. The Blues replied with a quick-fire double of their own through Mario Stanic and Petit to set up an anxious final few minutes, but we held on for an important victory.

December 27, 2010
Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea

We moved up to second in the Premier League table with this result against the Blues, with the game's key moment coming when Alex Song's strike set us on the path to victory on the stroke of half-time.

Further goals from Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott within two minutes of each other shortly after the restart put us in good stead, and while Branislav Ivanovic netted a header to give the visitors a glimmer of hope, we held on to climb the table. 

September 24, 2016
Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea

We ran riot against Antonio Conte’s Blues - who would go on to win the league that season - by scoring all three goals in the first half. An energetic Alexis Sanchez set the tempo when he stole the ball from Gary Cahill before chipping over Thibaut Courtois to give us the advantage after 11 minutes.

Mesut Ozil sparked a typical Arsenal move which resulted in Hector Bellerin playing a pass across the face of goal for an alert Walcott to hammer home, before the German produced more brilliance, striking a Sanchez cross into the ground for the ball to pop up and over the Chelsea goalkeeper’s head and in.

December 26, 2020
Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea

Mikel Arteta’s team thrived in this Boxing Day clash as the boss handed starts to Hale End graduates Bukayo Saka, 19, and Emile Smith Rowe, 20, as well as teenager Gabriel Martinelli in a youthful attack as an attempt to end a seven-game winless run.

It did the trick as Alexandre Lacazette got us off the mark from the penalty spot, before Granit Xhaka hurtled a free-kick beyond Edouard Mendy. Then Bukayo’s chipped finish capped off a revitalised performance and gave us three precious points to get our season back on track.

Watch more classic moments, including some Henry brilliance and other classic goals, in our playlist

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