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Captain William Gallas scored the winner against his old club as
Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 on Monday to return to the top of the
Premier League.
Gallas scored in first-half injury time at the Emirates Stadium
when he powered in unmarked to head home a Cesc Fabregas corner
after Chelsea keeper Petr Cech failed to clear.
The result took Arsenal on to 40 points from 17 games, one ahead of
Manchester United who briefly went top earlier after winning 1-0 at
Liverpool.
Chelsea remain third on 34 points from 17 matches, followed by
Manchester City (33 from 17) and Liverpool, who stay fifth with 30
points from 16 games.
Arsenal, who played the more composed football throughout a
fiercely competitive derby, were denied two late goals.
A Robin van Persie strike was disallowed for offside four minutes
from time and an Emmanuel Adebayor effort was chalked off after he
fouled Tal Ben Haim while he powered towards goal two minutes
later.
Ben Haim had come on as a first-half substitute for Chelsea and
England captain John Terry who hobbled off after being caught on
the shin in a challenge by Emmanuel Eboue.
Eboue also failed to last the match and was carried off on a
stretcher after a challenge by Joe Cole in the second half.
Arsenal, who lost their unbeaten league record at Middlesbrough
last week, played the better football in a largely scrappy and
ill-tempered opening 45 minutes.
Chelsea, unbeaten in their previous 16 matches in all competitions,
produced little that troubled Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia apart
from a rising shot from Andriy Shevchenko which the keeper failed
to hold.
Upper hand
The match improved as a spectacle after halftime with Arsenal
always having the upper hand. Fabregas, back in the side after
missing the last four games, controlled much of Arsenal's play and
Eboue was a constant menace until he departed.
While Gallas had an afternoon to remember against his former club,
Ashley Cole had one to forget against his. The ex-Arsenal defender
was booed every time he touched the ball and was under almost
continual pressure from Arsenal's fast-raiding forwards.
His match ended in an unseemly tangle with Fabregas in which he
appeared lucky not to be dismissed.
Shaun Wright-Phillips wasted Chelsea's best chance to equalise in
the second half but fired wide with an angled shot when it looked
easier to score.
Halftime breakthrough
United, who have now beaten Liverpool six times in their last seven
league meetings, also made the breakthrough in their match against
Liverpool just before halftime.
Tevez pounced after 43 minutes to divert a Wayne Rooney shot into
the net from close range following a Ryan Giggs corner.
Liverpool's best chance fell to Harry Kewell in the 28th minute.
His shot was cleared off the line by Anderson with Fernando Torres
heading the rebound over the bar.
Substitute Ryan Babel then went close to equalising with a fierce
shot that flew narrowly wide, while Steven Gerrard landed a
last-minute free kick on the top of the net.
Rooney wasted an excellent chance to score a second for United in
the 78th minute by sidefooting wide Cristiano Ronaldo's cross when
unmarked in the box.
