Arsenal v Chelsea: Premier League – live!

A Christmas gift by Leno allows Jorginho to tap in at the back post. The Arsenal goalkeeper punches thin air as he tries to clear Mount’s cross, allowing the lurking Chelsea midfielder to stroke home unmarked. A head-in-hands moment for Arteta. There was a VAR check for offside but there is no reprieve for Leno.

82 min: Lacazette is penalised down the Chelsea left and the visitors win an opportunity to swing a cross in, 25 yards from goal …

80 min: Chelsea have Arsenal as good as penned in. Lampard is urging his side forward from the touchline, with Willian and Hudson-Odoi leading the charge. Abraham has been too isolated for Lampard’s liking.

77 min: This game is beginning to open up once more.

76 min: Craig Pawson has booked Lacazette for dissent after Jorginho, who is on a yellow card, clashes with Guendouzi on halfway, stopping the Arsenal midfielder in his tracks. Jorginho can count himself lucky.

75 min: Mesut Özil feels the love from the Arsenal support, soaking up the applause before being replaced by Joe Willock.

74 min: Abraham, Willian and Mount combine and Chelsea carve open the Arsenal back line, with David Luiz whacking Mount’s cross in search of Abraham clear for a corner. It was an incisive exchange between the Chelsea trio. The resulting corner leads to Abraham towering above his marker, only to nod straight at Bernd Leno.

73 min: Another booking, this time for Torreira for tugging on Mount’s shirt. Arsenal have moved deeper, Chelsea are going the other way.

72 min: Lacazette buys Arsenal a free-kick after a challenge by Jorginho. Some much-needed respite for Arteta’s side, who have begun to fade.

70 min: Hudson-Odoi replaces Kovacic, who has had better games.

69 min: Callum Hudson-Odoi has been given a pep talk by Joe Edwards, the Chelsea assistant first-team coach. Lampard is not hanging around; he will feel Hudson-Odoi can hurt an Arsenal defence that have kept just three clean sheets in the league all season.

66 min: Lamptey shoots infield before slipping Abraham in inside the box. Abraham delays taking the shot on, subsequently allowing David Luiz to bite back at his man. In the end Abraham’s shot is blocked and the chance dissipates.

65 min: Chelsea are patiently probing, seemingly waiting to strike. Frank Lampard’s side are in the ascendency. Can Arsenal turn the tide back in their favour? They have not had too much to shout about in this half.

62 min: Mustafi and Rüdiger are back on their feet and moving. Good news. Back to the action, then. And Kanté’s influence seems to be growing. Arsenal’s grasp on this game is not as tight as it was.

60 min: A lengthy stoppage – both players are continuing to receive treatment for that clash of heads – allows Chelsea to make a change. Fikayo Tomori, who has struggled at right-back, is replaced by the 19-year-old defender Tariq Lamptey, who is on for his Premier League debut. Among those up in the posh seats are George Graham, Petr Cech and the England assistant Steve Holland.

57 min: Chelsea are beginning to put a few building blocks together. They win a corner through Kanté and the Frenchman ends up whipping a dangerous ball into the box after Willian rolled the ball into his feet. Leno punches Kanté’s cross clear and then there is a stoppage after a clash of heads between Mustafi and Rüdiger. Mustafi had done brilliantly to make life difficult.

55 min: Lacazette is riled after breezing beyond Jorginho, who then tugs at the Arsenal forward’s shirt. Pawson has no choice but to book the Italy midfielder, who is desperate to stay out of further trouble. As he lays on the floor, a mini melee ensues but it is all relatively tame and the fire soon goes out.

54 min: N’Golo Kanté robs Özil on the edge of the Chelsea box before driving upfield and freeing Willian. In the end Chelsea make a hash of it and the move breaks down but Chelsea are at least asking questions of an Arsenal team that were untroubled in the first half. And now things are spicing up …

52 min: “This isn’t a particularly rancorous game, but it would be amazing if there isn’t a red card before the end – and Mustafi hasn’t even committed a bad tackle yet,” emails Charles Antaki. “Plenty of time.”

50 min: Arteta is livid as Nelson is upended by Zouma after ghosting past Jorginho. Nelson is adamant it is a foul but Craig Pawson is unmoved.

48 min: Chelsea have arguably played better in the opening three minutes of this second half than the entire first 45 minutes. Another ball in to Abraham causes panic in the Arsenal box before David Luiz ushers it back to Leno. Chelsea’s tails are up and Arsenal could do with extinguishing the visitors’ newfound optimism.

47 min: David Luiz is booked for a clumsy foul on Willian. Cue a hearty rendition of ‘Chelsea reject’ chants from the pocket of away supporters. The visitors earn a chance to fizz a ball into the box, 30 yards from goal. Mount plays a looping ball towards the back post and it is headed back across goal, before dropping to Kanté, who volleys wide. A decent chance.

46 min: Lacazette rolls the ball to Aubameyang and, just like that, Arsenal get the second half started at the Emirates Stadium.

Half-time encouragement for Arsenal, courtesy of Opta: this is the 16th time Arsenal have led Chelsea at half-time in a Premier League tie – they have never lost against them from this position, winning 12 games and drawing three …

More on that Erling Braut Haaland news: Borussia Dortmund have pulled off a coup to land the Norway striker on a deal until 2024. The 19-year-old has scored 16 goals in 14 appearances in the Austrian top division this season:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 13th goal of the season is the difference at the interval and, in truth, Arsenal have been far superior to Chelsea from start to finish. As a result, Frank Lampard goes jogging down the tunnel as soon as Craig Pawson blows his whistle. In the final minute of first-half stoppage-time Aubameyang proved he is happy to do the dirty work, too, making a fine block to deny Fikayo Tomori a clean shot at goal. So far, so good for Mikel Arteta, whose side could have doubled their advantage through Lacazette.

44 min: David Luiz goes flying through on N’Golo Kanté after beating the Chelsea midfielder to the ball. Kanté looks despairingly at Craig Pawson, who presumably did not see David Luiz’s stupidity. It was silly, more than anything.

43 min: Aubameyang rattles the side netting! Saka slides the forward in inside the box and the Arsenal skipper opts to take the shot on early. And why not? He has 13 goals for the season, after all. He darts into plenty of space between the Chelsea defenders but his shot zooms into the side netting.

42 min: Tomori does well to intervene just as Saka seemed to be making hay down the left. Arsenal are probing in search of a second after going a little cold following the arrival of Jorginho, who has brought a sense of calm to Chelsea.

40 min: A nugget of breaking news hundreds of miles from the Emirates Stadium … Erling Braut Haaland has signed for Borussia Dortmund. The 19-year-old joins from RB Salzburg.

36 min: Chelsea should equalise! They win a corner after upping the ante, with Abraham driving at the Arsenal backline and, when the inswinger comes in, Azpilicueta flicks it on and it drops kindly at the back post for Kurt Zouma but he cannot make a connection. Chelsea have been vastly improved since Jorginho stepped on to the field and since switching to a 4-3-3. In the buildup to that corner, Abraham was adamant Guendouzi fouled him inside the box – the Arsenal midfielder tugged at his shirt – but the contact was relatively tame. The VAR was having none of it, anyway.

34 min: Here comes Jorginho. Emerson Palmieri is the player sacrificed; he has endured a forgettable half-hour or so. Lampard looks a picture of calm but the Chelsea manager must be seething inside. His side have been second best in every department. Arsenal have been lapping it up.

33 min: Antonio Rüdiger is booked for a crude challenge on Torreira. Azpilicueta escaped without a yellow card for that tackle a moment ago but Chelsea have been keeping the referee Craig Pawson busy.

32 min: César Azpilicueta is the latest Chelsea player to be pulled up for a foul, this time on Lacazette after neat buildup play by Aubameyang. Chelsea cannot get near Arsenal, who have been unusually assured. Arteta will be delighted. Saying that, they still only have a one-goal buffer despite their dominance.