Arsenal v Chelsea: Premier League – live!

17 min: Azpilicueta is robbed out on the Chelsea left. That allows Aubameyang to tear towards the Chelsea area with great intent. He twists this way and that, and eventually pokes a shot straight at Kepa, who smothers.

16 min: That was a belter, and no less than Arsenal deserve for their fast start. Chelsea have looked uncharacteristically uncertain.

The corner from the left leads to another on the right. From that, Bellerin crosses to Lacazette, level with the near post, ten yards out with his back to goal. Lacazette takes touch and spins outside Alonso, then lashes an unstoppable riser into the top right from a tight angle! Kepa was beaten at his near post, but such was the venom behind that strike he had little chance of stopping it!

13 min: Torreira takes, and curls a stunning in-swinging free kick towards Koscielny. He’s six yards out, and has to score, but his header, sent towards the top left, is too close to Kepa. Kepa still does extremely well to tip the ball over the bar, mind, a fine reflex save. And from the corner …

12 min: Lacazette is bowled over by Pedro, out on the Arsenal left. Another free kick for Arsenal in a dangerous position.

10 min: The first period of Chelsea possession in Arsenal territory. Alonso probes down the left. Then the visitors switch it. Azpilicueta whips in a low ball from the right, and Hazard – nipping in ahead of Sokratis, who was playing him onside by sitting yards deep – slams a first-time sidefoot wide right. That’s a great chance, too. Both Aubameyang and Hazard will think they should be on the scoresheet already.

8 min: To prove the point, Arsenal swing this next one into the mixer in the basic style, and Sokratis rises above Kovacic at the far post. He can’t get his header on target, the ball flashing wide right. But it’s an awful lot better than the nonsense that preceded it.

7 min: Persistent work by Ramsey down the left, and that’s a corner. It’s played short, and nearly wasted, but Arsenal get away with their over-elaboration when Xhaka’s eventual attempt at a cross is deflected out for another go.

6 min: A bright start by the hosts. Chelsea are second to everything right now. The home fans are giving it plenty as a result.

4 min: Xhaka should be booked for a cynical tug on Kante, but the ref is lenient. Then there’s space for Lacazette down the right. He’s only got Aubameyang in the middle, but finds him with a lovely rolled cross. Aubameyang should score, but flicks weakly across the face of goal from six yards, and out for a goal kick. What a chance that was!

3 min: Xhaka’s delivery is a nonsense, easily cleared by Kepa. Speaking of Chelsea keepers, their old boy Petr Cech, now at Arsenal, announced this week that he’ll be hanging up his gloves at the end of the season. A banner in the away section gave thanks to the big Czech.

2 min: Luiz is in the thick of it early doors. Now he comes across the front of Torreira, who was making good down the right. An obvious block, a free kick, and a chance for the hosts to load the box.

And we’re off! Arsenal get the party started. We’ve already had two seven-goal thrillers in the Premier League today, 4-3 wins for Wolves and Liverpool against Leicester and Crystal Palace respectively. And within the first 50 seconds, Ramsey has two half-chances to shoot at goal, Luiz then Jorginho taking turns to give up possession cheaply. Don’t bet against a third!

The teams are out! Arsenal are in their iconic red shirts with white sleeves. Chelsea could be running out in a blue version of that, but their old boss from the 1930s, David Calderhead, didn’t like the sound of the idea, which had been mooted by Tom Webster, a cartoonist for the London Evening Standard. So Webster took it to Herbert Chapman instead. Probably all for the best. Chelsea are in plain blue, and their fans now wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ll be off in a second!

BT Sport asks Maurizio Sarri whether he’s happy with the way his goal-shy team is playing, Eden Hazard as a false nine, all that. “I think our system is working. I hope so. This is a difficult game, I prefer to start with this solution, because with this solution we are more solid.”

Then Granit Xhaka is asked whether Arsenal are feeling the pressure, because a loss tonight would seriously harm their hopes of a top-four finish. “We can be out of it, but we play at home. It’s a hard game and Chelsea have good quality. But we play at home with our fans, and it’s important to make a good game today.”

And finally Unai Emery says it’s important that Mesut Ozil is back in the squad. But he doesn’t embellish the point any further.

Here’s Aaron Ramsey in the Arsenal changing room before today’s match. Some high-quality wood panelling at the Emirates, he’ll do well to note. It’s like a five-star spa.

By comparison, this is what will await him at the Juventus Stadium, if he ends up in a marriage with the Old Lady. Just saying. It’s a bit cold, and anyone could burst through that door at any moment, with everything dancing in the breeze. This picture was taken in 2017, to be fair, they might have given it a lick of paint since then, or bought a couple of colourful cushions, maybe even a throw. But all we’re saying is, the grass is always greener.

Arsenal make three changes to the side named at the London Stadium last Saturday. Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin and Lucas Torreira take the places of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Alex Iwobi and Shkodran Mustafi. There’s also a spot for Mesut Ozil on the bench. Chelsea meanwhile have selected the exact same first 11 picked against Newcastle last week.

Arsenal: Leno, Bellerin, Papastathopoulos, Koscielny, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Ramsey, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Subs: Cech, Elneny, Ozil, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Monreal, Mustafi.

Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Pedro, Hazard, Willian.
Subs: Barkley, Caballero, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Christensen, Emerson Palmieri, Ampadu.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).

Has one of the biggest fixtures of the season come at the wrong time for these two clubs? Or exactly the right moment? You could spin it either way, given neither are at the top of their game right now.

Hosts Arsenal are coming off the back of defeat in another London derby, at West Ham last weekend. They were dismal in that one, their fourth defeat in their last eight matches in all competitions. That long winning run during September and October feels an awfully long time ago.

Visitors Chelsea won last Saturday, but not in particularly impressive fashion against struggling Newcastle. Goals have been an issue: just eight in the last eight matches, a run that’s seen them drop points at home to Leicester and Southampton, and lose the first leg of the League Cup semi-final against Spurs. No, neither side are at the top of their game right now.

But there’s always hope! Arsenal nearly always score – the blank they drew last weekend was their first in the League since the opening day of the season – while Chelsea can take succour from their 3-2 win over the Gunners at Stamford Bridge in August. Both of these sides can scale the heights on a good day, and circumstances may fuel them, because they’ll need to perform this evening: fourth place is up for grabs and that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer chappie is breathing down their necks. It’s on!

Kick off: 5.30pm GMT.