Mikel Merino's first-half header was enough to settle Arsenal's 1-0 win over Chelsea in a feisty and tense Super Sunday London derby.

Merino headed in Martin Odegaard's set-piece at the near post after 20 minutes as the Gunners ended a long drought without a goal from a corner.

They had previously gone 51 attempts since scoring their last corner goal on January 15 against Spurs, with this goal representing their 15th corner goal of the season.

Arsenal were well worth their lead and perhaps were aggrieved not to get a penalty off a Marc Cucurella handball before their opener.

They dominated a slow-starting Chelsea until 35 minutes, when Cucurella's strike nearly went through David Raya and into the far corner, much to the relief of the Arsenal goalkeeper.

A spicy second half saw fewer chances as seven yellow cards were dished out. Sanchez denied Merino a second by saving at the near post on the goal line, before then denying Odegaard with another good stop.

Chelsea, who were without Cole Palmer due to a training-ground injury on Friday, offered just one tame Cucurella header into the ground as their only shot on target in the second period.

Both teams - who started the game without recognised No 9s, showcased their need for added quality up front with one goal from 20 shots between them.

Player ratings

Arsenal: Raya (6); Timber (7), Saliba (8), Gabriel (7), Lewis-Skelly (7); Partey (7), Rice (7), Odegaard (8); Martinelli (7), Merino (7), Trossard (6)

Subs used: Nwaneri (6), Tierney (n/a)

Chelsea: Sanchez (6); Fofana (6), Colwill (6), Badiashile (6), Cucurella (6); James (5), Caicedo (6), Enzo (6); Sancho (5), Neto (5), Nkunku (5)

Subs used: Dewsbury-Hall (6), George (6), Lavia (n/a), Tosin (n/a), Gusto (n/a)

Player of the match: William Saliba (Arsenal)

The result moves Arsenal nine points above Chelsea in fifth and cuts - or perhaps slightly trims - Liverpool's lead at the top to 12 points, with the league leaders involved in the Carabao Cup final with Newcastle, live on Sky Sports at 4.30pm.

Maresca: We're on the right path, we're very close

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca:

"What I can say between the first leg against Arsenal and today's game is: I don't see a big difference between us and them. This means, since I arrived, I have a feeling we are in the right path. And we are very close.

"That means we need just that step forward to compete in these kind of games, but this step can also come from finishing in the top four of five Champions League spot, where you can grow in that competition.

"It's a huge difference if you think that the three players with the most goals for Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, none of them were on the pitch today, two of them are long-term already out.

"It's normal that offensively we can struggle a little bit, even if until today we are the second or third best attacks in the league. That means we are in any case doing well without those players. But we could do better without the injured players.

"They don't concede many goals. They are the first or the second one, so it's not easy to create chances against them."

Chelsea's blunt attack in stats

Chelsea are winless in their last seven away games in the Premier League (D2 L5); their longest run without a league victory on the road since October 2022-February 2023 under Graham Potter (D4 L4).

Chelsea attempted just eight shots against Arsenal; their joint-fewest in a Premier League match this season (also eight v Brighton last month). Indeed, their xG total at the Emirates (0.35) was their lowest in a match in any competition under Enzo Maresca.

The Blues also registered just eight touches in the opposition's box; their fewest in a league game since November 2022 v Newcastle (7).

Since the start of last season, Arsenal have opened the scoring with a goal from a corner on 11 occasions in the Premier League; more than any other side. Their 27 goals from corners in this period are also a league-high (10 more than any other team).

Since Cole Palmer joined the club, Chelsea have played three domestic away games without him and lost all three, while failing to score a single goal (eight conceded). This was their first league match without Palmer since April 2024, which was also an away defeat to Arsenal (0-5).

Arteta praises Arsenal against 'best attack in the league'

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:

"We continue to do a lot of things defensively so well that earn us the right to attack open spaces but there were so many situations, huge advantages that we just gave away.

"So we have to track back 70 metres and on that face, we were one of the best teams in the world today because we were unbelievable in the way we've done it. We haven't conceded almost [anything] apart from the strange save from David. Because in my opinion they're the best attacking team in the league.

"By a mile. The stats say it, everything I've seen says it in open play. They can open you, they can run in transitions, they have individual quality, any player in the defensive line can threaten in side. They can combine on both sides, their weaker sides, they are missing some big players at the moment.

Are Chelsea going to be a threat next season? "Yeah. I think if they didn't have to play Thursday-Saturday and the amount of injuries they have as well, the would be on the edge. Because the manager they have is really good and the players and the squad, the quality they have."

Teams

Arsenal Raya, Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Rice, Odegaard (c) (Tierney 90), Trossard, Merino, Martinelli (Nwaneri 79)
Subs Not Used Neto, White, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Calafiori, Butler-Oyedeji
Booked Gabriel, Partey, Odegaard
Goals Merino 20

Chelsea Sanchez, Fofana (Gusto 86), Badiashile (Tosin 86), Colwill, Cucurella, James (c) (Lavia 82), Caicedo, Neto, Fernandez, Sancho (George 76), Nkunku (Dewsbury-Hall 76)
Subs Not Used Bettinelli, Jorgensen, Chalobah, Acheampong
Booked Colwill, Neto, Fofana
Goals

Attendance 60,311

Referee Chris Kavanagh

VAR Jarred Gillett