Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 as Romelu Lukaku scores on debut

Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 as Romelu Lukaku scores on debut

It was a London derby to savour for Tomas Tuchel’s Chelsea as they comfortably demolished Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium to go joint top of the Premier League alongside Liverpool. First half-goals from club-record signing Romelu Lukaku and Reece James were enough to give the Blues the victory as the Gunners very rarely threatened the Chelsea backline in front of a packed crowd at the Emirates Stadium.

It was the perfect homecoming in Chelsea blue for Romelu Lukaku, who was at his dominant best on his second debut for the team following his £97.5 million summer move from Inter. It only took the Belgian 15 minutes to get on the scoresheet as the 28-year-old produced a complete centre-forward performance and dominated the Arsenal central defenders – Pablo Mari and Rob Holding – with his pace and power. 

While Arsenal started the game brightly, it was Lukaku who made the difference for Chelsea in the opening exchanges as the focal point of their attack. The Belgian started the move for the opening goal as he held off Pablo Mari and shifted the ball to the right before getting on the end of Reece James’ cross to give Chelsea the lead from close-range.

The Blues dominated the game from that point onwards and scored the second goal just after the half-hour mark with Reece James receiving the ball in acres of space on the right-wing before lashing a stunning strike straight into the top corner.

Arsenal showed glimpses in attack towards the end of the half and had a debatable penalty appeal turned down by referee Paul Tierney after Bukayo Saka clashed with Reece James in the Chelsea penalty area.

The Gunners improved after the break with Bukayo Saka forcing Edouard Mendy into a fine save from long-range before Rob Holding missed a golden opportunity with his header from six yards out.

However, it was the West London side who controlled the proceedings and Lukaku should have doubled his tally for the club in the second half, but was denied by an excellent save from Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno who expertly tipped his header away with some assistance from the cross-bar.

All in all, it was a masterful performance from the European Champions who eased to victory against their London rivals and continued their excellent run under Tomas Tuchel in the Premier League.

For Arsenal, on the other hand, the painful rebuild under Mikel Arteta continues to disappoint as the Gunners sit 19th in the Premier League table after two consecutive defeats to open the new season. While Mikel Arteta were without plenty of first-team regulars including new signings Ben White and Martin Odegaard, there is plenty of work to be done for this side as they face reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in their next league fixture at the Etihad.