EPL: Arsenal Defeat Chelsea to Close Gap on Liverpool

• Mikel Merino scored the lone goal as Arsenal defeated Chelsea 1-0 to move within 12 points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
• Both teams were missing key players, with Kai Havertz and Cole Palmer sidelined due to injury.
• Chelsea’s best chance came through Marc Cucurella, but his shot slipped past David Raya and narrowly missed the target.

Mikel Merino scored the decisive goal as Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, cutting the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to 12 points.

Both teams were without their first-choice strikers — Arsenal’s Kai Havertz has been ruled out for the season with a hamstring injury, while Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson also missed out.

The Blues were further hampered by the absence of their talisman, Cole Palmer, sidelined for the first time since Chelsea’s 5-0 defeat to Arsenal in April last year.

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Arsenal, deploying Merino once again as a makeshift forward, dominated early proceedings. Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, and Declan Rice all threatened the Chelsea goal before Merino broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, flicking in Martin Ødegaard’s curling corner past a fully-stretched Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea’s best chance to equalize came when Marc Cucurella’s powerful strike slipped through David Raya’s hands, only to roll narrowly wide.

Despite some nervous moments from Sanchez — who was jeered by the home crowd and struggled under Arsenal’s aerial pressure — the Chelsea keeper made a superb stop to deny Merino a second goal after the break.

Liverpool, currently leading the league, were not in action this weekend due to their participation in the Carabao Cup final.

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