Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry

The rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea is the football local derby in London between Arsenal and Chelsea.

Background

While they never considered each other primary rivals, as two of the top clubs in London there has always been strong needle between the fans dating back to the 1930s. The Arsenal and Chelsea rivalry has been more recently considered an important derby, after Chelsea's rise to the top class of the Premier League in 2000s, when the two started to compete constantly for the English championship. According to an internet survey of fans in December 2003, the Arsenal fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Chelsea as their third rival, after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.^[1] Those Chelsea fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Arsenal as their main rival, however Tottenham and Fulham are their more traditional rivals.^[1]

History

The first league meeting between the two teams took place on November 9, 1907 at Stamford Bridge. This was the first Football League First Division game played between two London clubs and drew a then First Division record crowd of 65,000. A match between the clubs at Stamford Bridge in 1935 drew a crowd of 82,905, the second highest recorded attendance for an English league match. They met in two close contested FA Cup semi-finals in the 1950s, with Arsenal winning both times. In the 1960s Chelsea dominated the tie with 14 wins, two draws and just 2 losses during the decade.^[2]

More recently the clubs have contested two major finals, the 2002 FA Cup Final, which Arsenal won 2–0, and the 2007 Football League Cup Final, which Chelsea won 2–1. The two teams have also met in the UEFA Champions League in the quarter-finals in 2003–04 drawing 1–1 at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea winning 2–1 at Highbury to go through to the semi-finals.

In the 2003–04 season, Arsenal completed a double over Chelsea, winning both at home and away 2–1. In the away game at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal came from behind with goals from Patrick Vieira and Edu

In 2006 the transfer of Ashley Cole from Arsenal to Chelsea further stoked the rivalry, as Cole had been caught meeting Chelsea officials months before.^[3]

The 2007 Carling Cup final was one of the most noted incidents. The game was marred by a fracas involving Frank Lampard, Cesc Fàbregas and others that resulted in yellow cards for the two and three other players sent off, the supposed wrongful dismissal of Emmanuel Adebayor and incidents of Chelsea fans throwing celery at Arsenal players. This led the media to dub it the "Snarling Cup final".

On December 27, 2010, Chelsea came into the Emirates having beaten Arsenal 5 times in a row by a goal differencial of 13–2. Arsenal were victorious upon the final whistle however by a score of 3–1.

Overall, Arsenal have won the more games in history, having won 69 times to Chelsea's 54, with 51 draws (as of 3 October 2010).^[4] Arsenal's record win was a 5–1 victory in a First Division match at Stamford Bridge on November 29, 1930. Chelsea's record win was a 5–0 victory at Highbury in the League Cup on November 11, 1998.

Didier Drogba of Chelsea holds the mark for the most derby goals with 13.

On 29 October 2011, another thrilling and fantastic game was played at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal won 5–3 with Robin Van Persie scoring a hat-trick and André Santos and Theo Walcott scoring one goal each. Frank Lampard, John Terry and Juan Mata scored the goals for Chelsea^[5]

Players who have played for or managed both teams

• Sandy MacFarlane (as player: Arsenal 1896–97 / Chelsea 1913–14)
• Jimmy Sharp (as player: Arsenal 1905–08 / Chelsea 1912–15)
• Leslie Knighton (as manager: Arsenal 1919–25 / Chelsea 1933–39)
• Bob Turnbull (as player: Arsenal 1923–24 / Chelsea 1925–28)
• Ted Drake (as player: Arsenal 1934–45) / (as manager: Chelsea 1952–61)
• Tommy Lawton (as player: Chelsea 1945–47 / Arsenal 1953–55)
• Bill Dickson (as player: Chelsea 1947–53 / Arsenal 1953–56)
• Tommy Docherty (as player: Arsenal 1958–61 / Chelsea 1961–62) / (as manager: Chelsea 1961–67)
• Allan Young (as player: Arsenal 1959–61 / Chelsea 1961–69)
• John Hollins (as player: Chelsea 1963–75 / Arsenal 1979–83 / Chelsea 1983–84) / (as manager: Chelsea 1985–88)
• Tommy Baldwin (as player: Arsenal 1964–66 / Chelsea 1966–74)
• George Graham (as player: Chelsea 1964–66 / Arsenal 1966–72) / (as manager: Arsenal 1986–95)
• Stewart Houston (as player: Chelsea 1967–72) / (as caretaker manager: Arsenal 1995 / as caretaker manager: Arsenal 1996)
• Alan Hudson (as player: Chelsea 1968–74 / Arsenal 1976–78 / Chelsea 1983–84)
• Graham Rix (as player: Arsenal 1975–88 / Chelsea 1995) / (as youth team manager: Chelsea 1993–96 / as assistant manager: Chelsea 1996–99 / as caretaker manager: Chelsea 2000)
• Colin Pates (as player: Chelsea 1979–88 / Arsenal 1990–93)
• Clive Allen (as player: Arsenal 1980 / Chelsea 1991–92)
• Peter Nicholas (as player: Arsenal 1981–83 / Chelsea 1988–91) / (as youth team manager: Chelsea 199?–9?)
• David Rocastle (as player: Arsenal 1984–92 / Chelsea 1994–98)
• Emmanuel Petit (as player: Arsenal 1997–2000 / Chelsea 2001–04)
• Nicolas Anelka (as player: Arsenal 1997–99 / Chelsea 2008–present)
• Ashley Cole (as player: Arsenal 1999–2006 / Chelsea 2006–present)
• William Gallas (as player: Chelsea 2001–06 / Arsenal 2006–10)
• Lassana Diarra (as player: Chelsea 2005–07 / Arsenal 2007–08)
• Yossi Benayoun (as player: Chelsea 2010-11 / Arsenal on loan 2011-present)

Honours

These are the major football honours of Arsenal and Chelsea.

Statistics

See also

• Arsenal F.C. and Manchester United F.C. rivalry
• Chelsea F.C.–Leeds United A.F.C. rivalry

References

External links

• Soccerbase
• AllFootballers.com