Arsenal's Commanding 5-0 Victory Over Chelsea Shakes Up Premier League Race

Enormous Arsenal crushed London rivals Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday, laying down the gauntlet in the Premier League championship contest.

Any lingering concerns about Arsenal's durability were dispelled as soon as Leandro Trossard gave them the lead. Ben White and Kai Havertz then scored twice apiece in a stunning burst of goals after the interval to completely overwhelm a stunned Chelsea.

Arsenal made a strong statement, increasing the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City with four games left after their remarkable comeback from an Aston Villa home loss and elimination from the Champions League.

After 34 games, Arsenal has 77 points.

The defending champions, Manchester City, have 73 points, but they still have two games remaining, beginning on Thursday with a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.

It was the sixth Premier League game this season in which Arsenal scored five goals or more without giving up a goal, and in a race this close, their significant goal differential lead may prove to be decisive.

Just days after their close loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, Chelsea suffered their worst-ever defeat at the hands of Arsenal, which dealt a fatal blow to their hopes of making it to the European stage. Chelsea is now ranked ninth.

Arsenal dominated Chelsea's goal with 13 efforts in the first half, and if Chelsea's Serbian goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic hadn't made a save, Arsenal would have been ahead by a significant margin at halftime.

Cheered on by the Emirates fans, it took the hosts four minutes to calm down after a raiding Declan Rice drove into the center of the pitch and brilliantly timed his ball for Trossard to score.

Although Petrovic would have been upset to lose to Trossard and Bukayo Saka from a close range, he made up for it with a series of brilliant saves to deny them, and then he responded superbly to save a close-range deflection.

Chelsea, missing 20-goal striker Cole Palmer, had their chances even though they were under pressure, and Axel Disasi was unlucky not to score from a flicked-on corner.

Nicolas Jackson missed a clear header from a Conor Gallagher cross after hitting the post.

However, Chelsea was unable to keep up with Arsenal's increased intensity in the second half.

In the 52nd minute, White doubled the score when Rice's strike bounced to him. Havertz then scored in style after captain Martin Odegaard slipped him through with a beautiful ball.

Havertz, a former Chelsea player, scored low to make it 4-0 before White casually side-footed a volley from an angle.

Chelsea's situation may have been much worse as Arsenal ran wild, but the home crowd exited in a joyful mood as the chance to win a first trophy in 20 years seemed certain.

The inconsistent play of Chelsea has left manager Mauricio Pochettino dissatisfied. "We are very awful on our worst days.

"We can do anything when we are good," Pochettino said to the media.