LONDON: Arsenal swept aside London rivals Chelsea 3-0 with three first-half goals at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday to mark Arsene Wenger’s 20th anniversary as Gunners boss in style.

“It was one of these moments in your life as a manager when you think ‘OK, today is a great day’,” Wenger said after Arsenal moved to third place in the Premier League on 13 points, five behind leaders Manchester City and one behind second-placed Tottenham Hotspur after six matches.

Wenger, who has suffered plenty of pain against Chelsea in his two-decade reign, could hardly have imagined an easier anniversary waltz as Arsenal wrapped it up before the break with goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil.

It was the Gunners’ first league win over Chelsea in five years. Chelsea hadn’t even conceded a league goal to Arsenal since January 2013 before this capitulation.

“It was an outstanding team performance,” Wenger told the BBC. “We played with spirit and collective pace and movement.”

Chelsea, hamstrung by alarmingly feeble defending and toyed with in embarrassing fashion at times after the break, suffered their worst defeat to their neighbours in 19 years as Wenger and his men were rewarded with a standing ovation at the Emirates.

“I think that we didn’t have the right attitude from the first minute,” Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said.

Arsenal scored twice in three minutes against a Chelsea defence missing injured captain John Terry with an ankle injury.

The Gunners were 1-0 up in the 11th minute when Sanchez robbed centre-back Gary Cahill and chipped the ball over goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Minutes later it was 2-0 when Walcott finished off a slick Arsenal passing move.

Arsenal, who hadn’t beaten Chelsea in nine matches, were 3-0 up in the 40th minute when Ozil and Sanchez exchanged passes before the former volleyed home.

In the only Premier League game on Sunday, Southampton condemned West Ham United to another miserable experience at their new London Stadium as Charlie Austin and Dusan Tadic inspired the visitors’ 3-0 victory.

West Ham’s move from Upton Park to the former Olympic Stadium just across east London was supposed to herald the start of a successful new era.

But instead they have been beset by problems on and off the pitch and a fourth successive Premier League loss left Slaven Bilic’s side languishing in the relegation zone.

Austin struck from the visitors’ first shot on target on 40 minutes, the striker finishing first time from a Ryan Bertrand cross for his fourth goal in five games.

The 27-year-old then set up Tadic to slot home the second in the 62nd minute.

The visitors had multiple chances to extend their lead late on and finally did so in stoppage time when Steven Davis cut back for substitute Ward-Prowse to fire into an empty net.

Published in Dawn September 26th, 2016

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