Hazard seals Chelsea win over nine-man Arsenal

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0

Kurt Zouma’s second-half header and a deflected Eden Hazard strike earned Chelsea victory over nine-man Arsenal in a niggly London derby.

Gabriel was sent off in first-half injury time for kicking out at Diego Costa and the Blues made their extra man count after the break with Zouma heading in an inviting Cesc Fabregas free-kick.

With 10 minutes left, the Gunners had Santi Cazorla dismissed after he picked up his second yellow card for a foul on Fabregas.

And Hazard’s first-time shot crashed in to the net via Calum Chambers to ensure a first home league win of the season for Jose Mourinho’s side.

Both teams had struggled to create clear opportunities in the first half, but the ever-feisty Costa was a constant threat in behind the Arsenal defence, and Pedro and Oscar were both prominent.

Pedro shot wide after a neat move, Fabregas had a long-range strike easily saved by former Chelsea keeper Petr Cech and Hazard claimed for a penalty after going down in the box following a challenge from Gabriel.

But Arsenal also posed problems to a defence without the dropped John Terry.

Chelsea boss Mourinho left Terry on the bench, preferring Zouma in defence alongside Gary Cahill with Branislav Ivanovic as captain.

And in the main they dealt well with the pace of Theo Walcott despite some threatening moments on the break.

The game sparked in to life when Gabriel saw red for a prolonged confrontation with Costa, who was lucky not to see red for a swipe at Laurent Koscielny.

Chelsea took advantage after the break and Zouma ran in unmarked at the back post to head in Fabregas’s free-kick.

Hazard twice went close to adding to the lead, shooting narrowly wide with a low effort and forcing a decent save from Cech with a fierce strike.

At the other end Alexis Sanchez should have scored, but failed to connect properly with a right-foot shot when Cahill and Zouma failed to deal with a bouncing ball.

But Cazorla’s dismissal for a late lunge on Fabregas as good as ended Arsenal’s hopes and Hazard then wrapped up the victory.