ARSENAL bounced back from the most difficult week of the Unai Emery era so far with a vitally important 2-0 victory over Chelsea on Saturday.

The Gunners produced an emphatic performance in every area of the pitch to take themselves to within just three points of their London rivals as the race for a highly coveted top-four finish ramped up another notch.

The Arsenal boss was especially complimentary about his midfield three who worked doggedly to dominate their opponents. “All the players were working well,” he said, “but especially Lucas [Torreira], [Granit] Xhaka and [Matteo] Guendouzi. For the balance, pressing and for recovery, I think this result is a consequence of that.”

The near-perfect display could prove to be another setback to Mesut Ozil’s hopes of getting back into this team having once again been forced to watch the action from the bench.

The game began at a blistering pace and the hosts were ahead within 15 minutes thanks to Alexandre Lacazette’s 10th, and arguably his best, goal of the season.

With his back to goal, the striker took just four touches to score. After controlling Hector Bellerin’s lightning cross he turned, beat two players, then rifled the ball into the roof of the net.

A flurry of chances for the hosts followed soon after, most notably for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The striker was a matter of inches away from scoring a goal of the season contender when his scissor-kick effort went just wide of the post.

As Arsenal looked to exploit the space in behind, they also looked susceptible to Chelsea’s own advances. Pedro found himself in acres and lobbed Bernd Leno but saw his effort bounce just wide of the post, before Marcos Alonso’s header was denied only by the upright.

David Luiz would have had his heart in his mouth after showing too much of his studs in a tackle on Aaron Ramsey but referee Anthony Taylor deemed a yellow card sufficient.

Before half-time, Laurent Koscielny, with a considerable slice of luck, doubled his side’s lead. Centreback partner Sokratis Papastathopoulos dinked a ball into the six-yard box for the Frenchman to latch on to. 

He totally misjudged the flight of the ball but saw it come off his shoulder before bouncing into the net leaving Kepa Arrizabalaga rooted to the spot.

The Gunners’ club captain, who’s had limited involvement with the first team this season since returning from a ruptured Achilles tendon last May, looked supremely assured leading the back line with a composure that has been lacking throughout the first half of this season.

“Now Koscielny has started to play with more confidence and his experience is very important for us,” Emery added. “We’re very happy because after the big injury he’s again providing great performances.”

Arsenal’s first clean sheet in their last six top-flight games will be a huge boost to morale as they go into the business end of the season with ground still to make up if they’re to regain a place in the Champions League next season.