Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea made the short trip up to the Emirates to face table toppers Arsenal in a London derby for the ages. 

Chelsea were without their talisman Cole Palmer as he missed out due to illness. The Blues' other bright spark this season, Malo Gusto, also was not fit enough to make the squad. 

The Gunners made two changes from their match at the weekend as Mikel Arteta brought in Takehiro Tomiyasu for Jakub Kiwior. Thomas Partey made his fourth Premier League start replacing Gabriel Jesus in the starting XI as Kai Havertz moved to striker. 

Arsenal found themselves a goal to the good after only four minutes as Leandro Trossard struck at the near post scoring his 15th goal of the campaign in all competitions. 

Chelsea responded well to this, however, with Nicholas Jackson managing to steer his way into dangerous positions, but was unsuccessful in finding the finish needed. The Blues did begin to knock on the door midway through the first half but to no avail.

Formality was resumed in the second half with Kai Havertz and Ben White both bagging themselves braces on a night to remember for Arsenal fans. Martin Odegaard's performance has to be highlighted as the Norwegian strutted his stuff providing some killer passes both finished off and missed. 

Here is what the Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had to say on his sides performance. 

Sympathy for Former Teammate

Mikel Arteta and Mauricio Pochettino spent 18 months together at Paris St. Germain as teammates, but tonight the two faced off as managers for only the second time in their careers so far, with the previous encounter resulting in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. 

Points were not shared this time around as Arsenal put their London rivals to the sword. Arteta was asked on whether he feels sympathy for the Chelsea boss. 

"All the sympathy in the world, all he's been through. I've been on the other side as well. He's doing a great job. Their last seven games, they've deserved to win every match. Hopefully things will turn around and be as he deserves."

New Midfield Partnership?

It was the first time since the FA Community Shield where Arsenal lined up with a midfield three of Thomas Partey, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. The final, and today's performance, have exemplified how good those three can be as a trio. 

Arteta highlighted his pleasure with Thomas Partey's performance.

"...we thought that it was a really good game for Thomas to come back he looks like he's in rhythm, he trained really well the last few days and the way they set up and the players that they and the way they attack especially we believe that it was the right call to make and then he stepped up. I think he had a great performance and it was really important for the team". 

Arteta was then asked why those three in particular seem to compliment each other so well. 

"... when they play Declan, Kai, and Martin or when we play with Emile as well in there or with Jorgi (Jorginho) for sure because he's played some big games and we won some big big games with him as well. It depends on the game, on the state, the opponent as well and its great because everyone feels important as well and I think that's something really really important".

Kai Havertz's Performance

Kai Havertz scored a brace against his former club and arguably should have had a hat trick. The German has had a productive season, scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists in his 33 appearances in the Premier League this season.

His first of the night was a a cushioned finish over Petrovic after holding off Marc Cucurella. His second of the night was just as good as he received the ball from Bukayo Saka in the box before turning and finishing it in off the near post. 

Arteta was asked to comment on his his game today. 

"Yeah he was unbelievable in all departments and obviously when you put him in line to score two goals the way he scored. His contribution was great and yeah a question for him but i'm sure he is very very pleased". 

Emirates Atmosphere

The general consensus amongst many football fans is that the atmosphere at the Emirates is poor. However these past two seasons have shown the potential the ground has. 

Despite some empty seats due to the games rescheduling and Arsenal's ticket exchange mishap, the Emirates was well and truly bouncing tonight with deafening chants going in after the third and fourth goals, as well as the full time whistle.

The Spanish boss had this to say on his home support. 

"That's what we are here for. I think they (the fans) have to feel that this team is capable to represent the club in the best possible way. I think they feel it, they see the effort, they see the quality and our job is to make sure that they have fun, enjoy, and together we can win things".
 

Arsenal stay in North London as they face Tottenham Hotspur away on Sunday April 28th kicking off at 14:00 GMT.