Chelsea cement top spot in PL post 2-0 Arsenal win

Chelsea thrashed Arsenal 2-0 to cement their position at the top of the Premier League as Arsene Wenger's winless streak against Jose Mourinho was extended to 12 games.

The old opponents squared up in an ugly first-half moment when Wenger shoved Mourinho in the chest in Chelsea's technical area after centre back Gary Cahill's challenge on Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

A semblance of order was restored although the tension still resurfaced, but Mourinho had the last word with a win that put Chelsea five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, The BBC reported.

Belgian midfielder Eden Hazard's first-half penalty put Chelsea on their way to victory after he was fouled by Laurent Koscielny, while Diego Costa's ninth goal in seven games since his 32 million pounds summer move from Atletico Madrid wrapped up the win for Mourinho's men.

The match never threatened to be a repeat of Chelsea's 6-0 thrashing of Arsenal in March that marred Wenger's 1,000th match in charge of the club, but there was rarely a moment when his side threatened to end his dismal sequence against Mourinho as they suffered their first league loss of the season.

Chelsea manager Mourinho said that the start of the season is good, but it's just seven matches and beginning of October. He added that he is even more pleased to win because they played against a good Arsenal.

Mourinho said that Arsenal played a good game and gave them a difficult game, adding that Chelsea was able to deal with it without problems, which is fantastic. He said that when his side was 1-0 up the game was almost in the pocket.

Arsenal manager Wenger said that it was a very intense game and very tight as well. He said that it was about not making a mistake and not giving the first goal away, adding that after that his side was 1-0 down.

Wenger said that his squad had good opportunities in the first half and they have to turn these into dangerous situations and finish them. He said that after that in the second half it was all Arsenal and they were a bit unlucky; adding that his side made a mistake on the second goal, and the second goal killed the game off.