Chelsea captain John Terry, who has been punished with a four-match ban by the Football Association (FA) for racial abuse, led the Blues to a 2 - 1 win against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
It was Terry's first match after the FA's Independent Regulatory Commission on Thursday slapped a four-match ban and a fine of £220,000 after being found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers' (QPR) Anton Ferdinand in one of the matches last season.
Fernando Torres and Juan Mata scored a goal apiece to help Chelsea win while Gervinho scored Arsenal's lone goal.
[PHOTO HIGHLIGHT OF ARSENAL VS CHELSEA]
Chelsea earned a free-kick 20 minutes into the game from Vermaelen's foul. Mata took the kick and sent the ball to Torres, who volleyed it into the net of Mannone. The Spaniard sent the ball into the net again ten minutes later but it was ruled offside.
Arsenal found an equiliser three minutes before halftime after Gervinho cleared Terry from Oxlade Chamberlain's pass and sent the ball into the top corner of Cech's net.
Chelsea earned another free-kick just a few minutes into the second after Vermaelen clattered into Torres. Mata took the kick again. And this time, he didn't pass the ball to his teammates but targetted the goal which hit Arsenal's Koscielny and rolled it into the net of Mannone.
The Gunners tried to find an equiliser as the game closes to an end but failed. They enjoyed more ball possession but not good enough to beat the Blues.
Saturday's win consolidated Chelsea's position on top of the score table with 16 points, three points ahead of its nearest competitor Everton, while Arsenal is in the seventh position with nine points.
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said after the match that sloppy defense let the team down.
"I feel we played against a good team, but we gave the game away. They had three shots on target and scored two goals, from soft set-pieces. Defensively we were just not at the level you have to be in a game like that, which is where we were punished today. For the rest, we have shown quality and spirit but we have to show more personality and authority on the goals we conceded," he told Arsenal official site.