On this day: Gunners edge amazing derby tussle

Arsenal have not enjoyed much success at Stamford Bridge in the past decade but one particular win back in 2011 was very memorable. The Gunners ended up on the right side of a thrilling eight-goal encounter in this famous ding-dong London derby back in 2011, when Robin van Persie struck a hat-trick for the visitors in a 5-3 away win.
Such has been Arsenal’s poor form at Chelsea since, this victory remains their last at Stamford Bridge on a day when Arsene Wenger’s side showcased how good they could be going forward, while also underlining their problems in defence.
Chelsea were on the receiving end on the day against an Arsenal outfit that maintained their much-improved form. This win was their eighth in a run of nine games in all competitions and gave them hope of mounting at least a top-four challenge, which had looked unlikely at the start of the season, while the Blues ended the weekend in fifth, three points behind Tottenham.
It was a pulsating clash as initially the home side were on the front foot and went ahead through now manager Frank Lampard before Van Persie scored the first of his three to equalise.
John Terry restored Andre Villas-Boas’ side’s lead as he became the second Chelsea legend to score on the day. But the Gunners again hit back through Andre Santos and Theo Walcott in the second half to establish a 3-2 advantage in the space of just six minutes and the crowd could barely catch their breath.
The unpredictable nature of what was an outstanding derby then intensified as Juan Mata made it 3-3 with 10 minutes to go before Dutch star Van Persie stole the headlines with two in the final five minutes.
The scoreline reflects the see-saw nature of the match and proved to be one of several high-scoring Premier League encounters that season, which ended with Manchester City’s first ever Premier League title success – a highlight of which was their 6-1 victory at Old Trafford the week previous to this Stamford Bridge humdinger.
Arsenal had themselves been on the wrong end of an unbelievable 8-2 defeat at Manchester United in August, while Wenger’s side saw off Blackburn 7-1 at home in February as they finished the campaign in third.
Chelsea, in contrast, had to settle for sixth in what turned out to be a disappointing season during which they sacked Villas-Boas in March when it became clear a Champions League place was slipping away.