Arsenal secured a tense 2-1 triumph over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, with manager Mikel Arteta confessing his "heart almost stopped" during the dramatic conclusion to the match.
The Gunners demonstrated their set-piece prowess as both goals originated from corner kicks.
William Saliba broke the deadlock midway through the opening period, before Piero Hincapie's own goal brought Chelsea level.
Jurrien Timber then netted in the second half to restore the hosts' lead, once again capitalising on a corner delivery.
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The victory represents a crucial test passed in Arsenal's pursuit of a first league championship in 22 years.
Pedro Neto received his marching orders just four minutes after Timber's decisive strike, leaving Chelsea to battle on with 10 men.
Despite their numerical superiority, Arsenal endured anxious final moments as the visitors threatened an unlikely comeback.
David Raya produced a superb diving stop to deny Alejandro Garnacho, whose curling effort looked destined for the net and Liam Delap even managed to find the back of the goal, only for the linesman's flag to cut short Chelsea's celebrations as offside was confirmed.
Mikel Arteta confessed his 'heart almost stopped' during the dramatic conclusion
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Both incidents occurred during stoppage time, ensuring Arteta's side took a significant step towards ending their lengthy wait for the title.
The Arsenal manager admitted: “The save that he (Raya) made in the last action, from what ended up being an unbelievable shot, I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped. But David’s hand was there to bring it back to life.
"I try to stay calm, but obviously, we weren’t getting the dominance and the sequences of play that we wanted and would expect against 10 men.
"You have to navigate through that, and it’s a big part of the game. Everybody’s suffering because the margins are so small.”
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Arsenal strengthened their grip on the Premier League title race | GETTYTimber’s crucial 66th-minute winner marked Arsenal’s 16th goal from a corner this season to equal a record shared by Oldham and West Brom for a single Premier League campaign with nine games still to go.
The set-piece goals carried Arsenal to a second win in a week in which they were drawing at half-time.
Arteta added: "I reminded the players that we were in exactly the same position against Tottenham seven days ago in that dressing room.
"They said: ‘Look what happened in the second half! So we’re going to do it again, but we’re going to have to go through some difficult patches to earn the right to win the game’. And we certainly did that."
The set-piece goals carried Arsenal to a second win in a week in which they were drawing at half-time
|GETTY
Chelsea’s hopes were scuppered by Neto’s dismissal which marked their seventh red card in the league this season, their second in as many fixtures, and ninth across all competitions.
Neto talked his way into referee Darren England’s notebook as he protested against Timber’s goal before he scythed down Gabriel Martinelli four minutes later.
Manager Liam Rosenior said: “It is disappointing for Pedro, but it’s not just him, as a group, me as a leader included, we have to take accountability for some of the decisions we are making in terms of our discipline.
"You can fine players (for red cards) but it is not about the punishment. It is about finding the reason why. I know our record is not great since the start of the season, and we have now had two in two games so there is something deep-lying that we need to get to the bottom of.
"We need to do something for sure. We need to speak to the coaching staff and the players because it is not acceptable. In the last two games we have caused our own issues, and if we don’t eradicate it, it is going to cost us."
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