PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE: Arsenal v Chelsea - the action from the Emirates Stadium as it happened

By Joe Ridge

PUBLISHED: 22:00 EST, 20 April 2012 | UPDATED: 08:49 EST, 21 April 2012

Follow Sportsmail's coverage of the Barclays Premier League as Arsenal host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium to kick off the weekend's action. The London duo are battling to secure Champions League spots in the table with the Blues three places and seven points behind their third-placed rivals.

FULL-TIME

2.50pm: Well that wasn't one to remember. Arsenal will be the happier with the point in the context of the league, but for Chelsea to nick a point here having made eight changes represents a gamble paid off for Di Matteo and will stand them in good stead heading to Barcelona. Join Dan Ripley now for coverage of the 3pm kick-offs.

93 mins: Cahill blocks well from Gervinho.

90 mins: There will be four minutes added on... and Arsenal have a corner. But it comes to nothing.

89 mins: It's real end-to-end stuff now with both sides going for the win... Van Persie very nearly slides Santos in.

88 mins: Good challenge! The ball breaks to Sturridge six yards out but Koscielny launches in just in time to nick the ball away.

86 mins: Close! Santos does brilliantly to break the play up and set Gervinho away. He runs at the Chelsea back four at pace and slides in Van Persie, but he can't wriggle out a shooting opportunity on his left foot and is eventually tackled. It's not been his day.

83 mins: Chance! Memories of Stamford Bridge as Terry slips trying to intercept the throughball, leaving Van Persie running through with a tight angle to beat Cech. His right foot shot slices horribly wide though.

80 mins: Penalty shout! Not given. Van Persie went down under the challenge of Cahill as Song clipped in a decent ball. It would have been harsh were it given.

Frustrating day: Sturridge rues his luck

76 mins: Yet another booking as Diaby goes through the back of Essien... Cole comes on to a chorus of boos from the home fans who used to adore him.

74 mins: Mata comes on for Kalou for Chelsea... the atmosphere has gone very flat inside the Emirates.

71 mins: Wenger brings on Santos for Chamberlain with his last throw of the dice... and I forgot to mention Mikel has come on for Romeu for Chelsea.

69 mins: Szczesny does well to read a Sturridge curler and save low to his right... the game is starting to open up a bit.

He's behind you: Chamberlain closes in on Torres

65 mins: Diaby makes his long awaited comeback, replacing Rosicky.

64 mins: Van Persie has a chance with a free-kick 25 yards out, just left of centre... It's fired high into the crowd.

61 mins: Walcott's hamstring has gone again... they may regret that decision not to take him straight off... Gervinho is coming on.

57 mins: Walcott has tweaked a hamstring and receives some treatment... Gervinho is ready to come on if needed but he's going to give it a go.

55 mins: Cahill is booked for a slightly high challenge on Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Eyes on the ball: Song closes down Essien

54 mins: Great challenge! Sturridge was clean through there but Vermaelen managed to slide in and hook his boot round to nick the ball away.

53 mins: Chelsea have definitely tarted the half the better with Sturridge and Torres linking up well. Ramsey has been a passenger in this game.

51 mins: Great challenge from Koscielny as brings a halt to Torres's run after the Spaniard managed to jink between him and Sagna.

50 mins: Another booking as Van Persie clumsily lunges at Essien. Nothing malicious in it but it's a deserved yellow.

Midfield battle: Rosicky accelerates away from Romeu

49 mins: Chelsea have switched to a 4-4-2 with Kalou now moving out to the right and Torres moving back into the middle. Malouda is booked for a cynical foul an Van Persie.

47 mins: Torres has shifted out to the right flank with Sturridge moving central. Both were pretty anonymous in the first half.

46 mins: We're under way in the second half. No changes from either manager.

Chance: Van Persie draws a save from Petr Cech

HALF-TIME

Well, that one really burst into life in the last five minutes as Koscielny, Terry and Van Persie all went close. Both sides are keen to attack and are trying to pass their way forward, but the execution has been lacking at times. Arsenal look like they're suffering a bit of a hangover from the Wigan loss and have missed Arteta as Essien and Romeu have dominated the midfield. They have had the best chances though, with Van Persie also going close in the opening minutes. We're all set up for a tense second half.

45 mins: Two minutes to be added on.

44 mins: Good save! This game has really come to life in the last five minutes... Song finds Van Persie free on the left of the box, the skipper brings it down beautifully on his chest, but the angle is tight and Cech manages to beat his powerful shot away.

High hopes: Terry out-jumps Koscielny and Vermaelen

43 mins: Close! This time it's Terry with the free header as Koscielny neglects his marking duties - the ball flies over the bar.

42 mins: Off the bar! Koscielny's header clatters against the woodwork from Van Persie's free-kick. He was completely unmarked as he ran off the back of Bosingwa.

38 mins: Another penalty shout against Sagna as he clumsily challenges again - this time it's Bertrand who goes down.

Close encounter: Sagna closes down Kalou

36 mins: Terry does well to clear Van Persie's free-kick after he had fouled Walcott.

33 mins: Essien has been very impressive for Chelsea in midfield. Both he and Romeu have a point to prove after losing their places under Di Matteo and they have dominated Ramsey and Song in the midfield so far today.

30 mins: Rosicky needlessly dives in on Essien - who was going nowhere in his own half - and is rightly booked.

27 mins: Chelsea are now well and truly on top and only a Mike Dean blunder prevents them a second consecutive corner. The natives are getting restless.

Flat out: Vermaelen consoles Terry after flooring him

26 mins: Aaron Ramsey gets caught on the ball - not for the first time - and is happy to see Malouda's effort deflected over.

24 mins: The bites at the cherry for Chelsea from the following corner as Cahill's free header is blocked, as is Torres' follow-up, the ball then falls back to Cahill who slices over.

23 mins: Koscielny does brilliantly to cut out Kalou's low centre - Torres was waiting at the back post if he missed it.

20 mins: Vermaelen leaves a shoulder in on Terry as Cech comes to claim a cross. Nothing worthy of any action from the ref but he's let him know he's there. Ouch.

Sitter: Van Persie misses from two yards out

17 mins: This is real end-to-end stuff. Chelsea are playing as if they having nothing lose and are marginally on top. Bosingwa's shot is saved by Szczesny low to his right.

14 mins: What a miss! Walcott whips in a delicious ball from the free-kick to find Van Persie at the back post, but the Dutchman goes with his left when he really should have used his right. The connection is only enough to see the ball graze the post.

13 mins: Arsenal break away from a spell of Chelsea pressure through Oxlade-Chamberlain. He's brought down 25 yards out by Essien - good chance from the free-kick coming up.

11 mins: It's been an even start to the game. Both sides look keen to attack.

Sliding in: Torres tackles Alex Song

7 mins: The Chelsea fans appeal for a penalty as Kalou goes down under pressure from Sagna. It was a bit of a clumsy challenge from the Frenchman, but Kalou went fell late after losing control of the ball and didn't actually appeal himself.

5 mins: Rosicky has the first effort of the game from range after a tricky run. Cech saves easily low to his right. What a transformation it has been from the Czech in the second half of the season, he looks a completely different player.

3 mins: Ramsey has started alongside Song in the Arteta role as expected, with Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left. Chelsea have Malouda in the hole and Sturridge on the right. Lots of possession for Arsenal early on...

1 min: We're under way...

Starting role: Fernando Torres gets a game for Chelsea

12.37pm: Abou Diaby is back on the bench today for Arsenal, he's had a torrid time with injuries over the last few years. At 26, he should be entering his prime and will be desperate to get on and finish the season well to build a platform for the next campaign.

12.30pm: An Arsenal win will make them all but guaranteed of third place, if they were to lose and their rivals win, Newcastle and Spurs would be two points off them with a game in hand, while Chelsea would be just four points off - also with a game in hand.

12.27pm: If Chelsea can win today they will - for a few hours at least - leapfrog Newcastle and Tottenham and move into the fourth Champions League place. Newcastle entertain Stoke at 3pm and Spurs travel to QPR for a 5.30pm kick-off.

12.25pm: After a little session on the calculator, I reckon Chelsea's eight 'reserves' coming into the team cost a total £121.7m.

12.17pm: Mind you, if this is a reserve side, then it's not half bad. The combined fees of the eight who have come in is well over £100million.

Famous night: Chelsea beat Barcelona 1-0 on Wednesday

12.13pm: Roberto Di Matteo has revealed his hand with this selection - he's going all out for this year's Champions League and putting qualification for next year's on the back burner. Can you blame him? It's not often you get a lead against Barcelona and if he won't be in charge next season, why should he worry at all about 2012-13?

12.09pm: Chelsea make a staggering eight changes from the side that beat Barcelona on Wednesday night. Jose Bosingwa, Ryan Bertrand, Oriel Romeu, Michael Essien, Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres all start as Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, John Obi Mikel, Raul Meireles, Frank Lampard, Ramires, Juan Mata and Didier Drogba drop out.

12.08pm: The teams are in... Arsenal bring in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey for Yossi Benayoun, Johan Djourou and the injured Mikel Arteta.

12.05pm: Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Sportsmail's live coverage of the crucial Champions League qualification match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates.

Running riot: Robin van Persie scored a hat-trick in Arsenal's 5-3 win at Chelsea earlier in the season