51 min: To repeat: how on earth etc.? Odegaard plays a sensational reverse pass down the inside-right channel for Havertz, who swivels and shoots hard from the corner of the six-yard box. Petrovic somehow shovels the ball around the post for a corner. From which …

50 min: Now Odegaard spins on the edge of the D before larruping over the bar. How on earth is this match still 1-0?

49 min: Rice steals the ball off Gallagher, lays off to Odegaard and romps towards the Chelsea box. Odegaard slips the ball to him down the inside-right. Rice drives low and hard; Petrovic makes another solid block.

48 min: The resulting free kick isn’t worth discussing.

47 min: Jackson snaffles the ball from a dozing Partey and is cynically clipped from behind as he wanders off with it. A free kick in a central position, 35 yards out, though no yellow card for Partey. Nobody knows anything.

Arsenal get the second half started. No changes. “So much hate thrown against Nottingham Forest for their statement against PGMOL, but seriously, what is going on with VAR?” asks Filip Gieldon. “How in the world wasn’t the on-field referee sent to the replay screen for that horror tackle by Jackson on Tomiyasu? You can see his foot bend under the pressure, he nearly snapped his leg.”

Half-time entertainment. Some retro retro whimsy, all the way from 2010.

Plenty of chances in that half. Most of them for Arsenal, but some big ones for Chelsea too. Just the one goal, though. As things stand, Arsenal are going three points clear at the top!

45 min: Now it’s Trossard’s turn to go into the book for standing on top of Cucurella’s foot. A late challenge, and he can’t have any complaints. Mikel Arteta makes one, nonetheless, and is also booked for his trouble.

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44 min: Madueke whistles past Tomiyasu on the right. He’s got the Arsenal man’s number. He reaches the byline and crosses low. Raya collects. Nobody in blue had kept up with play.

43 min: Chelsea pick up a couple of cheap bookings in short order. Gilchrist for shoving Trossard in the back, Cucurella for a similar nudge on Saka. Truth be told, there wasn’t much in either challenge, but now both of Chelsea’s full backs are on the disciplinary tightrope.

41 min: Gallagher races after a long pass down the right and digs out a cross from a tight spot. Jackson arrives to meet it at the near post, but doesn’t throw himself bravely at the header. He sticks his arm up, thinking the nearby Gabriel is about to high-kick him, and the ball hits his hand. Free kick, when it really should have been an equaliser.

39 min: Chelsea ping it around patiently. Suddenly Madueke goes through the gears down the right. The ball’s worked back to Fernandez, who floats into the Arsenal box. Gallagher is this close to meeting the dropping ball, six yards out in a central position, but Raya has read the danger and comes off his line to collect.

37 min: Cucurella thinks he’s won a throw down the Chelsea left. He takes it, but the officials put him right. He hops around in the livid style, which isn’t exactly a proportionate response. He’s lucky the referee stops at a lecture; he could easily have gone in the book.

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35 min: Trossard has the beating of Gilchrist down the left. He makes it all the way down the left flank before firing a cross through a six-yard box unpopulated by team-mates.

34 min: Trossard’s shot is deflected wide left. From the resulting corner, Saka sprays a speculative shot wide right and high. “Getting nutmegged by someone like Trossard from six yards out is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when your defence hangs you out to dry like that,” writes Justin Madson. “I would still rather have Petrovic in goal than Sanchez. One thing Pochettino has definitely gotten right this season.”

32 min: Trossard slips White into acres down the left. White crosses for Saka, who can’t win a clean header, six yards out, and concedes a free kick. Time for Chelsea to take a few much-needed deep breaths.

30 min: Chelsea nearly equalise. Madueke zips past Tomiyasu at warp speed. His low cross finds Cucurella in some space at the far post. He drives low and hard goalwards. Raya parries. Fernandez tries to steer the rebound into the bottom left, but passes just wide of the post. As bad as Chelsea look at the back, they’re very dangerous whenever they spring into attack.

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28 min: Chelsea are teetering on the brink every time Arsenal come forward. Saka is causing Cucurella all sorts of bother down the right, while Odegaard is in leg-as-magic-wand mode.

26 min: Odegaard rolls a pass to Havertz, who spins and feeds Saka. A shot. Blocked. Havertz comes again. Shot. Saved by Petrovic, this time. Then finally Trossard has a go. His shot is deflected, and looks like flying into the net past the wrong-footed Petrovic, but the keeper somehow sticks up an arm to stop. What an outrageous passage of play, with a couple of top-drawer saves to match!

25 min: Nothing comes from the corner. This is a very open game.

24 min: This is great end-to-end fun. Odegaard’s quick feet sends Tomiyasu into the box down the left. A low cross is narrowly missed by Saka and Havertz. Then a counter. Jackson tears past Saliba down the left and cuts back. The ball pings off Gabriel, then the left-hand post, and out for a corner. Breathless!

23 min: Chelsea have settled a bit, mind. They enjoyed 66 percent of possession during the five minutes that immediately preceded Rice’s shot.

22 min: Saka sashays down the right touchline and cuts infield. He drops a shoulder to shoot, but his effort is blocked. Rice then steals the ball off Fernandez, and has a lash from the edge of the D. Over the bar it goes. Not by much, though. That got the crowd gasping.

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21 min: On TNT Sports, Ally McCoist argues that Petrovic shouldn’t have been beaten at his near post for the goal. “He’s talking clichéd rubbish about Petrovic,” writes Hugh Molloy. “Trossard’s perfect first touch let it sit up slightly and allowed him to absolutely marmalise that from six yds out. Unless that hits the keeper, it’s a goal. Near post or not.”

19 min: Mudryk’s corner is flicked on by Badiashile. Disasi, bombing in at the far post, can’t connect. Had he got anything on that, the ball was flying into the net. Arsenal probably should have gone 2-0 up; now they could easily be 2-1 down. Strange old match, this one. There’ll surely be more goals.

18 min: Saka makes a mess of a simple backpass, shanking it out for a Chelsea corner on the left. Mudryk to take.

16 min: Chelsea’s best form of defence may be attack. Jackson probes down the left. He can’t find anyone with his cross. Mudryk has a go from the same flank. He delivers brilliantly, but Madueke can’t connect in the middle, six yards out. So close to an equaliser, despite everything that’s gone before!

15 min: The corner’s worked back to Odegaard, who crosses deep. Tomiyasu closes his eyes and heads over from close range.

14 min: Odegaard is orchestrating. He rolls a pass down the right for White, who wins a corner off Cucurella. Arsenal have already scored 13 goals from corners this season. Number 14 coming up? Not immediately, as Badiashile eyebrows Saka’s delivery out for another corner, this one to come in from the left.

13 min: That really should have been 2-0. Arsenal doing their time-honoured thing of attempting to walk the ball into the net. They’ve been excellent, though, forcing Chelsea into many a mistake.

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11 min: Badiashile passes out carelessly from the back. Partey intercepts easily, then Odegaard sends Havertz into the box down the inside-right channel. Havertz attempts to roll the ball across for Rice, instead of shooting himself. Caicedo intercepts. It would have been a simple tap-in for Rice otherwise. Chelsea have started in shambolic fashion.

9 min: Jackson stands on Tomiyasu’s ankle. A free kick, but no yellow. It could easily have been a red.

8 min: Fernandez tugs back Trossard on the left. Odegaard’s free kick is no good, straight into the arms of Petrovic. Then another phase of attack, and White makes good down the right but can’t find anyone with his cutback. Chelsea need to wake up quickly or they’ll be out of this in short order.

7 min: Bad news for Chelsea: Arsenal have won 22 of the 25 Premier League games this season in which they’ve scored first.

This is way too easy. Rice is allowed to barrel down the inside-left channel without anyone in blue questioning him. Rice reaches the edge of the box and feints to go inside, only to switch direction, releasing Trossard on the outside. Gilchrist dummied out of the game. Trossard lashes low and hard and beats Petrovic at the near post. A flying start for the hosts!

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3 min: Chelsea are making a slightly nervous start. Cucurella heads back to his keeper Petrovic and only just gets enough purchase on the ball. Trossard was hovering.

2 min: … so but for an inch or two, Arsenal could be one up already and Chelsea a man down.

25 sec: White curls a low pass down the inside-right channel to release Havertz on goal! He enters the box before being tugged back by Badiashile. Clearly a penalty … but the flag goes up, correctly, for offside. What an escape for Chelsea. What a start that could have been!

Chelsea get the ball rolling. Arsenal kicking towards their famous clock.

The teams are out! Arsenal wear their red and white, Chelsea blue and gold. Everyone looking real fine. Everyone at the Emirates sounding damn good as well, the atmosphere just as you’d expect ahead of a midweek derby between two huge rivals under the lights. We’ll be off soon enough!

Mauricio Pochettino talks to TNT. “We need to move on … we were disappointed after the semi … it is another opportunity today … it is not easy to replace a player [Cole Palmer] that is doing really well for us … the playmaker … but we need to know how we need to play … Alfie Gilchrist already has experience … he must take things in a natural way and try to play and perform the way he knows.”

Mikel Arteta speaks to TNT Sports. “We know we will have to be really good tonight to beat this team … we keep fighting … we have won ten out of 11 and are still not top, that is the level we are in … [Saliba and Gabriel] is a huge platform, they is an unbelievable chemistry there, an understanding, they complement each other in the right way … they’ve been playing for two years together and keep growing … we are blessed to have them … the team defensively has been collectively strong … we have already been here and we know what it takes … we are here to impact the game … we have the ability … when it comes to these moments you have to step up and make it happen.”

Arsenal make two changes to their starting XI after the 2-0 win at Wolves. Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu are in; Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior drop to the bench.

Chelsea make four changes in the wake of their 1-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City. Cole Palmer is ill and Malo Gusto is injured, while Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva drop to the bench. Mykhailo Mudryk, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and Alfie Gilchrist step up.

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Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Subs: Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Kiwior, Jorginho, Vieira, Zinchenko.

Chelsea: Petrovic, Disasi, Gilchrist, Badiashile, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Gallagher, Mudryk, Jackson.
Subs: Thiago Silva, Sterling, Bettinelli, Chalobah, Chukwuemeka, Casadei, Washington, Tauriainen, Dyer.

Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire).

Arsenal can go three points clear at the top of the Premier League tonight, and in doing so, tick off one of the harder matches of their title-race run-in. They’ll fancy their chances against a side that everyone has suddenly started referring to as Cole Palmer FC, but tonight won’t feature any Cole Palmer. Arsenal are the form horse, having won 11 of their last 13 Premier League matches, and have only lost one of their last nine encounters with Chelsea, though they lost their last home game, against Aston Villa. Meanwhile Chelsea are belatedly getting it together under Mauricio Pochettino: they’re unbeaten in eight league games, and were the better side in defeat to Manchester City in the cup semis last weekend. So all in all, for a match between first and ninth, between teams separated by 27 points, this is balanced rather nicely. Kick-off is at 8pm BST. Business-end drama ahoy! It’s on!