Chelsea stopped the rot by beating nine-man Arsenal 2-0 in a fiery encounter at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.

Defender Gabriel picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes following a melee with Diego Costa on the stroke of half time to give the Gunners an uphill task.

Kurt Zouma then opened the scoring early in the second half, before Santi Cazorla picked up a second yellow in the final 10 minutes, just when the visitors began to get on top.

The Blues killed off Arsenal's slim hopes of a potential point when Eden Hazard's volley was deflected home by second-half substitute Calum Chambers in the dying minutes.

Here, Sports Mole analyses how the players fared during a heated encounter in West London.

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Goal

Asmir Begovic: Had precious little to do for the entire 90 minutes, but managed to keep out Walcott in the dying embers. He will have been delighted to enjoy such a quiet afternoon. (6/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: Was expected to come under constant pressure from Alexis, and did in the opening stages, but he grew into the game well and had very little to contend with after Arsenal went down to 10 men. (6/10)

Gary Cahill: Relatively solid throughout, shackling Walcott well in the opening quarter, but a moment of uncertainty in the second half almost allowed Sanchez to level up, only for the Chilean to fluff his lines. (6/10)

Kurt Zouma: Vindicated Mourinho's faith in him, with the Portuguese dropping captain John Terry for the Frenchman, and opened the scoring to complement an excellent overall performance. (8/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Had barely anything to do at left-back by way of defending against a disappointing Aaron Ramsey, but did make one crucial interception in the first half to deny the Welshman. (6/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: Solid as usual, the Serbian midfielder allowed little traffic to get by him in either half and legally man-handled a host of Arsenal players throughout. (7/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Bagged an assist for the opening goal, but the diminutive Spaniard still looks a bit away from his best form, and seemed more interested in scoring against his former club today than playing in his teammates. (5/10)

Oscar: Was considered a doubt before the game and the Brazilian looked a little rusty. Hauled off midway through the second half after picking up a yellow card. (5/10)

Attack

Eden Hazard: Like Fabregas, the Belgian still has plenty of improving to do this season. He will try to claim the second goal, but it will only paper over a relatively ordinary performance by his own high standards should he get awarded it. (6/10)

Pedro: Drifted in and out of the game on Chelsea's left wing, and should have perhaps passed to his teammates rather than going for goal from long range on a number of occasions. (5/10)

Diego Costa: The fiery striker is bound to court a whole host of criticism and was arguably lucky to stay on the field, but Costa was a nuisance for the right reasons too as he constantly troubled Arsenal's rearguard with his strength. (7/10)

Substitutes

Ramires: Replaced Oscar and helped Chelsea keep possession with clever play. (6/10)

Loic Remy: Only had 10 minutes in which to make an impact, but struggled to bring the same presence as Costa, whom he replaced. (5/10)

Goal

Petr Cech: Blameless for the second goal, but the former Chelsea man could have perhaps ventured off his line to punch the ball that Zouma headed home. It was not the type of homecoming that he would have wanted. (5/10)

Defence

Hector Bellerin: Kept last season's Player of the Year Hazard on a relatively short leash, but also made a number of soft errors which, on another day, he would have been punished for. (5/10)

Gabriel: Sent off on the stroke of half time for becoming embroiled in a melee with the pugnacious Costa, but should known better and risen above his compatriot's jibes. (3/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Excellent in the first half as he expertly dealt with Costa, which the Chelsea striker took exception to and should have been sent off for a coming together. Was less impressive after the break, however. (6/10)

Nacho Monreal: Superb in the first half as he produced a number of crucial interventions, but allowed Zouma to run off him en route to nodding the opening goal past Cech. (6/10)

Midfield

Francis Coquelin: Only lasted 45 minutes following a first-half injury, but looked solid in the middle of the park and Wenger would not have sacrificed him had he got a choice. (6/10)

Santi Cazorla: Ineffective in Arsenal's midfield again and, having already been booked, stupidly lunged in on Fabregas to pick up a second yellow in a time when the Gunners were well on top. (3/10)

Aaron Ramsey: Had barely any influence, but could have done better with a first-half chance that he decided against hitting first time, and Azpilicueta made him regret his indecision. (4/10)

Attack

Mesut Ozil: Slithered around in the first half without doing much, aside from a superb ball to set up Ramsey's chance, but was nowhere to be seen after the break and Wenger subbed him with 15 minutes to go. (4/10)

Alexis Sanchez: Looked lively against the shaky Ivanovic early on, but he failed to sustain that pressure. However, he could, and should, have equalised when a second-half chance went begging. (4/10)

Theo Walcott: Enjoyed some minor success early on as his pace caused Cahill and Zouma some problems, but these became less and less frequent and he was powerless to influence the game after the visitors went a man down. (5/10)

Substitutes

Calum Chambers: Replaced Coquelin at the break and did precious little wrong, despite his horror show against Liverpool last month. Majorly unlucky with the second goal, too. (7/10)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Scored the winner when both sides met at Wembley for the Community Shield, but did not have a sniff this afternoon. (4/10)

Giroud: Was given nothing to feed off, and likely failed to get another touch when Cazorla went off on 80 minutes. (4/10)

Written by
Shane Callaghan