Arsenal continued to keep their hold on top spot in the Premier League in the most dominant of circumstances as they sent Chelsea crashing back to reality with a 5-0 victory.

In truth, the scoreline could have been heavier for an Arsenal team who didn't even seem to get out of second gear.

Mauricio Pochettino wasn't around when Chelsea were the dominant force in this rivalry, with the latter years of the Arsene Wenger era being marked by some severe beatings at the hands of a more experienced, ruthless Chelsea.

Thus, the joy was palpable around the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening as the Gunners were able to put Chelsea to the sword in a similar manner.

Whilst clearly the two teams aren't feasting at the same table any longer, Arsenal would have arrived into the match with some degree of trepidation given Chelsea's penchant for chaos-inspired victories this season, but without Cole Palmer there was simply nothing of note from the visitors.

Mikel Arteta will not give up on the Premier League title

There is a depressing air of unavoidability about the destination of the Premier League title yet again this term. Manchester City are the dominant force in the country and they have the squad to win every single remaining fixture.

It would be a seismic shock if they didn't, although it would merely be another triumph tinged with the scent of deceit amidst the 115 financial charges the club has still yet to prove any credible evidence to counter.

With that said, Mikel Arteta is refusing to give up on the Premier League title and his team keep winning, following up Saturday's disciplined 2-0 win away to Wolves with the aforementioned 5-0 humbling of Chelsea on Tuesday.

The opening goal took just three minutes to arrive. Declan Rice pushed forward on the counter-attack and set Leandro Trossard free in the penalty area, and the Belgian fired a powerful shot which hit the undercarriage of the Chelsea stopper and rebounded into the net.

A youthful Chelsea team was able to stem the flow of attacks for the remainder of the first-half, however their resolve was smashed in the 52nd minute.

Ben White was fortuitously placed inside the penalty area when a shot from Martin Odegaard was deflected into his path, yet the defender nonchalantly curled the ball into the back of the net.

Kai Havertz, formerly of Chelsea, was then able to put his old club to the sword with two goals in under 10 minutes.

The first came when Odegaard played a curling pass from the half-way line into the German's path and he was able to use his body to keep Marc Cucurella at bay and place the ball into the roof of the net.

His second was even better as Bukayo Sako cut the ball back towards Havertz inside the box and he cleverly used a defender as a shielding wall and wrongfooted the goalkeeper with a low shot to the near post, which went into the net via the woodwork.

Ben White was then beginning to enjoy himself as he added a fifth. What appeared to be a mishit cross caught the goalkeeper out and nestled into the far corner, completing Chelsea's humiliation.