Chelsea win at Arsenal to stay top

Chelsea captain John Terry started as he decides whether to appeal against the four-match ban and £220,000 fine imposed by the Football Association after he was found guilty of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

And he played his part in a victory that was set up by Fernando Torres's clever early strike as he stole in behind Laurent Koscielny to steer in Juan Mata's free-kick, BBC informed.

Gervinho's powerful finish put Arsenal level before the interval but Roberto Di Matteo's side claimed the points early in the second half when Mata's long-range free-kick took the slightest touch off Koscielny and beat Vito Mannone before he could react.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger regarded this match of a measure of his side's title potential - and they had the opportunity to rescue a point only to find Chelsea keeper Petr Cech in defiant mood.

He saved brilliantly from Lukas Podolski's second-half header and produced a superb reflex save from Olivier Giroud's deflected shot, the France striker also missing a great stoppage-time opportunity when he hit the side-netting after evading Cech's challenge.

The Blues will see this as a landmark win as Di Matteo continues to shift the emphasis in personnel and tactical approach after May's Champions League triumph.

He demonstrated attacking intent by field Oscar, Mata and Eden Hazard from the start - a selection that restricted Frank Lampard to a place on the bench.

Inevitably, Terry's every touch was jeered by Arsenal fans as was that of former Gunners defender Ashley Cole - six years after his move to Chelsea.

It was the visitors, however, who settled better and took the lead after 20 minutes through a goal that was a combination of dreadful Arsenal defending and the opportunism of Torres, who easily escaped the flimsy attentions of Koscielny at the far post to hook his finish past Mannone.

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