Chelsea have pulled five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a 2-1 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
The first meaningful chance went the Gunners' way, as Theo Walcott engineered an opening for Olivier Giroud to shoot at goal, but the Frenchman dragged his effort wide of the target.
Rafael Benitez's men then went straight up the other end to open the scoring, with Juan Mata firing home from a raking cross-field ball.
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Arsene Wenger was furious that the referee did not blow up for Ramires's foul on Francis Coquelin in the build-up to the Spaniard's opener.
The visitors responded well after going behind, but fell further behind when Chelsea were awarded a penalty after Wojciech Szczesny brought down Ramires inside the box.
Frank Lampard stepped up to smash home the spot kick and double the Blues' advantage.
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Chelsea began to dominate the game, with Mata pulling all the strings in midfield.
Fernando Torres should have put the match beyond doubt just before half time, but snatched at his shot after latching onto Gary Cahill's knockdown.
The game completely changed in the second 45 as Arsenal took the impetus.
Per Mertesacker, Walcott and Giroud all had chances to reduce the deficit before the England winger eventually broke through, as he slotted the ball past Petr Cech after Santi Cazorla had threaded the ball through to him.
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The North London club swathed forward in search of an equaliser, and looked like they might nab one.
However, they could easily have seen Chelsea's two-goal lead restored and had captain Thomas Vermaelen to thank for keeping them in the game.
Substitute Demba Ba looked certain to score after taking the ball around the onrushing Szczesny, but the Belgian centre-back stood tall to block the Senegalese striker's effort on the line.
Arsenal did not give up and continued to press for a leveller, but could not quite manage one despite their second-half pressure.
Michael Penkman
