Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry

London derby

Arsenal and Chelsea players prepare for a corner kick during a Premier League match on 10 May 2009.
Other names	Arsenal F.C. vs. Chelsea F.C.
Locale	London
Teams	Arsenal, Chelsea
First meeting	Chelsea 2–1 Arsenal 1907–08 Football League (9 November 1907)
Latest meeting	Arsenal 3–0 Chelsea Premier League (24 September 2016)
Statistics
Meetings total	188
Most wins	Arsenal (73)
Top scorer	Didier Drogba (13)
All-time series	Arsenal: 73 Drawn: 54 Chelsea: 61
Largest victory	Chelsea 6–0 Arsenal (22 March 2014)

The rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea is a football local derby in London between the two clubs. Arsenal play their home games at the Emirates Stadium, while Chelsea play their home games at Stamford Bridge.

While they never considered each other primary rivals, as the two top clubs in London there has always been strong needle between the fans dating back to the 1930s. Matches between them would often attract large attendances.

The Arsenal and Chelsea rivalry has been more recently considered an important derby, after Chelsea's rise to the top class of the Premier League in the 2000s, when the two started to compete constantly for the English Championship.

According to an internet survey of fans in December 2003, the Arsenal fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Chelsea as their third rival, after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Those Chelsea fans who responded to the survey said that they considered Arsenal as their main rival, however Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers are their more traditional rivals.

In a 2009 survey by the Football Fans Census, Arsenal fans named Chelsea as the club they disliked the most, ahead of their traditional rivals Tottenham. Chelsea fans named Arsenal as their second most-disliked club, behind Liverpool. A 2014 Bleacher Report article ranks Arsenal as Chelsea's second-most hated rival.

The first league meeting between the two teams took place on 9 November 1907 at Stamford Bridge. This was the first Football League First Division game played between two London clubs and drew a then First Division record crowd of 65,000. A match between the clubs at Stamford Bridge in 1935 drew a crowd of 82,905, the second highest recorded attendance for an English league match. They met in two close contested FA Cup semi-finals in the 1950s, with Arsenal winning both times. In the 1960s Chelsea dominated the tie with 14 wins, two draws and just two losses during the decade.