An 84th-minute penalty from Guro Reiten, which was won by fellow substitute Lauren James, proved the difference, as the Blues defeated the Gunners in front of a record home crowd for a Chelsea WSL match.

In front of 34,302 supporters, it proved to be an entertaining contest, with both sides having chances to break the deadlock throughout. However, it was Bompastor's side which prevailed and it came from an all-too-familiar source this season, our top scorer Reiten.

The win means the Blues sit top of the league table with 34 points and are unbeaten in each of our 20 matches across all competitions this season.

It is also the first time Chelsea have done the league double over rivals Arsenal since 2019/20, having beaten the Gunners 2-1 in the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium back in October.

'I'm really pleased with the result,' our head coach said in her post-match press conference. 'But, as you could see in the game today, it is really fine margins between Arsenal and us.

'The performance was on the edge - it could go one way or the other way. It went our way which I'm really pleased with.

'But, if you analyse the performance, it was a tough game. We didn't control everything in the game, but we were able to score. The goal brought us a great result.'

Following the win against Arsenal, Bompastor hailed the impact of the substitutes, with James winning the penalty and Reiten netting the match-winner, only seven minutes after coming off the bench.

'It's never easy for them to not start the game, especially in a London derby,' Bompastor said. 'They have a lot of quality, but this is where sometimes as a manager you have headaches, but my job is to make decisions.

'They have the right mentality, even if they are frustrated not to start the game. Coming in, they had a big impact, which is a really good thing for me and my squad.'

Bompastor continued: 'LJ is a player who is really creative with the ball. I don't need to teach her anything - she already knows.

'When you have these tight games, she can make the difference. Small details are really important. Maybe, having LJ available today can make the difference.'

It was a perfect afternoon for the Blues thanks to the London derby result and the unveiling of new signing Naomi Girma, who was introduced to supporters on the pitch in SW6 ahead of kick-off.

'It was a perfect afternoon in terms of the announcement and in terms of the result,' Bompastor said. 'I'm really pleased to have Naomi with us. She's a really talented player and will bring a lot of quality to the squad, even if the squad is already talented.

'Having Naomi join the team will bring even more options for me - being able to play a back three or a back four. It's good. It's been great news today for all the fans.'

Bompastor confirmed Girma won't be available for our next WSL match against Aston Villa next weekend, but highlighted what she will bring to the squad when she steps out in Chelsea blue.

'Naomi is a defender who is really comfortable with the ball in possession,' our head coach said. 'She will bring a lot of confidence to the team.

'She's able to have a big impact because she's comfortable passing the ball, kicking short and kicking long. She's also able to drive the ball and create some advantage.

'Out of possession, she's a very smart player. She has a lot of speed, so able to play really high on the pitch and recover the ball with the space behind her. It will bring a big impact to our team.'