It was a game of two halves in north London as Chelsea initially threatened to run away with the match before having to hold on to a narrow lead under heavy pressure as proceedings drew to a close.

A sublime overhead kick inside the opening four minutes saw Mayra Ramirez open her account in the WSL this season as she put Chelsea ahead early on. Our impressive fast start continued as it was soon 2-0 thanks to winger Sandy Baltimore, who netted her first competitive goal for the Blues with a well-taken headed effort in the 16th minute.

But it was 2-1 at the interval at the Emirates Stadium after Caitlin Foord halved the deficit with a goal for Arsenal just before the break. That proved to be just a consolation, though, as a goalless second half ensured we returned to west London with a victory and all three points.

Blues race into the lead

There were two changes made to the side which beat Real Madrid in the UEFA Women's Champions League in midweek, with Hannah Hampton featuring in goal, while Kadeisha Buchanan marked her 50th appearance for Chelsea by starting in defence.

It was the hosts who had the first opportunity of the derby contest when Foord sent a cross into the box that was met by the head of Beth Mead, but her effort dropped onto the roof of the net. However, the Blues responded and went right up the other end and created a chance of our own. Sjoeke Nusken found Ramirez, who saw a deflected shot go behind for a corner.

And from the resulting set-piece, our No7 picked up where she left off after scoring her first goal of the season in midweek. Millie Bright met the corner, flicking it to Ramirez, and our forward showcased a moment of sheer brilliance to hook the ball overhead and beyond Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar.

Before long it was 2-0 to Chelsea when an excellent run by Lauren James ended with a pinpoint delivery to the back post, where an unmarked Baltimore was in acres of space to guide her header into the back of the net from a few yards out.

Arsenal looked to respond and Foord unleashed a strike from inside the box which had to be tipped over the bar by Blues goalkeeper Hampton, and the danger from the resulting corner was cleared.

We looked to add to our two-goal advantage when Guro Reiten outmuscled Leah Williamson to find James in a dangerous area inside the box, but our No10's effort on the volley was too high and went over the bar.

There were two opportunities for Arsenal to half the deficit, both coming from forward Alessia Russo. She saw her strike at the back post deflected into the side netting, before she looked to stab the ball goalwards from the subsequent corner and that effort was blocked by captain Millie Bright.

The hosts did get a goal back before the first half was up though, as Foord beat Lucy Bronze at the left-hand side of the byline and buried the ball into the bottom corner beyond Hampton from a tight angle.

One goal in it at the break

Much like how the first half began, the Blues looked to be on the front foot from the get go in the second as Ramirez worked her way past several Arsenal players before finding Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, whose shot was gathered comfortably by Van Domselaar.

As Arsenal pushed for an equaliser, skipper Bright made a vital block from inside the box to deny Russo, who had got the better of Buchanan to fire a strike towards the Chelsea goal just before the hour mark.

Two attacking changes were made by Bompastor soon after as Catarina Macario and Aggie Beever-Jones came on in place of James and goalscorer Ramirez.

And mere minutes after entering the pitch, Beever-Jones went so close to restoring our two-goal advantage. The forward found herself in space to connect with a Reiten cross, but her effort was pushed wide of the post by the Arsenal goalkeeper.

After an impressive shift in midfield, Wieke Kaptein's afternoon came to an end with 17 minutes left to go as she was replaced by Erin Cuthbert, who recovered from a knock to feature in the derby.

Arsenal thought they had found the equaliser with five minutes left to go, but substitute Stina Blackstenius was denied by the woodwork after flicking the ball onto the bar, from a free-kick whipped in by Katie McCabe.

With the Blues looking to protect our lead, two defensive changes were made with minutes remaining, Ashley Lawrence and Nathalie Bjorn replacing Rytting Kaneyrd and Reiten.

The hosts continued to apply pressure, with a volleyed strike from Russo in added time denied by the palms of Hampton, before substitute Bjorn cleared the immediate danger on the rebound.

There was still time for more chances as Beever-Jones had another opportunity to net our third, but again she saw her strike from inside the box saved by Van Domselaar at her near post.

What it means

The Blues have won three games from three in the WSL this season, with 10 goals scored and only one conceded.

A victory at the Emirates means Bompastor becomes only the fourth manager to win her first three league matches in charge, while it is the first time the Blues have defeated Arsenal in back-to-back matches since January 2020.

What next

The Blues are next in action on Thursday in the Women's Champions League, travelling to the Netherlands to face Twente for our second Group B fixture. Our games are starting to come thick and fast with Chelsea's next WSL encounter taking place on Sunday 20 October, when we host Tottenham Hotspur at Kingsmeadow.

The teams

Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Williamson, McCabe, Little (Cooney-Cross 76), Walti, Mead (Manuum 66), Caldentey (Blackstenius 76), Foord, Russo
Unused subs: Zinsberger, Codina, Catley, Kafaji, Kuhl, Reid
Scorer: Foord 43
Booked: Williamson 33, Foord 52

Chelsea (3-4-3): Hampton; Bronze, Buchanan, Bright; Baltimore, Nusken, Kaptein (Cuthbert 73), Rytting Kaneryd (Lawrence 89); James (Macario 63), Ramirez (Beever-Jones 63), Reiten (Bjorn 89)
Unused subs: Musovic, Perisset, Jean-Francois, Hamano
Scorers: Ramirez 4, Baltimore 16
Booked: Baltimore 88, Bjorn 90+1, Cuthbert 90+1