In front of 34,302 fans - a new WSL record for a Chelsea home match - an entertaining London derby clash played out with it looking like it may finish goalless. However, a late penalty was awarded when Lauren James was brought down in the box and Reiten made no mistake, as she dispatched the ball from 12 yards out into the bottom corner.

The win means Chelsea have done the league double over rivals Arsenal for the first time since the 2019/20 season, having won the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium 2-1 back in October.

Sonia Bompastor's side now sit top of the table with 34 points, nine clear of second-placed Manchester City. That could be reduced to seven this evening if Manchester United, who are fourth with 24 points, beat Brighton & Hove Albion in the late kick-off.

Our unbeaten run now stands at 20 games across all competitions, with the Blues winning all but one of our WSL matches this season, only dropping points in a draw with Leicester City in December.

Welcome to the Blues!

There was a special introduction ahead of kick-off with new signing Naomi Girma introduced to roaring applause from the Stamford Bridge crowd. The defender has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Blues, making her the world's most expensive female player.

And it was the home fans who had the first chance to shout about with Catarina Macario calling Daphne van Domselaar into action inside the opening minute, when she unleashed a strike towards the bottom corner that was cut out by the diving Arsenal goalkeeper.

We went close again with only five minutes on the clock. A delightful long ball forward found Johanna Rytting Kaneryd down the right flank, but her ball into the box was cleared by Arsenal's Leah Williamson. The rebound fell to the feet of Erin Cuthbert, who received a presentation for reaching 250 appearances before kick-off, and she saw her strike flash just wide of van Domselaar's far post.

Arsenal's first real chance after 20 minutes came from a Chelsea mistake, with Cuthbert placing a loose pass into the feet of opposing forward Alessia Russo. However, she could not capitalise on the error, fizzing her strike wide of the target.

The visitors fashioned another opportunity soon after, with Beth Mead receiving the ball at the right side of the box, and seeing her strike deflected into the side-netting by Niamh Charles.

The momentum was with Arsenal at this point and Emily Fox was next to go close. She saw her driving shot from inside the box parried out by Hannah Hampton, with the Blues goalkeeper then having to be alert as the clearance from Nathalie Bjorn ricocheted off Charles, and she had to collect it in the air as it came back towards goal.

At the other end, a well-worked move saw the Blues get the ball into a dangerous area. Charles sent a cross into the box, finding Macario, but she was denied from close range by the palms of goalkeeper van Domselaar.

With the first half coming to a close, the Gunners almost broke the deadlock. A series of passes saw the visitors work the ball into the box, with captain Kim Little then picking out Mead, who hit a lofted shot wide of the post.

Looking for an opener

With it all to play for in the second half, Bompastor made one change at half-time, with Maika Hamano replacing Mayra Ramirez. The change saw Macario drift further forward to lead the line.

Hamano looked to make an impact inside the opening five minutes of the second half, showing great vision to find Rytting Kaneryd with a through ball. As we have seen several times this season, the Swedish winger chopped the ball onto her left foot before hitting a driving strike, that was saved by the visiting goalkeeper.

There was a shortage of clear-cut opportunities for both sides, with Arsenal registering the next chance with over an hour played, as Fox was denied by Hampton.

The Gunners soon applied pressure on the Blues defence, when Russo cut the ball back from the byline, with Mariona Caldentey seeing her shot from a few yards out blocked, before substitute Frida Manuum fired the rebound over the bar.

Late goal seals it

In the 81st minute, substitute James won the home side a penalty, after she was brought to ground by Arsenal skipper Little, when she looked to fire the ball across the face of goal.

Reiten scored her seventh WSL goal of the season as she stepped up for the spot-kick and fired it into the bottom corner, sending goalkeeper van Domselaar the wrong way.

Before the game was up, Aggie Beever-Jones saw a strike crash into the side-netting, before Hamano was denied by van Domselaar at her near post. Still, the Blues prevailed with a hard-earned win and sent a record-breaking crowd home happy!

What it means

We now sit at the top of the table with 34 points after 12 games played. Bompastor's side are unbeaten this season across all competitions, with that run now sitting at 20 matches.

What next

The Blues are next in WSL action on Sunday 2 February, with a visit to Villa Park to face Aston Villa.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Hampton; Bronze, Bjorn, Bright (c), Charles; Nusken, Cuthbert; Rytting Kaneryd (Beever-Jones 77), Macario (Reiten 77), Baltimore (James 57); Ramirez (Hamano 46)
Unused subs: Musovic, Lawrence, Mpome, Kaptein, Jean-Francois
Scorer: Reiten 84
Booked: Cuthbert 90

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, Foord (Manuum 44); Little (Kafaji 88), Cooney-Cross (Wubben-Moy 88); McCabe, Mead (Blackstenius 66), Caldentey; Russo
Unused subs: Zinsberger, Codina, Walti, Wienroither, Reid
Booked: McCabe 81, 82
Sent off: McCabe 82

Crowd: 34,302