As expected in a London derby, the game began at a rapid pace and Chelsea quickly found our rhythm on home turf. However, it was our opponents who struck first, with Nathan Butler-Oyedeji firing in a powerful finish to open the scoring.

The Blues were unfazed and continued pressing forward. Our efforts were rewarded when Donnell McNeilly found the back of the net via a composed finish. The goal came from great team play, as Tyrique George squared the ball to McNeilly, who confidently slotted it into the bottom corner, bringing us level by half-time.

We returned to the pitch with the same aggression and passion, which paid off when Brodi Hughes scored our second goal with an outstanding curled finish.

In the final stages, the Blues displayed character and unity to hold onto our lead. With strong defending and key stoppage-time saves, victory was secured.

On this Friday evening at Kingsmeadow - London was blue.

Intense start

Chelsea launched into this London derby with confidence, as Kingsmeadow buzzed with vociferous support.

The Blues set the tempo early. Harvey Vale burst upfield and found George, who used his quick footwork to cut inside the area and unleash a shot, only to see it lift over the crossbar.

We continued pressing high, growing even more threatening, especially when the ball found its way to young striker Shumaira Mheuka. He hammered a powerful strike that seemed destined for the back of the net, but narrowly drifted wide of the near post.

Behind but not out

Despite Chelsea’s early pressure, it was the visitors who struck first. Ismail Oulad M'Hand launched a looping long ball to Butler-Oyedeji on the wing and as he charged into the area, his fierce shot flew past Chelsea’s keeper, giving the away side an early lead.

Arsenal kept momentum and nearly doubled their advantage soon after. Michal Rosiak dispossessed Reiss Denny and threaded the ball smoothly to Salah-Eddine Oulad M'hand, brother of Ismail, who found himself one-on-one with Max Merrick. To Chelsea's relief, his shot went wide.

But we responded strongly, with Vale whipping in a free-kick to Blues defender Kaiden Wilson, who connected well but sent his effort just wide.

As the game progressed, it was clear this league clash would be an intense, end-to-end battle. Arsenal applied their own pressure, pushing Chelsea back, but Wilson and Hughes stepped up with crucial blocks to protect our keeper.

Another golden chance fell for the Blues as Vale curled a cross into the penalty box from a set-piece. Ishe Samuels-Smith connected and McNeilly followed up with a powerful header, but Nygaard made a sharp close-range save to deny Chelsea the equaliser.

However, moments later Arsenal nearly found the back of the net when Oulad M'hand fired a long-range shot that looked like it was heading into the top corner, but Merrick made a stunning full-stretch save to push it away.

McNeilly Magic

As we were approaching the break, Chelsea turned up the intensity, driving Arsenal back into their own box with unrelenting pressure in search of the equaliser.

Vale spotted Mheuka in space and whipped in a cross, which Mheuka struck low and hard. But an Arsenal defender managed to deflect the shot just wide, frustrating another promising opportunity for the Blues.

Finally, Chelsea’s persistence was rewarded. In a fluid build-up, Mheuka backheeled the ball to George who did well to use his speed to beat his man and unselfishly square the ball to McNeilly. Our No.9 did what he does best, calmly finding the bottom corner to bring Chelsea level.

We returned to the pitch with the same energy that had fuelled our intense start. George quickly moved the ball into the area, finding Blues midfielder Kiano Dyer, who executed a clever backheel pass to set up our captain, Vale. He ran onto the ball and fired a shot, but it flew just wide, hitting the side netting.

Moments later, George once again spotted Mheuka in open space in the penalty area. Mheuka struck a powerful left-footed shot from close range, but Rosiak somehow threw himself in the way, blocking what looked like a certain goal.

Chelsea came agonisingly close to taking control when Samuels-Smith made a brilliant slide tackle to steal the ball from one of Arsenal’s attackers. George drove into the box, skillfully cut inside his defender and unleashed a shot that fizzed inches wide of the target.

Show-stopping goal

With confidence building, it seemed only a matter of time before we took the lead and what a fine finish it was.

Richard Olise threaded a precise pass to Hughes out on the wing and from a surprising distance, Hughes took his chance with a beautifully looping, curling effort. The ball glided over the Arsenal keeper’s outstretched fingertips and found the back of the net, putting the Blues in front.

Now fully in control, Chelsea continued to press and nearly secured a third goal. Head coach Filipe Coelho brought on fresh legs and substitute Ato Ampah wasted no time in making an impact. Charging toward goal, Ampah unleashed a powerful strike, but it smashed against the woodwork.

We battled hard for the remainder of our home fixture, defending with resilience as Merrick kept his composure in goal while Arsenal pressed to find a late equaliser. The Blues held firm, fully determined to secure all three points in front of our supporters at Kingsmeadow - and we did just that.

What's next

Chelsea Under-21s will next be in action on Tuesday with a 7pm kick-off against Cambridge at the Abbey Stadium as we continue our group-stage fixtures in the EFL Trophy campaign.

The teams

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Max Merrick; Brodi Hughes, Kaiden Wilson, Ishe Samuels-Smith; Richard Olise (Ato Ampah 77), Reiss Denny (Samuel Rak-Sakyi 82), Kiano Dyer, Harvey Vale (c); Donnell McNeilly (Jimmy-Jay Morgan 76), Tyrique George; Shumaira Mheuka
Unused subs: Harrison Murray-Campbell, Deivid Washington
Scorers: McNeilly 43, Hughes 73
Booked: Mheuka 81, Merrick 84, George 90+2, Morgan 90+7, Wilson 90+10

Arsenal(4-2-3-1): Lucas Nygaard, Josh Robinson, Josh Nichols, Zane Monlouis (c) (Elian Quesada Thorn 66), Ayden Heaven, Michal Rosiak, Ismeal Kabia (Harrison Dudziak 87), Ismail Oulad M'Hand, Khayon Edwards, Salah Ouland M'Hand (Jimi Gower 59), Khayon Edwards (Andre Harriman-Annous 64), Salah Oulad M'Hand, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji
Unused subs: Brian Okonkwo
Scorer: Butler-Oyedeji 6
Booked: Robinson 13, S.Oulad M'hand 18, Butler-Oyedeji