Stewart Robson explains why Aaron Ramsey dominated Cesc Fabregas in the London derby

Former Arsenal midfielder Stewart Robson has hailed the performance of Aaron Ramsey, who dominated the midfield during the Gunners' goalless draw against Chelsea in the London derby on Sunday.


Arsene Wenger's side had lost their previous five outings at Stamford Bridge, and they managed to avoid a similar result after they put in a solid performance from the back.

Speaking on ESPN FC, Robson admitted that Cesc Fabregas initially got the pick of things as he provided a stellar pass to Pedro, who failed to get the ball past Petr Cech. However, as the game went on, Ramsey started closing down on the 30-year-old, and this restricted his movement in the forward direction.

Robson said: "As soon as you saw Fabregas’ name on the team-sheet, you knew that Conte was picking him so he can pick out those passes, to create opportunities for those front players, to dictate the pattern of the play. For the first 15-20 minutes he did that, he hit one great ball in behind Arsenal for Pedro to run onto and he should have scored. He got tight to him, he stopped him playing forward passes. When he won possession, he got at the weakness of Fabregas.He started to run behind him, he had one great run where he hit the post."

The former Gunners also picked Ramsey's midfield partner Granit Xhaka for special praise after he put in a more disciplined performance than in previous outings where he was found guilty of making reckless passes. While Chelsea did not have the best of days in front of goal, the Gunners provided a strong performance at the home of the English champions, and the result would be a morale booster for the matches to come.

Arsenal entertain Doncaster Rovers in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday night while Chelsea play hosts to Nottingham Forest at the same time.