Don't call it a comeback just yet, but Chelsea FC are beginning to resemble their old consistent selves again. The Blues haven't lost a match since Guus Hiddink took over as manager. Indeed, their last defeat came on December 14th against Leicester City-the last game for which Jose Mourinho was in charge. Granted, it hasn't been all wins for Chelsea since. The soccer club drew matches against Watford, Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion, and Everton. But sprinkled in among those stalemates have been a few promising victories, and the most promising of those yet took place over the weekend against Arsenal.

The last time the Blues took on their London rivals, it was the sixth week of the 2015/16 Premier League season and things were beginning to look dire for Chelsea. The football club had only won one of their first five matches, leaving the reigning Premier League champions in a not-so-stellar 16th place. Despite what was clearly a low-momentum time for Chelsea, though, Jose Mourinho's squad managed to pull off an at-home win against Arsenal.

On Sunday, Guus Hiddink led the Blues to their second win against the Gunners this season.

A Disadvantage for Arsenal

During the first half of Chelsea's dismal 2015/16 season, Jose Mourinho often blamed his club's woes on simple bad luck. On Sunday, though, Arsenal were the ones experiencing the bad luck. Just 18 minutes into the game, defender Per Mertesacker was shown a red card for tripping Diego Costa. Just like that, the home squad were down one man.

Chelsea quickly used that advantage to their favor. Arsene Wenger pulled center forward Olivier Giroud from the action and put Gabriel Paulista in to fill Mertesacker's defensive spot. The shakeup didn't do much to protect Arsenal's goal, though, and at the 23-minute mark, Costa slipped past the defenders and beat former teammate Petr Cech to give Chelsea the first goal of the match.

That point would ultimately be the only goal of the match. Though they had led the way in possession during the beginning stage of the game, Arsenal slipped into a more defensive approach after Giroud was substituted. On one hand, the Blues never scored a second goal, meaning that Arsene Wenger's defensive tactic almost worked.

Without Giroud, though, the Gunners didn't have the offensive heft necessary to break through Chelsea's defense. Particularly disappointing was a pre-halftime attack where Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini very nearly executed a goal. Flamini missed dramatically from 10 yards out, and it's tough not to think about what might have happened if Giroud had been there instead.

Chelsea's Return to Form 

Since Mourinho left, Chelsea have won Premier League games against Sunderland and Crystal Palace. This victory against Arsenal, though, is huge-the kind of moment that could really give Chelsea the confidence and momentum they need to climb back into European qualifying range.

Right now, the Blues are sitting at 13th with 28 points. They are nine points away from Manchester United and a top-five slot. With Diego Costa back in good form-he's averaged one goal per game for the last six matches-and with Thibaut Courtois back in the goal after a nearly three-month-long injury recovery, Chelsea might just salvage this season.

By losing to their crosstown rivals, meanwhile, Arsenal started to look a bit less likely as potential 2015/16 Premier League champions. The Gunners have now gone winless in their last nine matches against Chelsea.

The loss also cost Arsenal the top spot on the Premier League standings table-at least temporarily. Thanks to a 3-0 win against Stoke City, Leicester City are now leading the way with a total point tally of 47. Manchester City (settling for a 2-2 draw this weekend against West Ham) are in second, with 44 points and a goal difference of +22. Arsenal round out the top three, with 44 points and a GD of +15.

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