Diego Costa again proved the decisive figure as Chelsea won 2-0 against an Arsenal side who finished the incident-fuelled contest with nine men at Stamford Bridge.
The Spain striker was at the centre of an exchange which resulted in a red card for Arsenal defender Gabriel late in the first half with Santi Cazorla also seeing red in the second period as the visitors self-destructed.
Kurt Zouma headed Jose Mourinho's men into the lead after 53 minutes and a late, deflected effort from Eden Hazard secured a much-needed win for Chelsea in stoppage time.
On the stroke of half-time Gabriel was drawn into an off-the-ball row with Costa, who had first tangled with Laurent Koscielny, and received an initial booking from referee Mike Dean before his sending-off for seemingly treading on the Spain international before play had resumed.
It took the champions just eight second-half minutes to make the most of their man advantage.
The unmarked Zouma nodded in a Cesc Fabregas free-kick past Petr Cech on the goalkeeper's Stamford Bridge return.
Chelsea found their feet after the opener and rarely looked like relinquishing their lead, with Cazorla's second yellow card for a poor tackle on Fabregas effectively ending the Gunners’ hopes of ending their four-year quest for a win at the home of the west Londoners.
Hazard's goal merely rubbed salt into Arsenal's wound and summed up the visitors' luckless afternoon.
John Terry was kept on the bench following the midweek UEFA Champions League success against Maccabi Tel-Aviv and stand-in captain Branislav Ivanovic was tested early down the left by Alexis Sanchez before Theo Walcott rounded Asmir Begovic only to overrun the ball.
Former Arsenal man Fabregas had Chelsea's first effort on target with the opening 15 minutes largely belonging to the visitors - unchanged from their 2-0 win over Stoke City.
Mourinho's men eventually grew into the match as Costa tested Cech with a strike prior to the half-hour mark.
A slack touch from Pedro denied him a one-on-one with Cech before Hazard saw a penalty shout turned down after tangling with Gabriel.
Following the Brazilian defender's dismissal Wenger introduced Calum Chambers to shore up his defence but Chelsea remained on top as they sought to press home their numerical advantage, Pedro volleying over before Zouma nodded in the opener.
Ghosting in at the far post, he gained the crucial touch on Fabregas' delivery to register his first Barclays Premier League goal for the club.
The hosts' pressure continued as Hazard's fierce effort was beaten away by Cech, with the former Chelsea goalkeeper then watching on as the Belgian dragged a shot wide after the hour mark.
Costa remained in the thick of things - seeing a penalty appeal turned away following a challenge from Nacho Monreal - with Cazorla shown a second yellow for a rash challenge on his countryman Fabregas 11 minutes from time before Hazard sealed the points.
His strike took a heavy deflection off substitute Chambers and diverted past a helpless Cech to cap another frustrating visit to west London for Wenger.
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