Chelsea resisted a strong comeback of Arsenal and held on for the 2-1 London Derby victory to clinch the first home win in 2013 on a snowy Sunday.

Juan Mata's deft control of a long ball and powerful shot paved the way for Blues just after six minutes, cheering the 41,784-attendance Stamford Bridge.

Ten minutes later, the Gunners suffered another blow when referee believed keeper Wojciech Szczesny brought Ramires down in the area and pointed to the penalty spot. Frank Lampard, who will end his contract this summer, converted it with ease to make the hosts go to the dressing room with a two-goal lead.

Theo Walcott, who extended his contract with Arsenal two days ago, proved his value after the restart. The English forward made a good run onto Santi Cazorla's through pass and beat Petr Cech with a sidefoot finish to gain hope for the visitors.

However, Chelsea, who were desperate for their first home victory in the new year at the fourth attempt, succeeded to defend the three points.

The victory ensured Chelsea to keep the third place at the Premier League table after 23 games, staying 11 points above the sixth-placed Arsenal, who have one more game in hand but still find it hard to fight for a top-four spot.

Also under snow, in North London, Clint Dempsey struck a dramatic equaliser for Tottenham Hotspurs to deny Manchester United an away victory.

Robin van Persie headed in his 22nd goal of the season after 25 minutes when Tom Cleverley's right-wing cross found the Dutch striker to make it 1-0 for United.

Tottenham, who were more creative with 23 shots in total, finally beat the in-form keeper David De Gea in the injury time when Dempsey capitalized on the cross from Aaron Lennon to send the ball to the bottom left corner.

As the defending champions Man City grabbed three points on Saturday, Man United's leading advantage at the table was reduced to five points.