Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Spoils shared in tense London derby
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Spoils shared in tense London derby. Arsenal have now gone four games without recording any victory in the Premier League after only managing a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
There was nothing to separate the London foes during an engaging first half, with neither side able to produce the finishing touch to match the energy and intensity of an end-to-end affair.
Gabriel Martinelli had fired Arsenal in front on the hour mark, but Chelsea’s Pedro Neto responded with an excellent strike from the edge of the area as the points were shared in west London.
How the game unfolded;
Chelsea were handed an enormous boost before kick-off as star player Cole Palmer was passed fit to start the crunch London derby despite an initial injury scare. The England international almost made his presence felt within the opening three minutes, after forcing David Raya into a fingertip save from a swerving 25-yard strike.
Arsenal were also relieved to see the return of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice to their starting lineup at Stamford Bridge, with both providing an element of control for the Gunners during the early stages in a cacophonous capital atmosphere.
The opening 25 minutes were played at a frenetic pace and both sides spurned promising opportunities midway through the first period. Malo Gusto inexplicably headed over the crossbar from six yards before Gabriel Martinelli stung Robert Sanchez’s palm at the other end. A warning sign for both defences.
A familiar face thought he had broken the deadlock for the visitors in the 32nd minute, former Chelsea striker Kai Havertz poking home after an intelligent quick free kick from Declan Rice. However, after a two-minute VAR review, the German’s effort was disallowed for a marginal offside to the relief of the home crowd.
An evenly-split first half came to a cagey conclusion but it was Arsenal who snuck in front 15 minutes after the restart. Odegaard’s dinked cross into the box was collected by Martinelli, who side-footed past Sanchez at the near post to bring the Gunners’ two-game goal drought to an end.
However, Arsenal’s lead lasted just ten minutes. The indefatigable Neto, who had moved to the right flank following Mykhailo Mudryk’s introduction, waltzed into space and was picked out by Enzo Fernandez before rattling an exquisite finish low and hard beyond the helpless Raya.
Half-chances came and went for both sides, with neither keen to commit too many bodies in the final third, but Sanchez and Raya were seldom stretched into saves. Late substitutions took the sting out of the tie as both teams settled for a hard-fought point, although Leandro Trossard missed a glorious opportunity to win it for the Gunners with the final kick of the game.
Neither will be overly concerned with dropping points at Stamford Bridge, with Arsenal bringing their two-game losing run to a close and Chelsea securing a valuable point against elite opposition despite being below their best.
