Chelsea Hold Arsenal To Draw At Stamford Bridge

Chelsea fought hard to hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, despite playing one man down in a London derby at Stamford Bridge Stadium. 

Arsenal put up with the intimidating backdrop of Chelsea beating Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League last week. It was a crucial match for Arsenal, and they needed to extend the gap to their nearest rivals, Manchester City. That was not an easy task. Chelsea took the lead after losing Moises Calceido to a red card.  

After a goalless first half, Chelsea broke the deadlock after the interval from Trevoh Chalobah's header. Arsenal recovered the deficit on the hour when Bukayo Saka darted down the right wing, crossing the ball deep into the six-yard box for Mikel Merino's header that beat Sanchez to the goal. 

Hence, the gap was another deadlock as both sides struggled to find the back of the net. In the end, Arsenal avoided a needless defeat. They remain well off in the Premier League top spot with 30 points. 

Overview 

Chelsea playing one man down for much of the game should have been advantageous for Arsenal, but it was not. Joao Pedro was yet a trouble for Arsenal's defense. The wings were locked, and the Blues were physical. Initially, Estevao and Enzo Fernandes were problematic for Arsenal until Calceido's dismissal. 

Mikel Arteta's adjustment with Odegaard and Madueke quickly changed the outlook. Chelsea were caught off guard by the change, and Saka seized the moment to craft a goal-scoring chance. Merino did right with the aerial ball. Effectively, instead of losing the maximum point altogether, getting a draw would be preferable.