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Arsenal would surely have taken a draw beforehand against a Chelsea team that have emerged as surprise title rivals in recent weeks – and especially when they realised they had to play without William Saliba, who injured himself in training on Saturday.
It was a different story when, in the 38th minute, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Moisés Caicedo’s X-rated challenge on Mikel Merino. It was one of those that made you wince upon each replay, the stand-in Arsenal striker fortunate to emerge unscathed.
It was Chelsea’s sixth red card of the season in all competitions – not including the one for the manager, Enzo Maresca, in the win over Liverpool in October. Now Arsenal had to be thinking about all three points; a result to restore their seven-point advantage at the top of the table.
It did not work out like that. Chelsea had been in fire-breathing mood at the outset. Perhaps it was a part of the reason why Caicedo over-stepped so grievously. And they rocked Arsenal when Trevoh Chalobah looped home a header from Reece James’s corner at the start of the second half. If James was the standout individual, it was an excellent team performance, a continuation of the vibes from last Tuesday’s Champions League dismissal of Barcelona here.
Arsenal had to react and they did. It was Merino who scored the equaliser, a tribute to his own tenacity as much as anything else. And it was him who almost nicked the win towards the end of regulation time, his low shot well saved by Robert Sánchez. The Chelsea goalkeeper jumped up to block bravely on the rebound from the Arsenal substitute Viktor Gyökeres.
And so Arsenal did depart with a point. It might have been more had Jurriën Timber not taken an aerial ball away from Gyökeres in stoppage-time but nobody could say it was not a fair result, with Arsenal below their best. Or a pulsating contest.
This is a derby with plenty of snarl and there were physical markers aplenty in the early running – Marc Cucurella on Bukayo Saka, Caicedo barging over Timber. The first yellow card was for a Martín Zubimendi foul on James. There would be more. With Gabriel Magalhães also out, Mikel Arteta had started with Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié in central defence. Both were booked by half-time. So was the Arsenal left-back, Riccardo Calafiori.
Arteta claimed Chelsea targeted his players on yellow cards in order to make it 10 apiece while Maresca was unhappy Hincapié escaped censure for catching Chalobah with an elbow in the 41st minute. Maresca said it should have been red.
It was always going to be a difficult occasion for Anthony Taylor, albeit the referee was a unifying figure on one level. Both sets of supporters see him as a villain. Or words to that effect. There were other descriptions aired about him at various times.
Taylor had no option over the big call of the game when it was put to him by the video assistant referee, John Brooks, that he ought to take a closer look at Caicedo’s challenge on Merino. It was high and dangerous, a potential ankle-breaker, the definition of excessive force. Caicedo did slip slightly. It was nevertheless a shocker.
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Chelsea had been the better team. They bristled with intensity and created a few chances, the biggest one for Estêvão Willian on 18 minutes. It was a poor clearance by Mosquera after a Pedro Neto cross. Estêvão blazed high from eight yards. Moments earlier, Declan Rice had been required to stretch into a saving tackle on Neto inside the area. A little later, João Pedro hesitated after a slip by Hincapié. He had to shoot first time.
It said everything that the first half ended with Enzo Fernández seeming to swing an arm at Mosquera, leaving his opponent down as the players headed for the tunnel. Arsenal wanted to regroup, to work out how to make the extra man count because the pickings had been slim for them. Saka went close in the 12th minute after a velvety touch and pass from Eberechi Eze while Gabriel Martinelli extended Sánchez moments before the break.
It was Chelsea who bolted out of the blocks upon the restart. From a James free-kick, João Pedro forced David Raya to tip behind. From the corner, Chalobah rose above Rice to flick on for the far corner. To unbridled home delight, the ball sailed in.
Maresca did not make negative changes after the red card. He stuck with two wingers and a striker. That said, it helped to have James playing like two men in midfield. The captain was a remorselessly driving presence; creative, too. Some of his passing was of the highest order.
The Arsenal equaliser had not been advertised. Saka, though, is always capable of making something happen out of nothing. He ran at Cucurella and when he checked inside, the whipped delivery was on the money. Arsenal had two-against-one at the far post. Merino rose imperiously.
There was a shift in tone after Merino’s goal. Arteta had introduced Martin Ødegaard and the ex-Chelsea winger Noni Madueke just before it. He would also get Gyökeres on. Rice dropped back to No 6 and Arsenal pushed, coming to dominate in territorial terms. They had the chances for 2-1 but James was not kidding anyone when he said his team were disappointed with the point. It was the least they deserved.
