Chelsea vs Arsenal Premier League match has ended in a draw with both sides sharing spoils after a thrilling clash at Stamford Bridge.
After a barren first-half draw, Gabriel Martinelli fired the away side into the lead exactly at the hour mark before Chelsea restored parity 18 minutes later through Pedro Neto.
Chelsea vs Arsenal Premier League records before the match
After a promising start to the campaign, Chelsea weren’t particularly impressive in the Premier League lately before the match.
They had managed only one win in their last four Premier League matches, recording two draws against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest and a defeat against Liverpool.
However, their last fixture—a midweek UEFA Europa Conference League clash against Noah – ended in an impressive 8-0 victory. They had hoped to build on the victory by edging out the London rivals at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal also grappled with a not-so-stellar performance in the Premier League ahead of the match. Since their 3-1 win over Southampton, they had gone winless in three matches, losing to Bournemouth, drawing Liverpool, and then suffering defeat against Newcastle United.
The poor run of form saw the team slip off the race for the title, sitting 5th on the table. They desperately needed victory to relaunch themselves into the race.
The records between the two sides favored Arsenal. Chelsea had managed only one victory against Arsenal in their last nine Premier League matches, drawing two and losing six.
Moreover, the Blues recorded three defeats in their last four home games against the Gunners, drawing one, and were yet to defeat the Mikel Arteta-led side at Stamford Bridge.
While parading one of the best attacking lineup hurling in the goals, Chelsea’s major weak point this season is in the defense. They had conceded at least a goal in all their home games under Enzo Maresca.
Arsenal stood a chance of finding the back of the net at Stamford Bridge in the match, but the Gunners had to watch their backs, having conceded goals in all their last six Premier League matches.
Chelsea vs Arsenal major highlights
Chelsea started the game on a brighter note. Three minutes into play, Cole Palmer harried the Arsenal goalkeeper with a stunning long-range thunderbolt from outside the box. It was a near-miss for the England star, but Arsenal stopper David Raya was equal to the task, acrobatically pointing it over the crossbar.
From a poor start to proceedings, Arsenal began building their presence into the game in the 13th minute but were yet to close in on their first big chance.
Meanwhile, Chelsea had another big chance to make it count in the 24th minute. Pedro Neto had picked out his teammate at the back post with another excellent cross. Gusto was there waiting, but the full-back could only nod over the crossbar from close range.
Arsenal’s first goal ruled out
Against the run of play, Arsenal raced into the lead two minutes after the half hour. Declan Rice had found Havertz, who held off a nearby defender before poking past Sanchez and into the back of the net. However, there was a VAR check to see whether the Germany international was offside.
Chelsea players protested the goal, which came from a quickly taken free-kick that did not allow them to organize. Meanwhile, after VAR check, the goal was chalked off for offside on Kai Havertz to their huge relief.
The first half ended barren, with both sides unable to find the back of the net. It was not overly a classic first 45 minutes. They had a few chances, but the two goalkeepers impressed enough to keep the score barren.
Second half report
Chelsea were the more lively side as the second half commenced, but play was temporarily halted in the 54th minute when Kai Havertz sustained a head injury following a collision.
He was yellow carded by the referee, Michael Oliver, for taking too long to get off the field for his treatment.
Gabriel Martinelli fired Arsenal into the lead
Six minutes after Kai Havertz’s head injury, Arsenal raced themselves into the lead.
For the second time, the Gunners had the ball in the back of the net, and this time it counted. Martin Odegaard had sent a lovely ball to the back post, where Martinelli brought it down and beat Sanchez with a fine finish to put the Gunners 1-0 up at Stamford Bridge.
Trying to find an equalizer, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca made a series of substitutions to get the hosts back into the game after trailing.
Noni Madueke made way for Mykhalo Mudryk and Romeo Lavia off for Enzo Fernandes. Just two minutes after coming on, Enzo Fernandes provided the assist that saw Chelsea score the equalizer.
The Argentine sensation had fed the ball to Pedro Neto, who controlled it and fired a thunderbolt past David Raya to make it 1-1.
With three minutes of regulation time left, Arsenal nearly retook the lead. Leandro Trossard had a rebound from Robert Sanchez; it fell on a platter for him, but he blew it wide over the crossbar from close range.
It was the final big chance in the game, and it ended squares with both sides settling for a 1-1 draw.
Premier League table after Chelsea vs Arsenal draw
The draw has seen the two teams go head-to-head on the Premier League table with the same points. Chelsea climbed to the third spot with 19 points, while Arsenal jumped to the fourth position with the same number of points but with a +6 goal difference against Chelsea’s +8.
Arsenal will return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, November 23 after the international break, while Chelsea will travel to Kings Power Stadium to take on Leicester City.
