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 everything changed in the 38th minute, Chelsea 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.
Reece James' reaction
We’re disappointed to come away with only a point. We had more of the ball 11 v 11 and I think today was a big statement – even though we wanted to win, there’s loads of positives to take from the game.
There were seven or eight players on yellow cards so I thought there might be another red. It’s a London derby (smiles) – everyone wants to win this game. I haven’t seen the [Caicedo red card] yet.
I’m proud of the boys. The atmosphere was electric. We take a point and move forward.
