There were people on the pitch, Chelsea substitutes to be precise, the joy of everyone connected to the club overflowing. Pedro Neto had produced the equaliser with a vicious low drive from distance and if it did not turn out to be the statement victory that Enzo Maresca and his players wanted – a first against a so-called Big Six rival – they could see the merit in a battling draw.
For Arsenal, this was a better performance than some of those of late and yet it was not the result that Mikel Arteta had called for, the one to silence the noise that has built around his club. It was another example of them losing the lead in a big game – after the draws against Manchester City and Liverpool – and it meant they have not won in four Premier League games, a sequence that has yielded two points. They are now nine behind the leaders, Liverpool. Is it too much to recover?
At least they stopped the rot away from home after the losses at Bournemouth and Newcastle; in the Champions League at Inter on Wednesday night, too – all matches lost to nil.
Arteta had claimed his team were playing better than they did during their difficult four-week period last season which started in early December. But, as he added, for it “to be clear and relevant we have to win … especially to answer certain questions”.
Gabriel Martinelli gave them the promise of something glorious, finishing with power after a pass from Martin Ødegaard, who returned to the starting XI in impressive style. The captain’s fitness was something; he pushed and probed until the very last. Neto, though, would snatch it all away.
Chelsea have been all about consistency of selection in the league under Maresca, although he had a decision to make at left-back. He went for Marc Cucurella over the club captain, Reece James, sticking with Malo Gusto at right-back. Maresca is no respecter of reputation.
Cucurella versus Bukayo Saka was box office; it would end with him catching the Arsenal man with a late tackle in the 79th minute to force him off. Cucurella was booked. More broadly, he was a symbol of Chelsea’s tenacity, emerging with honours.
It was a fight for the right to play, full-blooded challenges throughout, including a scything Levi Colwill foul on Saka in the 21st minute, which sparked angry words between the benches. Colwill was booked. Moisés Caicedo had a “welcome back” barge for Ødegaard. Ben White got a yellow card for an off-the-ball swipe at Neto.
Cole Palmer was a mixed bag but he pulled off one of his trademark moves on two occasions in the first half, allowing the ball to run across his body and flicking on the afterburners. He did it to Ødegaard at the outset before extending David Raya with a dipping shot. He did it to Thomas Partey before releasing Neto, whose cross was headed high by Noni Madueke.
Chelsea’s big chance of the first half came on 24 minutes when Neto went one way and then the other against White, making the room to cross. Gusto got in front of Martinelli but he could not direct the header.
Arsenal, back to 4-3-3 after mainly being 4-4-2 without Ødegaard, had their moments before the interval – two huge ones, the first leaving Arteta beside himself with frustration. Saka forced the high turnover, blocking a Colwill pass out of defence. It was Ødegaard back to Saka and when his shot was blocked, the ball broke perfectly for Martinelli. He had to score – only to sidefoot weakly at Robert Sánchez.
The fine margins were against Arsenal in the 33rd minute. Declan Rice spotted Kai Havertz in yards of space as he addressed a free-kick and so he took it quickly, fizzing the pass up to him. Havertz manoeuvred himself in front of Caicedo and prodded home only for the video assistant referee to see he was fractionally offside.
Havertz had been patched up after the head cut he suffered against Inter and he needed more repairs early in the second half, the wound open again. He was booked for failing to leave the field quickly enough for them but he was back on for the breakthrough goal, Martinelli atoning for his earlier miss.
Ødegaard made it happen, crossing deep to the far post whereupon Martinelli came back inside to widen the angle before banging the shot inside Sánchez’s near post. It was not a good look for the goalkeeper or the Chelsea offside trap, Colwill too deep and playing Martinelli on.
Wesley Fofana had looped a volley off target in the 53rd minute but, with Jurriën Timber shooting just wide, Chelsea needed to dust themselves down. Maresca introduced Enzo Fernández for Roméo Lavia and Mykhailo Mudryk for Madueke, who headed straight down the tunnel.
Fernández was involved in the equaliser, rolling a pass up and across for Neto, but really it was all about the winger’s desire to seize the moment. His touch allowed him to lengthen his stride and he was too quick for Timber and Gabriel Magalhães, who tried to get out. The shot had too much on it for Raya.
The closing stages were frantic, chances at both ends. Arsenal thought they had snatched victory only for the substitute Leandro Trossard to blast high; the offside flag was up. At the very last, Trossard touched wide from a William Saliba cross, taking the ball away from Havertz, who was there for the tap-in behind him. Arteta fell to the ground in anguish. Again, the offside flag had been raised. It was awfully tight.
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