Arsenal missed the chance to extend their Premier League lead after a frustrating 1-1 draw against ten-man Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Despite playing with an extra man for more than an hour following Moisés Caicedo’s early red card, Mikel Arteta’s side lacked control and cutting edge for large spells.
Chelsea stunned the Gunners after the break when Trevoh Chalobah rose to head in the opening goal. Arsenal eventually levelled through Mikel Merino, who guided in Bukayo Saka’s excellent cross. But the visitors could not find a winner and now sit five points ahead of Manchester City instead of the seven they hoped for.
Below are the Arsenal player ratings from a tough night in London:
David Raya – 6
Little he could do about Chalobah’s looping header. Made routine saves and wasn’t troubled often.
Jurrien Timber – 6
Tasked with marking Chalobah on set pieces but switched off for the Chelsea goal. Decent otherwise.
Cristhian Mosquera – 5
Thrown in for the injured Saliba and earned a needless early yellow. Played cautiously from then on.
Piero Hincapié – 5
Survived a couple of scares, including allowing Joao Pedro through. Lucky to avoid punishment for an elbow on Chalobah.
Ricardo Calafiori – 6
Kept Estevao quiet early on but took a cheap booking chasing Reece James. Substituted at half-time.
Martin Zubimendi – 6
Chelsea dragged him into a physical battle and he struggled to settle. Booked for a rash challenge and withdrawn before the hour.
Declan Rice – 6
Unable to impose himself in midfield. Caicedo had the upper hand before the red card. Improved slightly when moved into the holding role.
Bukayo Saka – 7
Arsenal’s brightest spark. Dominated Cucurella, assisted the equaliser, and created most of the danger.
Gabriel Martinelli – 5
A quiet performance. Rarely troubled Malo Gusto and lacked involvement before coming off.
Eberechi Eze – 5
A complete contrast to his Spurs hat-trick performance last week. Showed flashes but struggled to influence a scrappy match.
Mikel Merino – 7
Patience paid off as he timed his run perfectly to head home Saka’s cross. One of Arsenal’s more composed performers.
Substitutes
Myles Lewis-Skelly (45’) – 6
Energetic but quickly picked up a booking.
Noni Madueke (57’) – 6
Added directness and gave Gusto more problems than Martinelli.
Martin Ødegaard (57’) – 6
Brought creativity but couldn’t help Arsenal control the match despite the numerical advantage.
Viktor Gyökeres (72’) – 5
Struggled to make an impact and collided heavily with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez late on.
