Chelsea and Arsenal settle for draw in Premier League clash
Chelsea and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw in their latest Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. The game was highlighted by Pedro Neto's equalizer which canceled out Gabriel Martinelli's opening goal for Arsenal. Notably, Arsenal's lead didn't last long. They went ahead in the 60th minute. Neto equalized in the 70th minute. The result sees both sides remain nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool. Here is the report and key stats.
Chelsea dominates early game, Arsenal gains momentum
Chelsea dominated the early stages of the match, with Cole Palmer's 25-yard strike brilliantly deflected by Arsenal's David Raya. The home team continued to create more opportunities but failed to convert them into goals. Arsenal regained momentum as the half progressed, with Martinelli's shot being saved by Robert Sanchez. A quick free kick from Rice set up Kai Havertz for a potential goal, but it was disallowed due to an offside call following a VAR review.
Arsenal take lead, Chelsea respond
The second half of the match witnessed Arsenal take the lead as Martinelli converted Odegaard's cross into a goal. However, their advantage was short-lived as Neto equalized for Chelsea just 10 minutes later. Both teams continued to press for a decisive goal but failed to break the deadlock. The best opportunity came when Saliba found Trossard in a promising position, but his shot went wide, denying Arsenal a potential winning goal.
Draw pushes Chelsea, Arsenal into top 4
The draw earned both Chelsea and Arsenal a point each, pushing them into the top four of the Premier League. Both sides have 19 points each after 11 matches with Chelsea owning a better goal difference. However, despite the advancement, 4th-placed Arsenal have a tough task ahead if they hope to secure their first Premier League title since the 2003/04 season.
Here are the match stats
Chelsea made 17 attempts to Arsenal's 12. Both teams had three shots on target each. Chelsea had 1.28 expected goals to Arsenal's 0.99. Chelsea had 24 touches in the opposition box to Arsenal's 17. The visitors had 106 passes in the final third.
Unwanted feats for the Gunners
Arsenal have gone four consecutive Premier League games without a victory for the first time since April 2023 (D2 L2). Meanwhile, the Gunners had picked up all three points in 21 of their previous 25 league matches before this (D3 L1). Tonight was the fourth time that Arsenal have faced 15+ shots in a Premier League game this season. This is already twice as many times as they did so across the whole of the 2023-24 campaign (twice).
Contrasting records for Chelsea
As per Opta, Chelsea will end a day in the top three places of the Premier League table for the first time since the final day of the 2021-22 season. Back then, the Blues finished in third position behind Manchester City and Liverpool. Chelsea have won just one of their 19 Premier League games since the 2021-22 season against sides that finished the previous season inside the top three positions (D10 L8).
