Arsenal battled from behind to secure a hard-earned 1-1 draw against 10-man Chelsea in a tense Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Trevoh Chalobah gave Chelsea the lead in the 48th minute, rising above the Arsenal defence to power home a header from Reece James’ corner.
The Blues had enjoyed the better of the early chances, with Pedro Neto, Estêvão and Joao Pedro all testing David Raya in the opening stages.
The game changed explosively in the 38th minute when Moisés Caicedo, initially booked for a reckless challenge on Mikel Merino, received a straight red after a VAR review, leaving Chelsea to play more than half the match with 10 men.
Arsenal capitalised on the numerical advantage after sustained pressure, with Bukayo Saka delivering a perfect cross in the 59th minute for Merino to nod home the equaliser, his header flying beyond a helpless Robert Sánchez.
The Spaniard was Chelsea’s standout performer, producing a series of brilliant saves to deny Saka, Merino and Martinelli and preserve the scoreline.
Raya delivered heroics of his own, notably tipping Garnacho’s close-range header wide at a crucial moment.
Despite their disadvantage, Chelsea threatened intermittently on the break, with Liam Delap and Neto forcing smart stops from Raya late on.
Arsenal pushed for a winner deep into stoppage time, but Merino’s last-minute header drifted agonisingly over the bar.
Both teams finished with a flurry of fouls, substitutions and frantic attacking waves, but neither could find the decisive touch.
