London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in their Premier League meeting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening, November 10. The stalemate extended the Gunners’ winless run to four games in the English Premier League, causing them to fall further behind in the title race. With 19 points, Mikel Arteta’s side is in fourth place in the Premier League rankings, nine points behind league leaders Liverpool.
Chelsea and Arsenal Fail to Settle it at Stamford Bridge
Enzo Maresca’s massively improved Chelsea had the first stab at goal, and, unsurprisingly, it came from the magical left boot of Cole Palmer. The Arsenal defense allowed the Englishman plenty of space outside the box, and he unhesitantly tried his luck. The shot from range was dipping swiftly, warranting Gunners stopper David Raya to acrobatically tip the ball over the bar. In the 24th minute, Chelsea came agonizingly close to scoring, as Pedro Neto found Malo Gusto with a perfect cross at the far post. The Frenchman only had to steer the ball in from close range, but he mistimed his header, sending it over the bar.
In the 32nd minute, former Chelsea man Kai Havertz found the back of the net for Arsenal, celebrating by putting his finger on his lips. However, much to the delight of the Stamford Bridge faithful, the goal did not stand, as Havertz had veered off into an offside position while receiving the ball from Declan Rice.
The deadlock ultimately broke in the 60th minute, as Gabriel Martinelli did justice to Martin Odegaard’s impeccable cross from the right. Surprisingly unmarked, Martinelli waltzed into the box from the left, received Odegaard’s delivery, and beat the goalkeeper at his near post.
The North Londoners, however, did not stay ahead for long, thanks to Neto’s sensational outside-the-box effort in the 70th minute. Once again, Arsenal gave Neto far too much space outside the box, allowing the winger to dispatch a thumping effort, which slotted into the bottom-right corner.
Arsenal could have won the game in the 87th minute when the ball landed at Leandro Trossard’s feet inside the area. Disappointingly, the substitute blasted his effort over the bar.
Mikel Arteta Calls on His Players to Show Their Teeth
After seeing his team fall further behind in the Premier League title race, a dejected Arteta urged his players to show how much they want to win the title.
He said in the post-match press conference (via The Guardian):
“When it gets nasty, show your teeth and show how much you want it.
“When it’s Disneyland it’s very easy. Everybody’s next to you, telling you how beautiful you are. When it gets dark and difficult and everybody’s questioning it, that’s when I want to see people. I’m looking around. Who is going to step into that box? Yes or no?”
He added:
“Win, win, win, win and win because these guys [our rivals] don’t stop winning. That’s what we have to do.”
Arsenal will return to action with a clash against Nottingham Forest after the international break on November 23.
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