Arsenal played over 50 minutes against 10-man Chelsea but could not see off the Blues and instead had to come from behind to earn a point at Stamford Bridge
On Sunday, Arsenal faced a 10-man Chelsea side, but after a 1-1 stalemate, Theo Walcott claimed: “We would have taken this at the start of the game.”
The Gunners headed to Stamford Bridge thinking that if the hosts won, the gap at the top of the table would be reduced to three points, and the Blues took the lead despite being one man behind. Moises Caicedo was shown a red for his tackle on Mikel Merino in the first half.
Chelsea took the lead with Trevor Chalobah’s header from a corner kick, giving Arsenal the lead. Having the man advantage increased the pressure on the north Londoners to leave the Blues with all three points.
Merino was able to score the equalizing goal from close range and Arsenal had over 30 minutes to find the winning goal, but ultimately they were unable to find it. Walcott admitted it would have been seen as a missed opportunity for the Gunners, but believes they would have tied the game before kick-off.
He told Sky Sports: “If we play with 10 men and we don’t get a result, we’ll be disappointed because we were hoping to win with the extra players. They would have taken this at the start of the game, but you can’t take away what Arsenal have done so far. Yeah, they’ll be disappointed that they didn’t win today to widen the gap on Chelsea.”
read more: Mikel Arteta explains William Saliba’s absence, leaving Arsenal without two defensive starsread more: Arsenal’s angry clash with 10-a-side Chelsea saves Mikel Merino from blushing – 5 talking points
“The legs were tired and there are no excuses, but that won’t take us away from what they want to achieve this year. Chelsea are our closest rivals at the moment and we’ll keep them at bay.”
The draw leaves Chelsea six points behind league leaders Arsenal, with Arsenal’s closest challengers now being Manchester City. Josep Guardiola’s side closed the gap on the Gunners to within five points after a late win over Leeds. Chelsea currently sit in third place, but Reece James was unhappy at missing out on a win.
“It’s disappointing that we ended with just one point,” he said. “We were down to 10 men pretty early on and that made it difficult. We had a lot more of the ball when we were 11-on-11. Everyone knows where we are and what we’re playing for. Today was a big statement. We wanted to win, but there are positives to take from it.”
Chelsea have not beaten Arsenal at Stamford Bridge since 2018, but that losing streak has been extended. Arteta brought on the likes of Victor Gokeres and Martin Odegaard, and the visitors launched a ferocious attack in the closing stages, hoping to score the decisive goal, but the Blues held firm.
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