CHELSEA 1-1 ARSENAL: Gunners’ player performances rated after Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge
Arsenal were held to a draw by ten-man Chelsea as they maintained their six-point gap to the Blues. Considering the man advantage, Mikel Arteta will be disappointed with a share of the spoils.
Both Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber had to make some big early challenges to deal with some close calls in the box as Bukayo Saka went close and forced a save from Robert Sanchez. Moises Caicedo saw red for an awful challenge on Mikel Merino.
However, the home side took the lead after a corner was flicked on by Trevor Chalobah. The lead lasted 13 minutes as Mikel Merino’s header from a Bukayo Saka cross hit the back of the net.
Here is how football.london rated the performances of the Arsenal players:
David Raya – Produced a fine save from the head of Joao Pedro. The save led to the corner for the opening goal, which Chalobah gave the stopper little chance with the flicked header.
Raya held a shot from Liam Delap well that might have easily gone for a corner. 7
Jurrien Timber – Brilliant last-man block on Enzo Fernandez in the box to stop another big chance. Remained the only member of the back four not to be booked but couldn’t find the linkage in the offensive half as often as he would have liked. 7
Cristhian Mosquera – Booked early on in the game for a cynical challenge. Tasked with replacing William Saliba is no easy job especially without Gabriel and the Spaniard was the stronger of the two on the day. 7
Piero Hincapie – Was erratic in the first half and slipped in the box nearly leading to a chance for Joao Pedro. Produced a great sliding tackle in the box on Neto to prevent a chance. 6
Riccardo Calafiori – Fantastic last-man challenge on Estevao inside ten minutes to prevent a clear run on goal. However, his booking meant that Mikel Arteta didn’t want to take any risks at the break, and he came off. 6
Martin Zubimendi – Booked early on in the game for a cynical challenge. He was caught out on a couple of occasions, but the booking was enough for Arteta to sacrifice him. 5
Declan Rice – Produced an excellent tackle on Pedro Neto in the box to deny a certain goal. The Arsenal engine room, as usual, but perhaps looking a little less dominant after two high-energy games before this, and had to drop into the six role after Zubimendi was replaced, but remained a stable figure in the middle. 7
Eberechi Eze – Was limited to little involvement in the first half. Joining Martin Odegaard in the second, it got him onto the ball in more frequent situations. However, none led to much and soon he was replaced. 5
Bukayo Saka – Best chance of the opening stages fell to the winger on the right, his low right-footed drive was saved by Robert Sanchez’s right foot. Perfect cross in the second half to find Merino, his first assist in the league for a year.
Had a couple of big chances to shoot at goal, getting too much underneath the ball and seeing the strike sail over the bar. 7
Mikel Merino – Misplaced pass in his own half nearly led to a big Chelsea chance inside ten minutes. Dropped deep into the midfield throughout but was on the receiving end of the red card challenge from Moises Caicedo.
It was that man again, however, who popped up with a big goal, heading past Sanchez from Saka’s cross. Saw a late shot parried by Sanchez. 8
Gabriel Martinelli – Saw a shot low to Robert Sanchez’s right side stopped, just, as the Brazilian tested the Chelsea stopper. Was brought off in the second half having not had the desired impact. 6
Substitutes:
Myles Lewis-Skelly – Got booked almost immediately after coming on and then played a dangerous pass across his own goal. 5
Martin Odegaard – Replaced Martin Zubimendi to restructure the midfield. His presence certainly helped change the momentum of the game after the Chelsea goal. 7
Noni Madueke – Replaced Gabriel Martinelli on the left-hand side. Switched sides with Saka after being frustrated down the left, however, remained stunted by his former teammates’ defensive efforts. 5
Viktor Gyokeres – Replaced Eberechi Eze to return after a period of injury. Saw the ball and slid in but Sanchez there to catch after Merino’s shot. 5
