Chelsea, Arsenal title hopes make for wildly entertaining derby draw

LONDON — Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Chelsea on Sunday, which cut their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points.

A frenetic and feisty London derby began with four yellow cards in the opening 27 minutes before Moisés Caicedo was sent off on VAR review for a late tackle on Mikel Merino.

The Gunners were without center backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães for only the second time since August 2021, and in their absence, Arsenal fell behind from a set piece as Trevoh Chalobah glanced in Reece James‘ 48th-minute corner. Arsenal responded as Merino nodded in a 59th-minute equalizer but were unable to find a winner, meaning Manchester City‘s win over Leeds United a day earlier left them second in the table while Chelsea dropped to third place. — James Olley

This was the real London derby

A week on from Arsenal’s 4-1 rout of Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby — the game traditionally regarded as London’s biggest fixture — Chelsea and the Gunners slugged it out in a real heavyweight clash at Stamford Bridge that showed why this game is the real grudge match in the capital. This was two sides going head to head, full of belief and confidence in their ability to beat their opponent and push on for the Premier League title.

Aside from a brief flourish under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs have never been a major contender, and their derbies against the Gunners have been all about historical rivalry rather than the serious matter of trophies.

Chelsea are a different matter, winning five league titles, two UEFA Champions League crowns and the FIFA Club World Cup since Arsenal last won the Premier League in 2004, and the Blues back themselves to be London’s biggest club — a tag usually worn by Arsenal. So whenever these two sides meet, there is an edge to it, and this game had everything that you want from a big rivalry: tension, full-blooded tackles, a red card, big duels between key players and no quarter being given.

Although the outcome was a draw, Chelsea came out of it knowing they had halted Arsenal’s surge to the title and boosted their own hopes, while Mikel Arteta’s side showed spirit to fight back and earn a draw. — Mark Ogden

Arsenal lead title race but lack killer instinct

This result, combined with City’s win over Leeds, cut Arsenal’s lead to five points. It is a healthy position to be in after 13 games, but there may be a sense of regret they were unable to take the maximum at Chelsea given the home side played with 10 men for 52 minutes.

Arsenal have been solid, consistent and quite clearly the best team in the division this season, but one area of concern will be their inability to close out victories against their main rivals.

Liverpool looked there for the taking in August but Arsenal lost a tight game 1-0. City were struggling when visiting Emirates Stadium in September, but the Gunners managed to take only a point, and that courtesy of a stoppage-time equalizer. Here, they managed just eight shots, with Merino forcing Robert Sánchez into a fine late stop, but they ended with an expected goals figure of just 1.18.

Arteta will feel vindicated in leaving Merino on given he nodded in Arsenal’s 59th-minute equalizer, and the manager made repeated attacking changes with Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyökeres all introduced (although Gyökeres played only the final 18 minutes), and yet Arsenal still dropped points. It may not matter. The league is shaping up in a way that maintaining consistent victories against the division’s weaker sides may be enough, but beating their main rivals is still on Arsenal’s to-do list this term. — Olley

Chelsea’s ill-discipline returns in costly way

The spate of red cards Chelsea suffered in the autumn had subsided of late, but their ill-discipline returned in a damaging way here.

Referee Anthony Taylor probably exacerbated what was already a febrile start by booking Martín Zubimendi in the fifth minute, ensuring that every tackle thereafter was met with furious cries for a card of some description. Both benches sensed an advantage could be gained with Arteta especially animated throughout. Four yellow cards inside the opening 27 minutes was the result. Arsenal have never before had three players booked in the opening 30 minutes of a Premier League game since records began in 2006.

Even accounting for that, though, there is no excusing Caicedo for the late tackle on Merino that saw the Blues reduced to 10 men on 38 minutes. It didn’t appear malicious in intent, but Caicedo’s challenge was late and caught Merino badly on the ankle.

Including a dismissal for manager Enzo Maresca against Liverpool, Sunday’s incident was the seventh time Chelsea have suffered a red card this season. They fought back admirably thereafter, with James and Enzo Fernández excelling in midfield, but Chelsea’s attempt to beat the league leaders was inevitably undermined by their numerical disadvantage. — Olley

Arsenal need more productivity up front

Merino earned Arsenal a point by scoring a second-half equalizer, and he once again showed himself to be a reliable option when Arteta has a hole to fill up front. The Spain midfielder was surprisingly selected ahead of the fit-again Gyökeres, who started on the bench after missing the past four games in all competitions with a hamstring injury, but if Arsenal are to win the title, they can’t continue to use Merino.

The 29-year-old is nowhere near the technical level of his Arsenal teammates and he often misplaces passes or commits needless fouls in the fashion of a limited player rather than a good one. He has developed a knack for scoring important goals under Arteta, though, and that explains why he gets more appearances than his ability deserves.

Arsenal signed Gyökeres in the summer, however, to end their issues up front and offer a genuine threat. Although he has made a slower-than-expected start at the Emirates, he has still scored six goals in all competitions.

So now that he is fit enough to play, Gyökeres has to start, and when Kai Havertz returns to fitness, Merino will go back to being an option off the bench — a role in which he has shown himself to be a valuable option. — Ogden

Chelsea still searching for the new Drogba

Chelsea spent almost £90 million this summer on João Pedro and Liam Delap in an effort to end their lengthy search for a prolific center forward in the mold of former greats Didier Drogba and Diego Costa.

Although João Pedro, a £55 million signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, scored three goals in three games to help Maresca’s team to Club World Cup glory in July, the Brazil international has only scored four Premier League goals this season and none in the Champions League. Delap, a £30 million signing from Ipswich Town, missed almost two months with a hamstring injury and he scored his first goal this season in the midweek win against Barcelona.

João Pedro has been Chelsea’s primary striker all season, but he hasn’t been able to repeat his Club World Cup form, and he was poor against Arsenal. He had a great chance when a Piero Hincapié mistake gifted him the ball in the first half but failed to take advantage, and on a day when both Saliba and Gabriel were missed at the back for Arsenal, João Pedro didn’t offer enough threat.

Delap was also off the pace when he was introduced as a substitute, so the center forwards may be becoming a concern for Maresca. Only Manchester City and Arsenal have scored more league goals than Chelsea so far, but if the Blues are going to win the title, they need one of their forwards to step up and score more regularly. — Ogden