toptop
Arsenal
produced a resolute away performance to earn a 0-0 draw at Chelsea, who had
David Luiz sent off late on in Sunday's Premier League clash.
Arsene Wenger's side had lost both of their previous games on the road this
season - at Stoke and Liverpool - but might have picked up all three points at
Stamford Bridge, as Aaron Ramsey struck the post in the first half and Shkodran
Mustafi had a goal disallowed in the second.
Chelsea defender Luiz was sent off in the closing stages for a nasty challenge
on Sead Kolasinac, as 12th-placed Arsenal missed the chance to climb into the
top half, while Chelsea remain third behind Manchester United and Manchester
City.
The home side dominated the opening stages, but Arsenal grew into the game and
almost snatched the lead in the 17th minute when Danny Welbeck headed Hector
Bellerin's cross just over the bar, before Alexandre Lacazette's low shot was
blocked by Thibaut Courtois.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Courtois (7), Azpilicueta (7), Luiz (3), Cahill (6),
Moses (6), Kante (6), Fabregas (7), Alonso (6), Willian (7), Morata (6), Pedro
(6).
Subs: Bakayoko (6), Hazard (6), Christiensen (n/a)
Arsenal: Cech (7), Mustafi (6), Koscielny (7), Monreal (7),
Bellerin (8), Xhaka (7), Ramsey (8), Kolasinac (7), Iwobi (7), Welbeck (7),
Lacazette (5).
Subs: Sanchez (6), Giroud (6), Elneny (5)
Man of the match: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech, on his return to Stamford Bridge, stood firm to
deny Pedro when clean through on goal and Ramsey went even closer at the other
end, dancing past two defenders and striking the post with Lacazette unable to
turn in the rebound.
Antonio Conte had replaced Pedro with Tiemoue Bakayoko at the break, while
Arsene Wenger waited until the 66th minute to make his first change, introducing
Alexis Sanchez for the ineffective Lacazette.
Chelsea responded by sending on Eden Hazard for only his second Premier League
appearance of the season, before Welbeck sustained an injury and was forced to
limp out of the action, replaced by Olivier Giroud.
Team news
Mesut Ozil missed out through injury and Arsene Wenger said Alexis Sanchez was
only fit enough for the bench. Gary Cahill and Willian returned for Chelsea with
Eden Hazard named among the substitutes.
Following the flurry of substitutions, Arsenal thought they had taken the lead
when Mustafi headed in Granit Xhaka's free-kick from close range - only to have
his celebrations correctly cut short by the linesman's offside flag.
Hazard's curling effort from the edge of the area into the palms of Cech was as
close as Chelsea came before they were reduced to 10 men with three minutes
remaining.
Earlier in the half, Luiz had perhaps been fortunate to escape with a booking,
in light of Sadio Mane's red card for Liverpool against Manchester City last
weekend, when he mis-timed an overhead kick and caught Laurent Koscielny in the
face.
But he was eventually shown a straight red by Michael Oliver in the 87th minute
as he recklessly challenged Kolasinac with his studs showing to become the
fourth Chelsea player to be dismissed this season.
Opta stats
Chelsea failed to score in a competitive home match under Conte for the first
time (27 games).
This was the first 0-0 draw between these two sides at Stamford Bridge since
April 2005.
Arsenal have now failed to score in eight of their last 14 trips to Stamford
Bridge in all competitions.
Arsenal have not won away at a 'big six' club in the Premier League since
January 2015 (2-0 at Man City).
Chelsea have been given as many red cards in their last five Premier League
games (3) as they had in their previous 73.
The pundit - Thierry Henry
It wasn't difficult for Arsenal to be better than they were against Liverpool.
It was standard, for me, for what you need to do away from home. Whether you are
playing the champions or not you need to be careful of what's going to happen.
Yes, it was way better, they got a point and Aaron Ramsey was way better but
also the team defended better. The wingers were tucking in and helping and
recovering. The three at the back were better also because the job was done in
front of them. Everything was better today.
Man of the Match - Aaron Ramsey
In a game of few chances, Arsenal's midfielder produced the best of the lot,
dancing past David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta two minutes before half-time and
seeing his shot come back off the post.
But he was awarded the Man of the Match trophy for his all-round play, as he
covered more distance than any other player (12.34km) and completed 42 of his 51
passes. It was an energetic, determined and stubborn performance that was at the
core of Arsenal's best away display of the season so far.
What's next?
Chelsea host Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, before
visiting Stoke in their next Premier League game on Saturday. Arsenal host
Doncaster in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup match before another live Sky Sports
match at home to West Brom on Monday Night Football.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill (c), Moses, Kante,
Fabregas, Alonso, Willian (Hazard 70), Pedro (Bakayoko 46), Morata (Christensen
89)
Subs Not Used Caballero, Rudiger, Zappacosta, Batshuayi
Booked Luiz, Morata
Sent Off Luiz 87
Goals
Arsenal Cech, Koscieiny (c), Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin,
Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Iwobi (Elneny 80), Lacazette (Sanchez 66), Welbeck
(Giroud 73)
Subs Not Used Ospina, Mertesacker, Maitland-Niles, Walcott
Booked Elneny, Kolasinac, Bellerin
Goals
Attendance 41,478
Referee Michael Oliver