Arsenal fall further behind in title race with Neto earning Chelsea a hard-fought draw
Coming into this match, just goal difference separated these two sides in the league table, and those fine margins were echoed in an evenly-matched first half, with neither side able to produce a sustained period of dominance.
An early speculative effort from Cole Palmer forced David Raya into action before Malo Gusto spurned what turned out to be the best opportunity of the half, heading over Neto’s cross from inside the six-yard box.
At the other end, Arsenal’s most promising opening came when Gabriel Martinelli found himself a yard of space in the box, yet his unconvincing effort was comfortably dealt with by Robert Sanchez.
A quickly-taken free-kick from Declan Rice played in former Chelsea man Kai Havertz soon after, but his well-taken finish was chalked off for a marginal offside to keep the scores level.
Following a rather muted start to the second half, a dangerous inswinging ball from Noni Madueke threatened to spark the contest into life, as Wesley Fofana volleyed over the bar on the stretch.
That chance wasn’t quite the catalyst for a flurry of excitement, but with an hour played, the deadlock was nonetheless broken when Martin Odegaard – making his return to PL action – picked out Martinelli, who kept his cool to slot in at Sanchez’s near post.
However, the Blues were soon on level terms as Neto cut inside and drilled a low strike beyond the outstretched glove of Raya 10 minutes later.
Goalscoring opportunities were few and far between in the closing stages, with an offside flag denying Nicolas Jackson before another offside passage of play at the other end culminated with a smart, but ultimately inconsequential save from Sánchez.
Chelsea’s search for a first H2H win since August 2021 continues, but a point here keeps them third in the PL standings having lost just one of their last 10 league fixtures (W5, D4).
As for would-be title challengers Arsenal, they are now nine points off league leaders Liverpool, trailing Chelsea on GD and concerningly without an away PL victory since mid-September.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pedro Neto (Chelsea)
