Chelsea and Arsenal separate in a draw

Chelsea and Arsenal delivered a lively London derby but without a winner (1-1), Sunday at Stamford Bridge, a result which suits championship leader Liverpool and its runner-up Manchester City. Chelsea (3rd) and Arsenal (4th) now have 19 points, four less than Pep Guardiola’s “Citizens” (2nd, 23 pts) and nine less than Arne Slot’s “Reds” (1st, 28 pts). ). Arsenal perhaps leaves with the most regrets. The “Gunners” opened the scoring with Gabriel Martinelli (60th, 0-1) but were caught by a goal from Pedro Neto ten minutes later (70th, 1-1). Mikel Arteta’s team is going through a bad patch, especially in the league where they have only collected two points in their last four matches (two defeats and two draws).

The Chelsea “Blues” have a second consecutive draw after bringing home a point from Manchester United (1-1) last weekend. In the first half, Arsenal were the most threatening. Kai Havertz even managed to break through the inattentive blue defense with a quickly played free kick, but the German was flagged offside and his goal canceled (33rd). Chelsea supporters applauded the VAR and booed their former striker. The only scorer in the 2021 Champions League final, won with Chelsea against Manchester City, had the bad idea of ​​celebrating his goal with a finger on his mouth…

It was finally his partner Martinelli who reduced the “Bridge” to silence by scoring in front of a jubilant visitors’ field (60th, 0-1). The Brazilian left winger benefited from new lax marking from the opposing defense and, above all, from a delicious pass from his captain Martin Odegaard, starting for the first time since the end of August. The return from injury of the Norwegian, starting for the first time in two months, is good for Arsenal but it does not erase all the ills of the “Gunners”, whose defense is much more permeable than last season. Pedro Neto had far too much space in front of him before landing a heavy strike into the net from David Raya (70th, 1-1).