Chelsea vs Arsenal. Premier League.
Stamford BridgeAttendance41,478.
Monday 18 September 2017 06:05, UK
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.
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.
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.
Antonio Conte (Chelsea): "I think it was a good, open game. Both teams tried to win the game and created chances to score. I think it was a good game but tough for both teams."
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal): "I think we were close to winning this game. It is a good basis to start from and go from strength to strength. You could still feel sometimes, because of what happened [against Liverpool], there was a little inhibition. With a bit more freedom, I believe we would have won the game."
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.
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.
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.
