Chelsea and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Kai Havertz thought he had put the visitors ahead during the first half, collecting a quick pass and then firing beyond Robert Sanchez — but the goal was checked by the video assistant referee and ruled out for offside.
The match came to life in the second half. Gabriel Martinelli put Arsenal ahead, latching onto a cross before squeezing in a shot at the near post. Pedro Neto equalised for Chelsea soon after, collecting a pass on the edge of the area and hitting a low strike into the bottom corner.
Here, The Athletic’s experts Amy Lawrence, Liam Twomey and Thom Harris analyse the game.
Have Arsenal got a problem with losing leads in big games?
Conceding the lead in big games is so costly for Arsenal.
There was something painfully familiar about the emotional lurch that Arsenal experienced during this game. At City, Arsenal were close to a critical win only to let in a goal and see three points sliced down to one. It was the same against Liverpool at home — albeit there was the frustration of having a completely rejigged defence to try to see that one out. At Stamford Bridge, Arsenal were visibly buoyed when Martin Odegaard and Martinelli combined to give them the lead.
They knew how much they needed a win. Not a half-glass draw. The boost to their position in the table was obvious, but also to the sense of their own ambitions this season. It has been a troublesome few weeks, on and off the pitch, which leaves them well off the Premier League pace.
Arsenal are significantly less secure defensively than last season. They need fine-tuning at both ends to get closer to challenging for the title.
Amy Lawrence
Was this the day Neto firmly established himself?
In the 24th minute, Neto sized up Ben White for what seemed like an eternity in a crossing position on the left flank. Jinking and fainting this way and that, soundtracked by the growing mockery of the travelling Arsenal supporters only a couple of metres away, it seemed he was going nowhere.
Then in the blink of an eye, he dug out a pinpoint cross to the back post, where the arriving Malo Gusto headed over from close range. It should have been the opening goal and served notice that Neto was sharp. On the Chelsea bench, Enzo Fernandez, Joao Felix and Renato Veiga stood to applaud.
On another day, that might have been the high point for Neto, but instead, the second half delivered the signature moment of his Chelsea career.
Noni Madueke was the unfortunate sacrifice required for it to happen, obviously annoyed to be substituted for Mykhailo Mudryk in the 68th minute — a change that shifted Neto from the left, where his performances have improved markedly in recent weeks, to his preferred and most dangerous area on the right.
Neto celebrates his equaliser (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Two minutes later, he received a pass from Fernandez, drove diagonally infield into an uncharacteristically large pocket of space between the Arsenal lines, and lashed a low shot confidently beyond David Raya into the bottom corner.
It provided a release for Stamford Bridge and relief for Sanchez, who had allowed himself to be beaten at his near post by Martinelli for the opener. It also intensified what looks to be direct competition between Neto and Madueke for the starting spot on the right wing once Jadon Sancho is available again to vie with Mudryk.
On current form — and expect this to ebb and flow throughout the season — Neto is Chelsea’s most dangerous winger and needs to play when it matters most.
Liam Twomey
Did Maresca’s full-back switch work out?
This season’s trend of every Chelsea line-up having at least one interesting or unexpected wrinkle continued against Arsenal. This time it was the benching of club captain Reece James after two pretty positive Premier League showings at left-back, with Marc Cucurella restored to the side in his place.
Enzo Maresca was uncharacteristically cryptic when asked for his rationale in a pre-match interview with Sky Sports. “Reece is fit and we are happy with him,” he said. “Since he came back he has played all of the Premier League games and today we took a different decision.”
There was no grand structural change to Chelsea’s back line — Gusto still ‘inverted’ from right-back into Maresca’s “right pocket” in possession, with Cucurella largely staying back alongside Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill as James had done against Newcastle United and Manchester United.
Cucurella (second left) came back into the side (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Perhaps it was with the Bukayo Saka match-up in mind? Cucurella has done an effective hassling job against Arsenal’s talismanic winger at Stamford Bridge before and he did so again for stretches here — although Saka was one of two Arsenal players allowed to run free in Chelsea’s penalty area for the visitors’ breakthrough goal.
The other, Martinelli, attacked from an area where Gusto would likely have been had he been functioning as a conventional right-back.
At the other end, Maresca’s structure almost yielded rich returns, with Gusto missing a gilt-edged headed chance from Neto’s inviting cross in the first half. Ultimately the James/Cucurella switch was not decisive for Chelsea, though it does raise interesting questions about the club captain’s importance at Stamford Bridge.
Liam Twomey
How important was the Odegaard effect?
An injection of much-needed positivity was inevitable with the return of such a crucial player in Odegaard. Arsenal have dearly missed their captain’s leadership, dynamism and creativity. Maybe it was not so surprising that he was not at full capacity after so many weeks out — but even a rusty Odegaard is capable of making a difference.
Odegaard slotting into advanced midfield allowed Arsenal to rejig their strategy and shape to the 4-3-3 that served them so well last season. He dropped quite deep when Arsenal needed him to push up and orchestrate high up the pitch. On other occasions, he beckoned for the ball in space but the connections were not properly re-switched on with his team-mates.
Odegaard sprinkled some magic dust over his team when he floated the ball perfectly to Martinelli, who swept in Arsenal’s first away goal in the Premier League since they played at City in September.
Amy Lawrence
Odegaard returned to action on Sunday (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Is Colwill one of Chelsea’s most important passers?
For a side that build up with the fluidity of Maresca’s Chelsea — often bringing their full-backs inside and encouraging their attacking players to interchange to move the opposition around — a centre-back with the passing range of Colwill can be a powerful tool.
Arsenal were aggressive in their forward press, and went man-for-man in midfield while looking to block the passing lanes into Cole Palmer and Madueke further up, but Colwill’s ability to slice through that pressure stood out in an open first half. Being a left-footed player on the left side opens up some useful angles, allowing the 21-year-old to open his body and progress the play down his flank, or turn inside and fire those dangerous passes inside.
Per The Athletic’s progressive pass definition — a pass that moves the ball at least 25 per cent closer to the centre of the opposition goal — only Cristian Romero and Virgil van Dijk have completed more than Colwill’s 6.7 per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, but it’s the variety, as much as the quantity, that makes him stand out.
It took just five minutes for that range to come to the fore, as Colwill dropped into the middle of Chelsea’s back three with the ball and found Palmer with an incisive pass into the final third. Just five minutes later, he was on the left of the three as Moises Caicedo dropped in, and found an inch-perfect switch for Madueke to cut inside and shoot, before a fizzed pass into Gusto highlighted the value of versatility further forward, combined with a pin-point passer from deep. The range of Colwill’s passes can be seen in his player dashboard below.
His performance was not immaculate — he almost gifted Arsenal a goal after blasting the ball into Saka and was the man who played Martinelli onside for the opener — but on the ball, Chelsea’s reliance on Colwill to move the ball up the pitch illustrated his team-mates faith in him, and the damage they believe his impressive collection of line-splitting passes can do.
Thom Harris
What next for Chelsea?
Saturday, November 23: Leicester City (Away), Premier League, 12.30pm UK, 7.30am ET
What next for Arsenal?
Saturday, November 23: Notitngham Forest (Home), Premier League, 3pm UK, 10am ET
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(Top photo: Getty Images)
