The first half lacked clear-cut chances, but there was drama when Kai Havertz had a goal disallowed for offside, much to the frustration of the Chelsea faithful. Arsenal looked the more dangerous of the two sides as the half wore on, but neither team could break the deadlock before the break.
However, the game came alive just after the hour mark when Arsenal took the lead through Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian winger found himself in space on the left and unleashed a powerful shot past Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a tight angle, putting the visitors 1-0 ahead.
Chelsea responded well to going behind and were level just 13 minutes later. Adama Neto made the most of passive defending from the Arsenal backline, lashing home from outside the box to draw Chelsea level with a thunderous strike. The goal, coming in the 74th minute, was a testament to Chelsea's ability to respond quickly under pressure.
As the game neared its end, Arsenal could have snatched all three points. Leandro Trossard was twice presented with golden opportunities to score, but the Belgian forward squandered both chances, failing to hit the target when he really should have done better. His misses were costly, as Mikel Arteta's men had to settle for a draw.
Despite dominating possession, Chelsea created 1.28 expected goals (xG) to Arsenal's 0.99, suggesting they might feel they deserved to come away with all three points. However, Arsenal's resilience and Chelsea’s missed chances meant the spoils were shared.
The draw leaves Arsenal in fourth place, level on points with Chelsea in third, but still nine points behind league leaders Liverpool. Both teams will now look to build on this result after the upcoming international break. Chelsea will travel to Leicester City for their next match, while Arsenal will host Nottingham Forest, hoping to bounce back from this disappointing result.
For now, both teams will reflect on missed opportunities, but the draw keeps them closely packed in the race for the top four.
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