Chelsea held on for a 1-1 draw against Premier League leaders Arsenal despite Moises Caicedo’s first-half red card in a fiery London derby at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Caicedo had a yellow card upgraded to a red following a VAR check for a studs-up challenge on Mikel Merino as he became the fourth Chelsea player to be sent off this season.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Enzo Maresca’s side went in front straight after half-time when Trevoh Chalobah flicked a Reece James corner beyond David Raya with a near-post header. Arsenal found a leveller when Bukayo Saka twisted and turned on the right-hand side of the Chelsea box and dug out a cross for makeshift striker Merino to head into the corner.
At that point, with half an hour still to play against 10 men, it seemed Arsenal were well-placed to go on and win the game, but they struggled to carve out clear chances. They went closest to a winner through Merino, who drew a sharp save from Robert Sanchez from the edge of the box, but that was one of only eight shots to Chelsea’s 11 as the hosts defended resolutely.
The Gunners were without both first-choice centre-backs, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, for only the second time in 162 league matches and risked going down to 10 men themselves, receiving six bookings, including four in the stormy first period.
The draw means Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League is cut from six to five points, with Manchester City having moved above Chelsea into second thanks to their win over Leeds on Saturday.
