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This must go down as a big opportunity wasted for Arsenal. And a battling point for ten-man Chelsea who once again showed their resilience and determination under Enzo Maresca.

Arsenal’s players looked disappointed at the final whistle because a victory would have really strengthened their grip on the Premier League title race. But Mikel Arteta’s men were a long way from their best, did not create enough chances and conceded Trevoh Chalobah’s opener from a set-piece.

And the biggest miss for the visitors was they played against ten men for more than an hour - including added time - and still could not take advantage of Moises Caicedo’s absence.

It was a moment of madness from Caicedo who, more often than not, is Chelsea’s best player and still Arsenal did not take charge of the game. Mikel Merino’s equaliser salvaged a point and in the grand scheme of things it is not a bad result bearing in mind that it was a hard fought, tricky and passionate London derby.

Arsenal are still five points clear of second-placed Manchester City but this was a chance to pull away from the chasing pack. Instead, Arsenal did not look sharp enough, they did not create enough and their passing was not good enough. This was a frustrating day at the office for Arsenal and their second consecutive away game where they have dropped points.

READ MORE: Arsenal offered reality check after being 'disappointed' with missed Chelsea chance

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They did look a bit jaded and maybe the past week caught up with them. They blitzed Tottenham in the North London derby and steamrollered Bayern Munich in the Champions League. But this felt like a game too far for Arsenal. And that is not a good sign ahead of a game with Brentford on Wednesday night followed by a trip to in-form Aston Villa three days later.

That sounds like Arsenal should be expected to beat Chelsea who actually have been going well of late. Chelsea were sensational in their Champions League win over Barcelona.

Maresca has made a habit of getting good results in big games. They could not quite get the win they wanted against Arsenal but to get a draw with only ten men just underlines their progress. It was hardly a classic and it will be remembered for the number of cards - six yellows for Arsenal, one yellow and a red for Chelsea - rather than the quality of football.

Referee Anthony Taylor did not always look as if he had control. Taylor booked Martin Zubimendi, Marc Cucurella, Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori within the first half an hour.

But Taylor actually missed Caicedo’s X-rated challenge on Merino after 38 minutes. It was an appalling over-the-top tackle. Taylor upgraded it to a red after checking the VAR screen.

The red card and siege mentality fired up Stamford Bridge. They went ahead just after the restart. Reece James’ free kick set up Joao Pedro but his header was brilliantly saved by Arsenal keeper David Raya. From the resulting corner, James’ superb near post delivery found Chalobah and his flicked header crept inside the back post.

Arsenal, who were missing William Saliba after he picked up a knock in training, rang the changes and the cavalry is coming back after injury. Noni Mandueke was among the substitutes and was jeered loudly on his first return to Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners levelled after 59 minutes. Bukayo Saka tricked and teased his way into the Chelsea box, his lovely cross put it on a plate for Mikel Merino to head home from close range. Incredibly, that was Saka’s first Premier League assist in 365 days. It was also only Merino’s second Premier League goal of the season.

Chelsea played it brilliantly as they still possessed a threat on the break. Keeper Robert Sanchez made good saves and they looked solid defensively.

But Arsenal could not find a winner. Madueke’s cross gave Jurrien Timber could not direct his header on goal. That just about summed up the afternoon.

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