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The hours since Arsenal’s draw with Chelseahave allowed for more reflection and thought in the wake of the result. Watching it back, a point even against ten men, was a good result.

Arsenal weren’t at their best, and to a degree, there are some learnings to take, particularly for Mikel Arteta. That said, they could have easily won this game against an 11-man Chelsea, too.

The Gunners created big chances through Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Mikel Merino and very nearly won it at the end, were it not for Jurrien Timber tipping the ball over Viktor Gyokeres’ head.

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However, the volume of yellow cards, which for me several came in moments where Anthony Taylor should’ve, in the context of this game, kept a lid on things more.

It had a significant effect on Arsenal’s capacity to play in the way they might have wanted to against ten. With four of the defensive line and the number six on a caution for the majority of the match, it affected their mindset and approach.

Arteta recognised this post-match when he spokeabout the targeting of players on yellow cards. While it’s laughable that Enzo Maresca thought Piero Hincapie should have walked.

“After the sending off of Caicedo, obviously, we wanted to settle the game," Arteta said. "We didn't manage to do that. We had more yellow cards, we had four yellow cards.

“Obviously, those players were constantly targeted to try to even the game in terms of numbers. At half-time, we said, okay, let's pause it now. Let's now get what we have to do.

“Very clear what the intention and how we're going to dominate the game. In the first action, long ball, gives a free-kick, wide free-kick, corner, concede a set-piece. So then the momentum shifted and emotionally the team had to react to that.”

Arsenal got cards where Chelsea didn’t. Besides the red card, only Marc Cucurella was booked, and when you watch it back, it's remarkable that one foul separated the two sides (12/13). Enzo Fernandez somehow escaped a booking in the entire game, even after kicking Noni Madueke on the floor in the second half, it was baffling.

Yet I do come back to my nit-pick from Spurs. After the fourth goal on the 74th minute, one change was made in the whole game before the 88th minute and the Gunners left an unused sub on the bench. The north Londoners looked tired on Sunday. And perhaps could have conserved more, although I admit it is easy to say with the benefit of hindsight.

Players like Christian Norgaard might’ve given Declan Rice some respite; the England international completed the 90 minutes against both Spurs and Bayern Munich. Granted, we don’t know the loads of some players on that bench, but I still think there was more in reserve available than we used. For me, it means ringing the changes to try and beat Brentford on Wednesday.

Resting Merino, Eberechi Eze, Jurrien Timber, Saka, perhaps Rice (playing two attacking 8s with Zubimendi, who came off earlier at Chelsea), might be the play. Starters can become finishers for this game ahead of the huge test at Villa Park on Saturday, with less than three days between the games to recover.

If Arsenal win that, they would have effectively ticked off almost all of the toughest away trips in the league. While Chelsea sit just six points behind, their fixtures have been far kinder as they must face Manchester City twice, as well as Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Newcastle.

They must go to Sunderland and Brighton who have both beaten them at Stamford Bridge already. And of course, they face a return trip to the Emirates Stadium.

This was a big chance for Chelsea to beat Arsenal and they failed. They failed because of Moises Caicedo and they failed because in the absence of big players, other Arsenal stars stepped up despite overall not having the best display.

Players are coming back for the Gunners, and we haven’t even mentioned the absence of William Saliba and Gabriel for this game, only the second time this has happened in the league in three years, three months, and 25 days… Arteta seemed to appreciate being told this post-match.

A draw that feels like a loss. But, in context, this is not a bad result but one that needs to be learned from.