Arsenal failed to capitalise on a man advantage as ten men Chelsea held on for a valuable point in a fiesty affair.
The first half was interesting to say the least but it was Chelsea that looked the more promising going forward and seemed the more likely to open the scoring. Despite that, however, the Blues were reduced to ten men on 38 minutes when Moises Caicedo caught Mikel Merino with a high challenge following a VAR review.
In a half of very few clear-cut chances, it was Arsenal who came the closest to scoring. Gabriel Martinelli pushed forward for the Gunners as he combined with Declan Rice, but saw his low-driven effort kept out by Robert Sanchez.
However, three minutes into the second half, Chelsea opened the scoring when a Reece James corner was headed home by the towering Trevoh Chalobah. But their lead lasted only eleven minutes as the away side responded through Mikel Merino, who nodded home Bukayo Saka's cross to level.
Chances remained few and far between as neither side could score the winning goal - Arsenal came the closest through Merino but Sanchez was able to make the save. The gap between the Gunners and Chelsea remains at six points but Manchester City sit 2nd and five behind the leaders having defeated Leeds the day before.
Story of the Match
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca made just one change from Tuesday's victory over Barcelona, which saw Alejandro Garnacho make way for Joao Pedro, who started up front with Pedro Neto moving back out wide.
Meanwhile, for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta was without both of his starting centre-backs after William Saliba picked up a knock in training as Piero Hincapie partnered Cristhian Mosquera. Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Martinelli both came into the starting eleven in place of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Leandro Trossard respectively.
The match got off to a fiery start with tackles flying in left, right and centre, as referee Anthony Taylor brandished the first yellow card of the contest after just five minutes to Martin Zubimendi, before booking Marc Cucurella shortly after.
With 13 minutes on the clock, the first attempt of the evening fell to Arsenal. A long throw-in was cleared towards Eberechi Eze on the edge of the area, who played through Bukayo Saka as his shot was kept out by Robert Sanchez.
Meanwhile, the home side threatened for the first time when Neto worked his way into the Gunners penalty area before Declan Rice made a vital interception. Shortly after, Estevao came close after a loose ball from Mosquera fell kindly to the Brazilian, who blazed over the bar. The Chelsea youngster then curled a shot off-target moments later.
Chelsea were very much the dominant team as the half wore on and a mistake at the back from Hincapie gifted the ball to Joao Pedro, but the Brazilian was unable to fire a shot towards goal. The Blues' first attempt on target came just after the half-hour mark when Estevao forayed forward before setting up Enzo Fernandez, whose shot proved comfortable for David Raya.
However, despite a promising start, the home side's evening was soon made more difficult when they were reduced to ten men. Moises Caicedo lunged in on Mikel Merino with a reckless foul and following a VAR review, the Ecuadorian was given his marching orders.
With the match in first-half stoppage time, the visitors came close to breaking the deadlock when Martinelli played a excellent one-two with Rice, before firing a shot towards goal that drew a good save from Sanchez.
Maresca made his first substitution of the game by bringing on Garnacho in place of Estevao. Just two minutes after the restart, Chelsea had a early chance from a free-kick that was delivered in by James towards Pedro at the backpost as Raya made the save.
However, it was from the resulting corner where the home side broke the deadlock. James was over the set piece, which was delivered in deep as Trevoh Chalobah rose the highest to head home as the Blues started the second half in sublime fashion.
Despite being a man light, Chelsea continued to remain in control of proceedings as they frustrated the Arsenal attack, who introduced both Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard off the bench.
Just shy of the hour mark, the Gunners found themselves level as Saka pushed forward into the penalty area before crossing to Merino, who headed home from close range.
The goal very much woke Arsenal up, who dominated in possession but yet again found it difficult to break through the Blues defence, who themselves remained hopeful of getting back in front. Substitute Liam Delap had a chance with less than 15 minutes to go, but Raya was alert to the danger.
Meanwhile, Arsenal pushed forward on the counterattack led by Odegaard, as he played through Saka down the right-hand side, but his shot was fired way off-target.
As the match headed into the closing stages, both sides looked eager to score what would be the winning goal. Chelsea got forward on the break as Sanchez released the ball into the path of Neto, who curled a shot well wide.
The visitors then came close to stealing all three points when a Merino strike was parried by Sanchez, with Viktor Gyokores unable to poke home the rebound. The Spaniard then had another opportunity with just seconds remaining but could only head over the bar.