Chelsea will be delighted with the way they secured a point at Stamford Bridge to pick up a draw against Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Blues should have been on the back foot after Moises Caicedo’s reckless red card in the first half, but they continued to take the game to the Gunners and took the lead just after half-time.
Trevoh Chalobah had given Chelsea the lead, however were unable to hold on as Mikel Merino levelled the game midway through the second half.
Despite being down a man, the Blues pushed on and gave everything. Reece James was a clear candidate for Man of the Match in the middle of the park.
Who was your Man of the Match vs Arsenal?
Mikel Arteta says Chelsea were targeting Riccardo Calafiori during draw vs Arsenal
Mikel Arteta was clearly worried that the Blues still held a threat in the game, and made the decision to substitute off Riccardo Calafiori after his first half booking.
The Spaniard told Sky Sports he believed Chelsea were trying to get the Italian sent off, and he felt like he had to be removed before the game went down to ten-a-side.
He said: “We had four players with yellow cards, and you could see that they were targeting those players to make the game even.
“The one who was the biggest risk was Riccy [Calafiori] up against Estevao or Neto, that’s why I had to take him out. We did that, but we didn’t really settle, because first action of the second half – long ball, they get a foul, wide free-kick, corner, and they score. It took us a while to get through that.”
Arsenal had Martin Zubimendi, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie also booked in a physical first half, and the pace of the game didn’t slow up.
Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
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Maresca faces Caicedo headache
Chelsea will be without Caicedo for three games in a row, starting with the away trip to Leeds United on Wednesday.
Mark Clattenburg’s thoughts on Caicedo’s red card…
Speaking exclusively to The Chelsea Chronicle, the former Premier League referee said:
There is no doubt that Moises Caicedo deserve a red card for a shocking tackle that catches his opponent above the foot which could easily endanger the safety of his opponent. Some will argue that the early yellow cards have created this tension but that is looking for excuses for such a tackle.
Mark Clattenburg
Maresca will now be tasked with finding a replacement for his near ever-present midfielder, and Andrey Santos looks the most likely candidate for the role.
The Brazilian has not made many starts for the club since returning from his loan at Strasbourg, but has impressed when given the chance.
James will likely still play some games in the middle of the park, but the speed of the fixtures coming at the Blues means he will likely miss at least one of those games.