The Blues almost levelled in stoppage time as collective anxiety among Gunners fans reached danger level, but Chelsea now have to regroup and recharge with midweek action at Villa Park before Saturday evening’s FA Cup jaunt to Wrexham.
Yet again the Blues finished a game with 10 men, this time Pedro Neto picking up two yellows in as many minutes. Those halcyon days of Chelsea topping European fair play leagues are in the dim, distant past.
All three of Sunday’s goals at the Emirates came from corners that took deflections. Arsenal opened the scoring when William Saliba’s header bundled in off defender Mamadou Sarr’s shoulder, but Chelsea equalised before the break in similar fashion when a Reece James corner bounced in off Piero Hincapie.
Arsenal's Jurrien Timber (right) heads the ball clear as Chelsea's Joao Pedro (front centre) is held by Arsenal's William Saliba (rear centre) during the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, London (Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)
It all went wrong in the 66th minute. Jurrien Timber’s header took yet another deflection to make it 2-1 before Pedro Neto was booked twice in rapid succession. Even though Liam Rosenior brought on a slew of subs, the leveller proved elusive.
Liam Delap thought he’d scored in stoppage time, but the offside flag denied him.
Chelsea’s season is in danger of petering away to nothing unless discipline improves. “We conceded two goals from set-plays, and it’s really disappointing to have another red card,” said the gaffer, adding that the whole team had to make better decisions to avoid further sendings-off.
The Blues have picked up seven red cards in this season’s Premier League campaign – a woeful record that can surely be changed with players taking more responsibility for their actions.