Arsenal appeared to be in control at Stamford Bridge when Gabriel Martinelli netted the opener against Chelsea the last time these two sides met in November.
The Brazilian was found in space at the back post with 60 minutes on the clock and after controlling the ball, made no mistake when firing past Robert Sanchez at his near post. Kai Havertz had a goal ruled out for offside in the first half and Sanchez was called into action numerous times in the opening hour.
Chelsea did have chances of their own throughout the match, however, and just 10 minutes after Martinelli's strike the Blues were level. A wonderful Pedro Neto goal from outside the box left David Raya scrambling to his left but the Spaniard could not keep it out.
The game finished 1-1 and, for the neutral, it was a fascinating match to watch. Mikel Arteta was less impressed, though, and believed his side should have come away with all three points.
"Disappointed with the result because I think we deserved more and at the same time very proud of the team, the way we played here against this opponent, in this stadium, they have battered every opponent here and obviously it wasn’t the case today," Arteta said.
"But after doing the most difficult thing, scoring the first goal, very disappointed with how we conceded the goal, nowhere near the standards, our defensive habits, how we allowed that and the moment you allow that space and time to any of their players with the quality they have you’re going to get punished, so that’s not bad luck.
"But in the end, the team showed its teeth, how much they wanted it, they took risks, full determination, put Chelsea under every problem. We were very aggressive, we created three big chances and unfortunately we weren’t able to put the ball in the net to win and I think the team deserves it."
While Chelsea's form is not what it was at the start of the season, the Blues do have tonnes of quality throughout the squad and Arteta will be keen to not give the west Londoners space and time. The Arsenal boss referenced this above in his assessment of the tie in November and, ahead of Sunday's clash at Emirates Stadium, will be intent on putting things right this time.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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