Chelsea – Arsenal: Spirited Gunners Earn ‘Smash And Grab’ Draw (2-2)

An interesting tactical battle was developing at Stamford Bridge when David Luiz was dismissed after 25 minutes, and Chelsea subsequently took the lead. With ten men, Arsenal had next to no attacking output, but somehow managed to keep the game competitive, before Gabriel Martinelli capitalized on N'Golo Kanté’s slip to equalize. Arsenal sat back and tried to defend their point, as drama unfolded in the closing stages as César Azpilicueta and Héctor Bellerín scored in quick succession to end the game 2-2. 
Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

The last Premier League meeting between Chelsea and Arsenal took place just a few weeks ago. In that game, Arsenal started as the dominant side before Frank Lampard made tactical alterations to try and bring Chelsea back into the game. In the end, Arsenal were slightly unfortunate to lose on the balance of the overall performances of the two sides. 

A few days after that game, Arsenal went on to beat Manchester United, which remains Mikel Arteta’s only Premier League win as Arsenal manager. The results do not necessarily tell the full story in this respect though, as Arsenal under Arteta play with increased energy and clearly have a more cohesive idea which they are working towards compared to Unai Emery’s time at the club.

Chelsea meanwhile . . .