LONDON: Honours were shared in this London derby after Chelsea had dominated for the major part of the match and then conceded two goals to Arsenal in a space of seven minutes.
Disappointed at the outcome of a game that Chelsea had in their pocket, manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “I’m disappointed because we dropped two points, but in football it can happen and we accept it. Until the 77th minute, when we conceded the first goal, we had the game under control. We didn’t give too many chances to an amazing Arsenal team.”
He added: “Where we can criticise a little bit is reading better the situation. We need to feel really sad but, in the circumstances, we need to feel proud of our performance.”
Chelsea, playing at home, have not beaten Arsenal in the past five years and it did seem from their control of most of the game that that situation was going to change. They took the lead with a 15th minute penalty which was not awarded straightaway.
They played on until the referee was summoned for a VAR check. A header from Mykhailo Mudryk from close range had struck the outstretched arm of William Saliba and there was no doubt on the spot kick decision. Cole Parker took the shot and sent David Raya the wrong way.
Chelsea kept the pressure on and could have extended the lead after a fine move from Conor Gallagher sent a pass to Parker whose left-footed low shot went just wide of the far post.
Just three minutes into the second half Arsenal lost possession in midfield to Marc Cucurella who made good ground before passing to Mudryk whose lovely curling shot lobbed over Raya and into the net.
Chelsea continued with their hold on the game, they were dogged in midfield and the defence looked solid against Arsenal’s attack which did increase with attacking substitutes brought on. But with only 13 minutes of normal playing time remaining the Gunners reduced the deficit.
It came from an error by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez who, with no pressure on him, rolled the ball in the direction of Declan Rice who scored with a fine 25-yard shot. That put Arsenal firmly back in the game as they went on looking for the equaliser.
Chelsea had defended well up to that point but with just six minutes of normal time remaining, Bukayo Saka, who had been well marked for most of the game by Cucurella, crossed from the left which beat Malo Gusto allowing Leandro Trossard to race in and finish just inside the right post.
A relieved Mikel Arteta, at getting a point said: “The way the team reacted to the second goal is phenomenal from the players on the pitch and the players on the bench thinking, ‘How the hell am I going to change this game?"
He added: “I really liked going into the dressing room and it’s quiet, after drawing 2-2 with Chelsea and coming back from 2-0 down, because I know they wanted more. That’s the positive.”
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