Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: 10-man Blues hold league leaders in fiery encounter

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Evening Standard

·30 November 2025

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: 10-man Blues hold league leaders in fiery encounter

Mikel Arteta’s men head into December top of the pile

Chelsea held league leaders Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in a heated, top-of-the-table affair at Stamford Bridge.

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The Blues found themselves down to 10 men when Moises Caicedo was given his marching orders for a dangerous challenge on Mikel Merino in the first half, which the hosts had shaded.

Referee Anthony Taylor was card-happy on a feisty afternoon in west London, and the first half was relatively low-key in terms of goalscoring opportunities.

Robert Sanchez denied Bukayo Saka’s low, right-footed drive early on, before getting down sharply to keep out Gabriel Martinelli.

But it was Enzo Maresca’s side that went ahead, as Trevoh Chalobah popped up at the near post to flick home Reece James’ corner on 48 minutes, giving the home side something to cling onto.

They weren’t able to, however, as Merino rose highest at the far post to nod past Sanchez from a delicate Saka stand-up just shy of the hour.

Sanchez came to the home side’s rescue late on when he kept out Martin Odegaard’s daisy-cutter, and Chelsea were outraged by the returning Viktor Gyokeres’ chalenge on the Spaniard as he lunged for the rebound.

The result leaves Chelsea in third in the table, a point off Manchester City in second, and six behind the Gunners.