Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1: Caicedo v Rice debate can be considered dead, but the title race is alive | OneFootball

A lot of the build-up to Chelsea vs Arsenal focused on the Premier League title race and whether the former could genuinely challenge the latter. But in the background, there was plenty of talk and excitement about the midfield battle between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice.

After getting the better of Rice in the opening 35 minutes, Caicedo effectively declared Rice the winner on the day, and perhaps overall, when he was sent off for a malicious challenge on Mikel Merino.

Just 35 minutes in, one of the biggest narratives of the match was put to bed. Chelsea fans will still fight their midfielder’s corner, of course, even if he put the Blues in a sizeable predicament against the best team in Europe with two-thirds of the match still to play.

In a game destined to be decided by the midfield and possibly a set-piece, it was extremely niggly. It was a battle in every sense: constant fouls, frequent yellow cards and, inevitably, a red. The first half had very little football in it. It was more WWE, broken up only by the occasional wayward effort from Estevao.

When the second half began, it briefly looked like we were headed for a Battle of the Bridge sequel as Chelsea tried their best to get Piero Hincapie a second yellow for an aerial foul on Joao Pedro. It definitely wasn’t a sending-off, though his initial yellow might’ve been one of those ‘orange cards’ after he left a lump on Trevoh Chalobah’s cheek with a dangerous elbow.

It was a feisty start, but shortly after, Chelsea took the lead through a Chalobah header from a corner. Yes, Arsenal’s bread and butter was used against them. It was an excellent front-post header in front of Declan Rice, looping over David Raya and nestling into the far corner. Cristhian Mosquera might have cleared it off the line, but he didn’t even jump.

The best part of the goal was that a football match finally broke out. That said, Myles Lewis-Skelly picked up a booking eight minutes after replacing Riccardo Calafiori at half-time, ensuring that three of Arsenal’s back four were again on yellow cards.

Chelsea taking the lead was a surprise, but they were the better team in the first half. On a day when Arsenal’s title credentials were supposed to be tested, they found themselves in a sticky situation. It was the perfect chance either to prove they’re the real deal or to fling the title race wide open.

With the Caicedo v Rice narrative dead, Mikel Arteta turned to Martin Odegaard and former Blue Noni Madueke to spark Arsenal back into life. Viktor Gyokeres wasn’t seen until the last 20 minutes, suggesting he isn’t fully fit yet, but it didn’t matter. His deputy, Mikel Merino, powered in a header from a sublime Bukayo Saka cross to give Arsenal half an hour to find a winner.

As Arsenal pushed forward, actual football stayed centre stage, with some Scenes We Love To See sprinkled in. Hincapie gave it large to Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez was beefing with David Raya and telling him to see him in the tunnel at full-time, and Gyokeres smashed Sanchez while going for a rebound. There had been enough spice in the first half for the second to be dull, but in a London derby you can never have too much. It all elevated the spectacle.

It always felt like we were heading for 10v10, and it always felt like there was another goal in the match. In the end, neither arrived, but Chelsea can be extremely pleased with their performance. And from an individual’s point of view, Reece James will be the most delighted with his performance. The Chelsea captain was superb.

What Maresca’s side showed at 11v11 is enough to believe they can beat Arsenal on any given day. Combine that with how they played at 10v11, and they look like a team capable of challenging them for the title. The fact it rarely looked like they were a man short speaks volumes.

At this stage of the season, a win wasn’t essential, though it could have blown the title race wide open. A draw is a good result for both sides, but Chelsea will rue not taking all three points, while Arsenal failing to beat ten men will obviously frustrate them. But they simply weren’t at it.

Saka’s assist was brilliant, but overall he had a poor game with some woeful attempts at Sanchez’s goal. There was a clear downgrade at centre-back without William Saliba. And Martin Zubimendi struggled after picking up an early yellow.

The one Arsenal player who did stand tall, again, was Rice, though his influence naturally increased once Caicedo had been sent off. Still, that red card kills the debate… until Arsenal and Chelsea meet again on February 28.