Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea: Blues miss chance to remain second
The draw helps Chelsea stay third on 46 points, one behind Man United, and Arsenal remain only sixth on 39 points. The two sides have finished their mutual fixtures all square since the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
The upcoming clash isn't to be a title decider by any means, with Man City setting unrealistic standards at the top of the Premier League table.
Kick-off: Wednesday 03 January 2018, 7.45pm GMT.
Subs: Mertesacker, Ospina, Walcott, Iwobi, Welbeck, Coquelin, Elneny.
Chelsea: Courtois - Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill - Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso - Hazard, Morata (3-5-2 formation)
Subs: Caballero, Rudiger, Drinkwater, Pedro, Zappacosta, Willian, Batshuayi.
Blues, meanwhile, did offer much to threaten but never went close to breaking the deadlock, with Morata getting the best chance to score when through on goal but side-footed just wide of the right upright.
Open play then continued in the second before Arsenal holding midfielder Jack Wilshere finally netted The Gunners' opener on 63 minutes after being put clear through on goal by the deflected ball off Morata, only to coolly finish into the top left-hand corner.
Three minutes later Chelsea were awarded a penalty kick - Eden Hazard entering the area on the left and conceding a foul by Bellerin - which the Belgian international successfully converted to level matters.
Chelsea completely turned things around when Alonso poked home a Zappacosta cross from the right to make it 2-1 six minutes from time before Hector Bellerin netted the equaliser wrapping up a very eventful 2-2 fare.
When and where did the match take place?
Arsenal host London counterparts Chelsea for the fixture in 2017/18 that was last season's turning point in the Blues's title aspirations - exactly after being thrashed 3-0 at Emirates, Antonio Conte began to utilize his trademark approach with three centre-backs.The upcoming clash isn't to be a title decider by any means, with Man City setting unrealistic standards at the top of the Premier League table.
Kick-off: Wednesday 03 January 2018, 7.45pm GMT.
How the teams lined up:
Arsenal: Cech - Chambers, Mustafi, Holding - Bellerin, Wilshere, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles - Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette (1-1-1 formation)Subs: Mertesacker, Ospina, Walcott, Iwobi, Welbeck, Coquelin, Elneny.
Chelsea: Courtois - Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill - Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso - Hazard, Morata (3-5-2 formation)
Subs: Caballero, Rudiger, Drinkwater, Pedro, Zappacosta, Willian, Batshuayi.
How it developed:
A lovely end-to-end first half ended with a raft of missed opportunities at both ends - Sanchez hitting a shot from inside the Chelsea box that twice licked each of the posts, never getting in.Blues, meanwhile, did offer much to threaten but never went close to breaking the deadlock, with Morata getting the best chance to score when through on goal but side-footed just wide of the right upright.
Open play then continued in the second before Arsenal holding midfielder Jack Wilshere finally netted The Gunners' opener on 63 minutes after being put clear through on goal by the deflected ball off Morata, only to coolly finish into the top left-hand corner.
Three minutes later Chelsea were awarded a penalty kick - Eden Hazard entering the area on the left and conceding a foul by Bellerin - which the Belgian international successfully converted to level matters.
Chelsea completely turned things around when Alonso poked home a Zappacosta cross from the right to make it 2-1 six minutes from time before Hector Bellerin netted the equaliser wrapping up a very eventful 2-2 fare.
