Arsenal 0-0

Telegraph:

Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0: Gunners claim moral victory from London derby as they end five-match losing streak at Stamford Bridge

Matt Law

It may not have been a first Premier League win away against one of the so-called ‘big six’ since January 2015, but Arsenal will claim a moral victory from this London derby after giving their travelling fans encouragement they might not have to suffer a season of embarrassment.

Arsene Wenger’s men should really have secured a proper victory, as they squandered the best opportunities and had a man advantage for the final minutes after David Luiz was sent-off. But the Arsenal supporters who stayed behind to applaud their team are just relieved not to be going to work to face the same old jokes.

The fact a goalless draw was achieved at Stamford Bridge without the injured Mesut Ozil will not have gone unnoticed by those aware that Arsenal’s last significant away win came against Manchester City without the German. Ozil has often been accused of not turning up for the big games even when he has been on the pitch and it was clear that Arsenal were not carrying any passengers against Chelsea, as Danny Welbeck, Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette forced the Blues defenders to look backwards and sideways with their passing.

An Arsenal defence that has so often been bullied into submission by Diego Costa also stood up to the test with Shkodran Mustafi getting the better of Costa’s replacement, Alvaro Morata, who was eventually booked for letting his frustration get the better of him.

The commitment of Alexis Sanchez may well be questioned once again as he appeared to find record signing Lacazette’s contender for miss of the season funny from the substitutes’ bench, but this was not a performance that will see the attitude of Arsenal’s players come under the spotlight once again.

Sanchez was dropped back down to the bench, where Olivier Giroud also started, after playing 90 minutes in the Europa League victory over Cologne. With Sanchez and Giroud both watching from the sidelines during the first half, the responsibility to threaten Chelsea’s goal fell to Welbeck and Lacazette, and the pair missed the best chances of the game.

Welbeck headed over the crossbar from Hector Bellerin’s cross, while Lacazette could not believe he did not find the back of the net four minutes before the break. Aaron Ramsey went on a brilliant, winding run into the penalty area, which took him past Cesar Azpilicueta, and the Welshman’s shot rebounded off the post. Lacazette looked to have the simple task of tucking the ball into the net, but instead lifted it over the bar from four yards.

While Wenger and the rest of the Arsenal bench held their heads in their hands, Sanchez could be seen slapping the back of David Ospina with a big smile on his face.

Conte decided Eden Hazard was not yet fit enough to start his first game of the season for Chelsea, while Costa, who has previously enjoyed facing Arsenal, was still nowhere to be seen. That left Morata flanked by Pedro and Willian, and it was Pedro who failed to take Chelsea’s best and only clear opportunity. Having seen an early shot saved by Petr Cech, Pedro was sent through on goal by Cesc Fabregas in the 21st minute. It seemed certain the former Barcelona man would give the home side the lead, but Cech managed to keep the ball out with an outstretched hand.

Chelsea struggled to create chances and impose themselves on Arsenal, which was highlighted by the fact Cech’s most significant action of the first half, other than saving from Pedro, was controlling a back pass from Nacho Monreal that could have easily resulted in an own goal.

Morata has three goals for Chelsea, all with his head, but needs time to acclimatise to the physical nature of the Premier League. The ball rarely stuck to him when it was played into the former Real Madrid man’s feet and more often than not he was left on his backside by Mustafi. Morata had been getting increasingly annoyed by being knocked to the floor by Mustafi, but the striker earned a booking when he attempted to give the Arsenal defender a taste of his own medicine.

Mustafi went closer to breaking the deadlock than Morata, but saw a header ruled out for offside after he had already started his celebrations in front of the Arsenal fans, one of whom had made it on to the pitch.

In terms of who blinked first in looking for some magic from the bench, it was Wenger as he replaced Lacazette with Sanchez with just under 25 minutes remaining. But it only took three more minutes for Conte to send on Hazard in place of Willian.

Hazard almost conjured what would have been a special winner. The Belgian collected a pass from N’Golo Kante and danced around Granit Xhaka before cutting in to fire a shot towards goal that was well held by Cech.

But Chelsea’s hopes of snatching a late winner were effectively ended, when Luiz was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Sead Kolasinac. It was Chelsea’s third successive red card against Arsenal and fifth in their last eight games, stretching back to last season’s FA Cup final.

A more confident Arsenal may have pounced on the chance to take all three points, but this was their first point at Stamford Bridge in six years and these days Wenger’s men are more than happy to simply avoid a beating.



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Mail:

Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal: David Luiz loses the plot and sees red as bad blood spills over in stalemate


By Matt Barlow for the Daily Mail

The prospect of a tense struggle, low on goals first appeared when the team-sheets confirmed this London derby would begin without Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud.

With Diego Costa also absent, presumed sulking in Brazil, it meant four players who between them scored 72 in the Premier League last season had been omitted.

None of them were technically injured but caution was the name of the game, as if an amnesty on flair had been agreed.


By the end, Sanchez, Hazard and Giroud were on all – Costa was still missing naturally – caution had been thrown to the wind and the contest had descended into a shapeless mess of ill tempers and squandered chances.

Expensive summer recruits such as Alex Lacazette and Alvaro Morata has proved to be too easily shackled. Back-three were back-fives and these defensive units were firmly on top.

All of which seemed to be too much for David Luiz, who, although already booked, lost his rag and launched himself over the ball and into a needless challenge on Sead Kolasinac.

The pair had been engaged in a niggling row, moments earlier, when Luiz blocked a run by the Bosnian wing-back and Antonio Conte claimed Sanchez had been winding up his Brazilian centre-half.


Nevertheless, as Kolasinac gripped his shin and writhed in pain referee Michael Oliver flashed a straight red for violent play.

A second yellow would have been impossible to dispute but the key difference is a longer suspension.

Luiz, slave that he is to entertainment, had already been booked by Oliver for a high boot, kicking Laurent Koscielny in the face while attempting an over-head kick.

Liverpool's Sadio Mane might be wondering why he wasn't dismissed at this point.

The straight red card came later and it means the champions will be without Luiz, their defensive keystone, for the three games: Nottingham Forest, Stoke away and, crucially, Manchester City.

He is the fourth Chelsea player dismissed this season, including Pedro in the FA Community Shield, and the fifth in eight games, stretching back to the Victor Moses dive in the FA Cup final.

Three of the five against Arsenal, which is a reversal of fortunes from the days when wind-up artist Costa was parading in Chelsea blue.

The Luiz flashpoint served to trigger a breathless closing sequence. Every tackle drew an exaggerated reaction, every decision was challenged and the crowd came to life.

There were no goals, however, and Arsenal left with a point from Stamford Bridge for the first-time for nearly six years.

It was no more than they deserved. Wenger's team had looked far more solid without Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, who was ruled out by a knee injury.

Against his instincts, the Arsenal boss sacrificed creativity for the work-rate of Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi and his team dominated in midfield, where Aaron Ramsey was outstanding.

Ramsey created the best chance for the visitors, moments before half-time, with a powerful run into the penalty box and a shot which beat Thibaut Courtois and struck a post.

The rebound spun at an awkward height towards Lacazette who could not adjust in time and screwed his effort wildly off target.

Cameras caught Sanchez, laughing on the bench and slapping David Ospina on the back.

Ospina did not appear to share the joke. Nor did Wenger. Having suffered early in the game, Arsenal were on top and the champions were hanging out for the sanctuary of half-time.

Hector Bellerin's pace caused problems for Marcos Alonso. Welbeck headed one chance wide from one Bellerin cross and Lacazette turned another on target only to be foiled by Courtois.

Kolasinac tested the goalkeeper from long range and Granit Xhaka fired a 30-yarder narrowly wide.

Chelsea's best chance fell to Pedro, released by a passed clipped over the top by Cesc Fabregas, midway through the first-half. Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech stood firm, held his nerve and made a vital block.


Pedro did not return after the break. Conte said he had hurt his ankle and sent on Tiemoue Bakayoko which gave Chelsea more muscle in the centre of the pitch, where his team had been overwhelmed before the interval.

Chelsea performed with more purpose and menace. Willian and Hazard forced saves from Cech.

Arsenal lost Welbeck with a groin injury as the rhythms of the game were disrupted by stoppages and substitutions.

Shkodran Mustafi who excelled in the centre of Wenger's back-three, nullifying the threat of Morata, thought he had grabbed a late winner when he met a free-kick swung into the goalmouth by Xhaka.


Mustafi danced away in delight but a flag was up and replays confirmed it was the correct decision.

The game was destined to be goalless which did neither team much good.

Chelsea trail three points behind leaders Manchester City and Arsenal, for all the encouragement of a point at the Bridge, are six points adrift after five games.

Wenger's team continue to labour away from home against their top-six rivals and a fine point could not halt a run of nearly three years without such a victory.


Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Courtois 6.5, Azpilicueta 7, Cahill 6.5, Luiz 6, Moses 6.5, Kante 8, Fabregas 7, Alonso 6.5, Willian 6.5 (Hazard 69, 6), Pedro 6 (Bakayoko 46, 7), Morata 6 (Christensen 88).

Subs not used: Caballero, Rudiger, Zappacosta, Batshuay.

Manager: Antonio Conte 6.5

Bookings: Luiz, Morata

Sent off: Luiz


Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Cech 7, Koscielny 8.5, Mustafi 8, Monreal 7, Bellerin 6.5, Ramsey 7.5, Xhaka 5.5, Kolasinac 6.5, Welbeck 6.5 (Giroud 72, 6), Iwobi 6 (Elneny 79, 6), Lacazette 6 (Sanchez 65, 6).

Subs not used: Mertesacker, Ospina, Walcott, Maitland-Niles.

Manager: Arsene Wenger 7

Bookings: Bellerin, Kolasinac, Elneny


Referee: Michael Oliver



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Guardian:

David Luiz sees red as Arsenal hold Chelsea in stalemate at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 0 - 0 Arsenal


Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge


By the time this contest erupted three minutes from time it is safe to assume both managers may actually have accepted the whole occasion fizzling out as a goalless non-event. Chelsea had been surprised by the visitors’ tenacity and refusal to wilt and had only generated the upbeat tempo that can set them apart in sporadic bursts. A point almost felt like a bonus. Arsenal, saddled with that wretched recent record both against the recent top six and here in particular, would have been delighted merely to check a five-match losing streak in this corner of the capital. A draw represented progress.

Yet, given the rather frazzled nature of the latter stages, this game was never likely to pass off entirely without incident. Frustration had been mounting all afternoon, with David Luiz and Sead Kolasinac’s duels increasingly spiky and played out all over the field. Alexis Sánchez’s introduction seemed to raise the locals’ hackles even more. Then, three minutes from time, the Brazilian centre-back became preoccupied trying to shield the loose ball from the Chilean as Sánchez grappled at him from behind. In darted Kolasinac to thump the ball in-field, with David Luiz, flustered, diving in and catching the Bosnian on the base of his left shin.

The defender had already been booked earlier in the period, for an overhead kick that connected with Laurent Koscielny inside the Arsenal penalty area, but Michael Oliver flourished a straight red to spark a melee on the touchline. Antonio Conte led the protests, barking his fury at the official having strode, incensed, into Wenger’s technical area.

The Italian has already endured the absence of Gary Cahill for three games this term and Cesc Fàbregas for one, as ramifications of the chaotic opening day loss to Burnley. Now he will be without the linchpin of his defence for games against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup, Stoke City and, most significantly, Manchester City at the end of a draining month.

The flashpoint provided the snarl at the end of the stalemate, leaving Chelsea’s head coach reflecting upon a disciplinary record of five red cards in his side’s last eight domestic matches, taking into account those shown to Pedro and Victor Moses in recent meetings with these opponents at Wembley. The more damning statistic is probably three dismissals in five Premier League games, the same number as in their previous 73 fixtures.

Conte described that as “strange” and spoke of a need to work on discipline and decision-making in the same way he makes his players address tactical or physical deficiencies, although he added there was a need, too, “to be more lucky with the refereeing decisions”. Had Oliver spotted Sánchez’s perceived fouls, he argued, then it might never have come to this. Even so, David Luiz should have known better.

His rush of blood did not cost Chelsea the point. Arsenal’s profligacy arguably cost them their chance to take all three, so dominant had the visitors been through most of the first half once they had survived Pedro’s burst unchecked on to Fàbregas’s pass. Petr Cech saved the visitors on that occasion but, from then on in, Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey exerted a stranglehold on midfield that had not been in the pre-match script. Shkodran Mustafi was commanding at the heart of the visitors’ backline and Cech was inspired when required against his former club. There were times when Chelsea were crying out for the brawn of Diego Costa just to bully the Arsenal rearguard into submission. As impressive as Álvaro Morata has been, this was an education.

Arsenal should have forged ahead in that first half, when Tiémoué Bakayoko was still kicking his heels on the home bench and the visitors commanded the centre. Twice around the quarter-hour mark they sliced Chelsea apart down the champions’ left. First Alex Iwobi liberated the galloping Héctor Bellerín only for Danny Welbeck, who would later depart with a groin problem, to plant a header wide. Seconds later it was Ramsey who picked his moment cleverly to send Bellerín beyond Marcos Alonso to the byline, with Thibaut Courtois eventually smothering Alexandre Lacazette’s attempt to guide in a shot at the near post.

Both chances were impressively created and the fact they had been passed up felt wasteful. But it was another, squeezed out four minutes from half-time, which had those on the visitors’ bench cursing. Yet again it was Ramsey, revelling in central midfield, who cut Chelsea open, easing away from Fàbregas and then swerving beyond César Azpilicueta and David Luiz in the penalty area to poke a shot on to the far post. Courtois was helpless, Cahill caught on his heels, yet Lacazette’s awkward attempt to convert the rebound flew high and wide of a gaping goal.

Chelsea improved, at least, after the interval, with Bakayoko impressive in their midst and Eden Hazard offering a fine cameo from the bench, but Arsenal were steeled where, in previous years, they have obligingly succumbed. They thought they had finally prised apart the hosts when, 15 minutes from time, Xhaka’s free-kick was nodded home by Mustafi only for an offside flag to choke the celebrations.

This visit would not yield a first win here since 2011 but the visitors still departed encouraged. “With the attitude and determination, it was vital for us to come out with a solid performance,” Wenger said, memories of that thrashing at Liverpool still raw. “We did that.”



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Independent:

A good point for Arsenal from a bad game as 10-man Chelsea inexplicably fall flat at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0: Luiz's late lunge on Sead Kolasinac was one of the few talking points from a surprisingly low key affair

Miguel Delaney


A good point for Arsenal, but from a bad game, that was only otherwise notable for some bad misses and one bad challenge from David Luiz. The Chelsea centre-half’s late red card for a rash challenge on Sead Kolasinac was the main piece of action from this mostly dull 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge, and he will now miss the champions’ home match against Manchester City. Few, however, will mind missing the highlights of this match - not that there were many beyond a handful wasted opportunities.

A surprisingly flat Chelsea meanwhile wasted the chance to beat an Arsenal that did not start Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez, but there was still the odd feeling that Arsenal could have got something more. They at least didn’t get beat, for the first time in this fixture since 2011. That is a positive.

Arsenal did not have Ozil or Sanchez but did seemingly have a plan - something that did make a big change from previous visits to Stamford Bridge.

They were even the better team for much of the first half. Although Chelsea had more of the ball, it was Wenger’s side that had the better of the chances and should probably have been ahead. Sure, Alvaro Morata headed wide when in front of goal and Pedro squandered a one-on-one, but those misses still weren’t as stunning as Alexandre Lacazette’s. The French striker somehow put the ball over the bar from just four yards out, after Aaron Ramsey bundled through the Chelsea box to hit the post. Danny Welbeck had earlier headed wide from a similarly close position, if not so presentable an opportunity, and it summed up the generally low technical quality of the game up to then.

Arsenal’s tactical discipline nevertheless raised questions over the superior organisation of the sides without their two stars, and whether this was a glimpse of the future.

They just didn't really maximise that momentum.

Chelsea did rally in the second half and began to take control, but they struggled to create proper chances. Eden Hazard didn’t start the game, as he is still recovering from the ankle injury suffered at the start of the summer, but Conte did eventually bring him on and the champions finally started to look a bit freer in attack and more like themselves.

They almost took the lead when the Belgian burst through the backline with a jinking run, but his firm shot was well held by Petr Cech.

Wenger had finally brought on Sanchez by that point, but he couldn’t really get into the game. Arsenal did have the ball in the net on 76 minutes, after Shkodran Mustafi had headed in a set-piece but his celebrations were disrupted by the offside flag. Wenger’s side were struggling to get any kind of flow then, as Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante disrupted pretty much every move.

It said much that the French manager also brought on Olivier Giroud, but Arsenal couldn’t really get the ball to him because by then they couldn’t get the ball. Cesc Fabregas was starting to assert control - until David Luiz lost control.

The sweeper was running with the ball down the right on 88 minutes, and trying to shake off Alexis Sanchez only to lose the ball and then go in rashly on Kolasinac. The left-back was writhing in pain on the ground, leaving Michael Oliver no option but to show the red card.

Arsenal almost took advantage of the extra man straight away, but Nacho Monreal’s shot was blocked.


There was a bit of spike to the game at that point - but still no special quality, still nothing to elevate it, leaving both sides to play out an ultimately flat draw.

After the exhibition by Manchester City at Watford, it wasn’t exactly a performance to strike fear. Both just struck out.