Arsenal 2-2

Telegraph:

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 2: Hector Bellerin scores in 92nd minute to seal draw in Emirates thriller

Ben Bloom

The ‘xG’ – expected goals – for this encounter would have been extraordinary. Five-all? It was entirely possible as there were so many clear-cut chances traded in this capital clash.
There were thrills, spills and, afterwards, inevitable belly-aches with an edgy Arsene Wenger renewing his war on refereeing after an amazing draw that was an incredible advert for the Premier League. It was also an indictment as to why neither of these two teams will win the title this season.

There was controversy, as there always is, with Jack Wilshere claiming his first league goal since May 2015 – a superbly determined strike to open the scoring – after he probably should have been sent off when appearing to dive in attempting to earn a free-kick on the edge of Chelsea’s penalty area, as he anticipated a challenge from Andreas Christensen. He had already been booked for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.
Meanwhile, Arsenal raged at the penalty award that drew Chelsea level, just four minutes after Wilshere’s goal, when Hector Bellerin was judged to have fouled the other No 10 – Eden Hazard – as they vied to reach a loose ball.

Having expressed his anger at the penalty given against Arsenal in the draw away to West Bromwich Albion on New Year’s Eve, Wenger was at it again. The Arsenal manager had a case then, though badly expressed, but not so much here.
Bellerin clearly kicked Hazard’s foot. It was a penalty – maybe the only possible accusation against Hazard is that he exaggerated his fall – and Wenger needs to drop his conspiracy theories.

If sport at the highest level is about fine margins, then it was caught in the 90 minutes of this full-throttle match. Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata could have had a hat-trick, missing three one-on-ones that a forward of his calibre should have finished, and it is hard to imagine Diego Costa, who opened his account for his new club, Atletico Madrid, as this game was being played, spurning them.
Then, after Bellerin’s 92nd-minute equaliser, cancelling out Marcos Alonso’s goal following yet more appalling Arsenal defending, Chelsea should still have won it when Morata erred for the third and final time. Even then the ball broke to substitute Davide Zappacosta, who thumped his half-volley against the crossbar.

The wing-back should have scored but so should many other players. Both goalkeepers were outstanding, making a string of improbable saves, to add to the misses, with maybe the pick of them being a brilliant one-handed stop by Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois to turn away a poked shot by Alexis Sanchez. Even then the ball struck one post and then ran across the goal-line, rebounding off the other before Courtois eagerly grabbed it.

It means that Arsenal remain frustratingly in sixth place while Chelsea, in third, missed the opportunity to leapfrog Manchester United and return to second spot.
Chelsea will – marginally – be the happier, with Arsenal five points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool. Given the absentees in their back-line it was, evidently, and maybe as ever with Wenger, a case of attack being the best form of defence.
But it meant they were as chronically vulnerable to conceding as they were likely to score. The fact it remained goalless at half-time was the biggest surprise, given how both sides simply went for it. And made mistakes.

Morata missed the easiest of his chances early on, allowed to run onto a hopeful long ball by Victor Moses, which Shkodran Mustafi completely misjudged and Calum Chambers left, both believing it would run through to Petr Cech, only for Morata to collect.

But Morata got his angles horribly wrong as he side-footed the ball wide. It was then end to end and back again. The xG – the new measure used by statisticians to show how many goals should have been scored – went through the roof.
Arsenal claimed a penalty, arguing Moses had clipped the heels of Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Courtois denied Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette, and was relieved to see Mesut Ozil’s shot drift narrowly wide. At the other end, Cech pushed Tiemoue Bakayoko’s shot over the bar and Fabregas side-footed wildly over from Hazard’s clever back-heel.
There was no let-up. If anything it became more intense. Cech denied Hazard, with an outstretched leg, and then turned away Alonso’s header before Courtois was again called into action, thwarting Lacazette from close range.

He was finally beaten. The breakthrough came and the Emirates erupted as Rob Holding’s first-time pass rebounded off the hapless Morata to Wilshere, who had instigated the move, with the midfielder’s powerful, rising first-time effort cannoning off Courtois’s near post and into the net. They pressed on and only another save from Courtois denied Lacazette.

Would Wilshere grab the headlines? Hazard did not allow it. He won the penalty and dispatched it, steering the ball to Cech’s right as the goalkeeper dived left. The momentum swung.
Morata missed again, lifting the ball over when through on goal before Zappacosta easily beat Maitland-Niles down the right and fired in a cross. Alonso stole in ahead of the dozing Mustafi and turned it home, right-footed.

The mood shifted. Would it be another game of recrimination for Arsenal? To their credit, they responded valiantly. The pressure built and Bellerin latched onto Alonso’s clearing header to steer a crisp half-volley beyond Courtois’s grasp. Honours even? Zappacosta should have won it but did not.
It was a fair result, even if Wenger cried foul, again.

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Guardian:

Hectór Bellerín makes late amends for Arsenal after Chelsea comeback

Arsenal 2 - 2 Chelsea

David Hytner at the Emirates Stadium

Arsène Wenger strode purposefully towards the fourth official, Craig Pawson. The Arsenal manager was a long way from his technical area and there was steam coming out of his ears. His team were in the lead, thanks to Jack Wilshere’s goal, which, after all the midfielder’s injury misery, was a beautiful moment for him.

But the referee, Anthony Taylor, had pointed to the penalty spot and all of Wenger’s conspiratorial pre-match fears had seemingly been realised. Wenger had railed against poor officiating against his team this season and Taylor always stood to be a central character. Wenger had clashed with him last January to earn a four-match touchline ban.
There was no injustice here. Hectór Bellerín’s lunge at Eden Hazard inside the area was not just ill-advised, it was reckless. He caught Hazard’s foot, the Chelsea forward went down and, if the fall seemed exaggerated in real time, Taylor’s decision was vindicated with every replay.

Hazard beat Petr Cech from the penalty spot and things came to look even more bleak for Wenger and Arsenal when the Chelsea substitute, Davide Zappacosta, rinsed the inexperienced wing-back, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, to cross for Marcos Alonso, who touched home in front of the flat-footed Shkodran Mustafi.

Enter Bellerín, again. In stoppage time, at the other end. After Alonso had only half-cleared with a header, Bellerín crashed a half-volley goalwards and it was still rising when it ripped into the net. On this occasion, his timing was glorious.
Arsenal did their best to throw it away. Not for the first time their patched-up back-line evaporated into the night sky and there was Álvaro Morata, running on to a simple long ball, with only Cech to beat. He could not do so – the goalkeeper stood up to make his most important save of the game – and Zappacosta rattled the rebound against the crossbar.

Wenger looked shot to pieces at full-time, overtaken by the emotion, and he saw conspiracy at every turn. He wanted to talk about the spectacle and how entertaining it had been, which was certainly true. Why could we not discuss the football alone? In the next breath he was throwing around some pretty serious accusations about how he knew his team would be punished by the referee. Again.

This was the latest harum-scarum Emirates Stadium ride – after the 3-1 loss to Manchester United and the 3-3 draw against Liverpool. The common denominator has been Arsenal’s defensive looseness and their desire to engage their opponents in a toe-to-toe slugfest. Wenger’s team have played with so little control and structure that it has been difficult to argue their wounds have not been self-inflicted.

It would have been worse had it not been for Morata, who endured a torrid evening. The Chelsea striker’s first one-on-one chance came on 14 minutes after Calum Chambers had inexplicably ducked underneath Victor Moses’s hopeful punt forward and Mustafi had melted away.
Suddenly Morata was in and he opened up his body for a side-footed finish. He botched it horribly. Morata would also shoot high after brushing past Chambers in the 68th minute. The angle was tighter than his other openings but it remained a glaring miss.

Wenger’s hand had been forced by the injuries to Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, and his callow replacement back-line was jittery throughout. But Wenger is not the sort of guy to dwell on defending. His focus, as usual, was on what his team could create.
They enjoyed a purple patch leading up to the midway point of the first half and they would have led were it not for the reflexes of Thibaut Courtois. He tipped Alexis Sánchez’s shot on to the inside of his right-hand post and watched the ball run across his line, kiss the other post and spin to safety. The Chelsea goalkeeper then saved from Alexandre Lacazette after the striker had spun sharply away from Gary Cahill.

The thrills and spills were plentiful – together with the belly laughs. Maitland-Niles provided one of the latter when he clipped his own heel inside the Chelsea area on 16 minutes and went down. He was lucky to escape a yellow card. Wilshere, who was booked for a foul on Cesc Fàbregas, flirted with a second caution when he went to ground too easily from a challenge by Andreas Christensen. He might not have been on the field to score his goal – a thumping, first-time, left-footed drive.
Hazard shimmered with menace while Fàbregas twice teed up Tiémoué Bakayoko before the interval with sumptuous passes. From the first Bakayoko saw Cech tip over while he did not read the second. Fàbregas shot high when well placed on 45 minutes but he was otherwise excellent. When he was substituted some of the Arsenal supporters rose to applaud him.

Fàbregas played in Hazard early in the second half only for Cech to save while Courtois denied Lacazette at the other end. Mesut Özil had gone close before Wilshere bludgeoned Arsenal into the lead, after Rob Holding’s low pass had flicked off Morata. Lacazette promptly worked Courtois but the game would turn sharply on the Chelsea penalty.

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Independent:

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin snatches draw in thrilling finale against Chelsea to deny Marcos Alonso's winning moment

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 2: The right wingback slammed in a half-volley from just inside the box at the end of a helter-skelter second half full of incident

Miguel Delaney Emirates Stadium

It was another ludicrously entertaining if imperfect top-six match at the Emirates that somehow, but somewhat fairly, ended up perfectly balanced at Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea.

One of the key figures appropriately characterised this. Hector Bellerin was responsible for the foul that brought Eden Hazard’s penalty and a distinctive change in momentum, but then scored the sensational last-minute equaliser. It further summed up the game that many might dispute the penalty, not least an irate Arsene Wenger. Then again, given the already booked Jack Wilshere appeared to dive just before his goal, Antonio Conte might well have a response. And this was the thing. Both Arsenal and Chelsea could complain about refereeing errors, both could complain about their team’s errors, but no one could really complain about the final result.

The watching audience meanwhile couldn’t complain about an ending like that, as Marcos Alonso’s 86th-minute strike was cancelled out by Bellerin, and Davide Zappacosta even hit the bar after that. If the game finished so supremely, though, Alvaro Morata did not. The match won’t do much for his confidence, and the final result won’t do much for either side’s season beyond Arsenal just about keeping pace in the race for the top four but it will do a lot for the Premier League’s marketing – even if they weren’t here selling perfection.

This was an epic yet error-strewn match to go with Manchester United’s trip here as well as Liverpool’s, but thereby not one that went with the recent history of this London rivalry.
This is a fixture that, perhaps more than any in the Premier League, has followed distinctive patterns over long periods of time. There was over a decade of almost singular Arsenal dominance between 1993 and 2004, before over a decade of almost singular Chelsea dominance between 2004 and 2016, with both of those spells characterised by a control and calculation that comes from just knowing how to beat the other side. There was none of that here, just colour and chaos.

It was as if both sides realised how vulnerable the other was after the Christmas period, with that first signalled by – well – a clear lack of signalling between Shkodran Mustafi and Calum Chambers in the centre of the Arsenal defence on 15 minutes. That allowed Morata a clear run at goal, except he just produced something seen much more recently. As happened twice against Stoke City on Saturday, he showed this remaining and frustrating lack of ruthlessness in his game, badly squandering a one-on-one. It was also a signal of what was to come.
In the meantime, more action kept coming. Thibaut Courtois brilliantly turned an Alexis Sanchez onto the post only for it to also hit the other, before getting down low to save from Alex Lacazette as Cesc Fabregas then shot too high.

The way Hazard set up that chance did reflect that there was maybe a greater vulnerability to Arsenal’s makeshift centre-half pairing, and the constant concern for them throughout the game was when – rather than whether – the playmakers excellence would expose them. He should really have done so just after half-time, but a low and slightly lax shot was diverted by Petr Cech.
Errors were hardly confined to Arsenal’s defence, or Chelsea. There was then the decision from referee Taylor, too, as he missed a dive from Wilshere when the midfielder was on a booking.
It was to be instantly influential. On 65 minutes, after yet another attacking move was disrupted, a defensive touch from N’Golo Kante didn’t have enough on it and fell to – inevitably – Wilshere. He lashed the ball past Courtois to make it 1-0.

Within moments, however, Wenger was shouting about the ref himself. Hazard naturally had the ball in the box, Hector Bellerin went in on him, and the Belgian went down. A penalty was given and Hazard himself naturally took the opportunity to make it 1-1.
It wasn’t just the opportunity for an equaliser, but an opportunity to eke out proper control of the game. That was how affected Arsenal were, how emboldened Chelsea were. Morata had two more chances to score and missed, before Alonso showed him how it was done. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was also done – but his team weren’t.

Bellerin made it 2-2, in a match that still had too much to come.

As to what it says about what is to come from either side? There was Morata’s misses, Wenger’s complaints, character from both and errors from both, but sometimes there’s not much that can be read it into it. Sometimes there’s no extra meaning. Sometimes it’s just chaos. That was this, albeit in beautifully entertaining fashion.

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Mail:

Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea: Hector Bellerin nets injury time equaliser after Marcos Alonso looked to have secured late winner in pulsating Emirates clash

By Martin Samuel for the Daily Mail

It was one of those games. Marcos Alonso looked to have won it for Chelsea, then made the mistake that gave Arsenal their injury-time equaliser.
Hector Bellerin gave away the penalty that brought Chelsea back into the game, then earned Arsenal a point with almost his last kick. And Jack Wilshere scored his first Premier League goal since May 24, 2015, a momentous occasion Arsenal celebrated by holding that lead for all of four minutes.
In other words, a mess. An exhilarating, entertaining, lovely mess — but a mess nonetheless for two teams angling to secure places in next season’s Champions League.

The result probably suited Chelsea more as they are higher up the table and were away from home, but there were still grounds for concern. When a striker has three one-on-one chances and misses all of them, a manager should worry. Alvaro Morata was supposed to replace the intimidating presence of Diego Costa. On Wednesday night he appeared to be channelling the spirit of Fernando Torres at Stamford Bridge. And not in a good way.

We have come to expect games like this against the elite at the Emirates Stadium this season. Losing to Manchester United, drawing with Liverpool, it was very much the same. Knockabout; no structure. Manchester City can concede goals, we know that, but they have a clearly defined game plan. Arsenal have a go, then the other lot have a go. It finished 2-2, it could have been 5-5.
Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech made excellent saves. Morata and Alexandre Lacazette missed plenty. Even after Bellerin had made it level, Davide Zappacosta had time to hit the bar. It is thrilling, but will it get Arsenal back in the Champions League next season? Probably not via domestic qualification.

If Tottenham beat West Ham tonight, Arsenal will be four points and at least 10 goals adrift of them in sixth place — and they are already five points off Liverpool in fourth. This was great fun for the neutrals, but it lacked the precision required to nail down Arsenal’s future. They may have to take the Europa League route pioneered by Jose Mourinho at Manchester United last season. Watch UEFA get the vapours if England get five clubs into the Champions League, back to back.

That’s for another day, though. For now, what a game. Four goals in the last 27 minutes and every one changed the balance of power. Arsenal led, Chelsea equalised. Chelsea led, Arsenal equalised. Both sides will feel as if they won, and lost.
Chronologically, the action begins with Wilshere’s first league goal since the final game of the 2014-15 season, a 4-1 home win over West Bromwich. This, most certainly, should have made a bigger splash. A significant intervention. Wilshere has been in lovely form since finally getting his chance again, but the goals do not come. Just one, in a 6-0 Europa League victory over BATE Borisov. Not what one might call crucial.

This would have been different. A finish that belied close to a three-year goalscoring drought. Mesut Ozil cut the ball back, Rob Holding vied with Morata on the edge of the area, the Chelsea man getting a fateful touch. Wilshere collected the scraps and, outstripping none other than N’Golo Kante, defeated Courtois with a superb, powerful, first-time shot.
It would have capped an excellent spell in the first team for Arsenal’s prodigal son. Instead, his side gave the lead away at the first opportunity.

The moment Chelsea tried to force a way back, Arsenal blinked. Bellerin had no need to make the challenge on Eden Hazard, clipping the bottom of his foot as they jostled for the ball in the area. The home fans cried dive, but it was a foul. Hazard stepped up, waited for Petr Cech to commit and, cool as you like, brought Chelsea back into the game.

Three minutes later, Morata missed his second one-on-one of the match. In the first half, he had let Arsenal spectacularly off the hook after their naivety had presented him with a gift.
A long ball hit in hope from the back was allowed to drop by Calum Chambers, who cannot have appreciated the position occupied by team-mate Shkodran Mustafi. Either he didn’t see him, and presumed Morata was offside, or he saw Mustafi and presumed he was already dealing with the loose ball.
So Chambers stopped and let it roll, and Morata ran on, somewhat surprised, and now with only Cech to beat. Instead he flopped, embarrassingly so, missing at the far post, just as he did when set clear by Cesc Fabregas in the 70th minute, Chambers in pursuit.

It remained for a full back, Alonso, to show Chelsea’s striker how it should be done. The goal was simplicity itself. Zappacosta, brought on to test Ainsley Maitland-Niles with fresh legs, did exactly that, turning the young man inside out before crossing for Alonso, who got in front of Mustafi for his sixth goal of the season. He has 12 in the Premier League since the start of the last campaign, five more than any other defender. Wilshere would kill for such a return.

And that looked like Arsenal done. But are they ever? Leicester, Liverpool, how many times at the Emirates this season have they been written off, only to rally? Alonso’s poor headed clearance put Chelsea under pressure, substitute Danny Welbeck got a touch, Bellerin met the loose ball just inside the area, rifling it past Courtois. What remained? Another Morata miss. One-on-one again, straight at Cech, Zappacosta off the bar with the rebound.

Earlier, Alexis Sanchez contrived to hit both posts — Courtois tipped it on to his right, it travelled across the goal-line and hit the left — Morata missed his kick at the near post, and Lacazette let a couple of sitters go to waste.
Tiemoue Bakayoko should have scored at least two, Ozil came close, and Wilshere escaped a second yellow for diving having already been booked for a late tackle on Fabregas.
Phew. And now breathe. The players, apparently, have been left absolutely exhausted by this holiday schedule. What this match would have looked like had they been properly at it, then, heaven knows.

Arsenal (3-4-2-1):
Cech 8.5; Chambers 6 (Walcott 88), Mustafi 6, Holding 6.5; Bellerin 6.5, Wilshere 7, Xhaka 6.5, Maitland Niles 6.5; Ozil 7, Sanchez 7; Lacazette 6 (Welbeck 80).
Subs not used: Mertesacker, Ospina, Iwobi, Coquelin, Elneny
Manager: Arsene Wenger 7
Goals: Wilshere 63, Bellerin 90
Yellow cards: Wilshere 31, Holding 53, Ozil 67

Chelsea (3-5-2):
Courtois 7; Azpilicueta 7, Christensen 7, Cahill 6.5; Moses 5.5 (Zappacosta 56, 7), Bakayoko 6.5, Kante 7, Fabregas 7 (Drinkwater 70, 6), Alonso 7; Hazard 8 (Willian 81), Morata 4
Subs not used: Caballero, Rudiger, Pedro, Batshuayi
Manager: Antonio Conte 7
Goals: Hazard (pen) 67, Alonso 84
Yellow cards: Fabregas 42, Courtois 89

Ref: Anthony Taylor 6.5
Att: 59,379
MOM: Cech
RATINGS BY SAMI MOKBEL

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Express:

Arsenal 2 - Chelsea 2: Hector Bellerin bags dramatic leveller after controversial penalty
IT WAS two-and-a-half years since Jack Wilshere last scored a Premier League goal but it took an injury-time volley from Hector Bellerin to secure even a point.

By MATTHEW DUNN

Even then the Emirates crossbar was left vibrating long after the final whistle by an even fiercer Davide Zappacosta effort that could yet have snatched the win for Chelsea.

But while the late equaliser saw Arsenal fans head into the night largely happy, it cannot hide the fact they are 23 points off the pace and desperately need to tie down at least two of their three best players before they head off into the sunset.

Wilshere they hope to get chained down in the coming days. But increasingly, the recent improvement in performances from Mesut Ozil look at best a negotiating ploy and at worst a share of the determination that Sanchez seems to have to use this month to put himself in the shop window.
With so much focus on Arsenal’s want-away stars at the top of the formation, it did at least distract attention from the very flimsy foundation Wenger had constructed behind it at the back.

Calum Chambers, Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding had just 16 Premier League starts between them in the season so far and it took just one giant punt upfield from Victor Moses to highlight that lack of experience after just 14 minutes.

The ball bounced between the three of them, Chambers pointed forlornly to suggest Petr Cech might to dash 30 yards from goal and suddenly Alvaro Morata was 10 yards clear with only the Arsenal goalkeeper to beat.
More than enough time to pick a spot; inexplicably, the one he chose was several feet wide of Cech’s far post – the glaring miss not enough to spare Arsenal’s defence a classic Wenger rant from the touchline.
Further forward, at least Arsenal were looking much brighter with – that’s right, you’ve guessed it – Alexis Sanchez leading the way.

A sublime one-two with Ozil teed Sanchez up for a 12-yard shot which not only hit the inside of one post but agonisingly trickled along the goalline to strike the other before bouncing away to safety.

In the 23rd minute, the Germany international picked out Alexander Lacazette around the penalty spot as only Ozil can. For once, the disappointingly goal-shy France striker picked the perfect spot but Thibaut Courtois somehow got his paw down to the ball just inside the post and turned it away.
A similarly inventive defence-splitting pass from Cesc Fabregas gave Tiemoue Bakayoko an opening, only for Cech to palm the ball over the bar.

After moaning about so many soft penalties conceded, Wenger would not have minded if referee Anthony Taylor had pointed to the spot when Ainsley Maitland-Niles fell with Victor Moses close behind – quite rightly, the Cheshire official was having none of it.
Instead, the match remained evenly poised, so much so that when Wilshere scythed through Fabregas to pick up the game’s first yellow card, the former Arsenal player felt it only right he should even up the bookings with a similar challenge just before the break.

Chelsea were quickest out of the blocks in the second half, Cech saving well from Hazard and then turning aside a Morata header when Bakayoko quickly launched the ball back into the danger area.
Lacazette’s frustrating season continued when in the 52nd minute a world class turn bamboozled Cahill but then his shot arrowed straight at Courtois, who saved with his heel.

Then came the moment the Emirates had waited so long for. Holding’s pass took a deflection off Morata but Wilshere did not mind that - his stretching, left-foot effort flying in off the post to spark emotional celebrations by the corner flag.

They were to be short-lived. Within minutes, Bellerin made a mess of trying to tackle Hazard, kicked his foot and the Belgium international did the damage himself from the spot.
Alonso’s easy tap-in from Zappacosta’s low cross was another defensive horror-show and although Bellerin’s rescue will lead to talk of character and never-say-die attitude, going forward Arsenal would swap that for Chelsea’s more genuine collective strength in a heart-beat.

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Star:

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 2: Hector Bellerin scores last-gap equaliser in Premier League thriller
HECTOR BELLERIN struck in extra-time to earn a thrilling draw for Arsenal.

By David Woods, Chief Football Writer

His amazing goal came on a night when Arsene Wenger’s referee conspiracy dossier grew even fatter.
Jack Wilshere’s first Premier League goal since May 2015 gave Arsenal the lead in a cracking game of attacking football.
But their 63rd minute advantage was to last just four minutes when Bellerin made his first big impact on the game.

He stuck out a foot and caught Hazard on the leg, and the Belgium ace went down like a stack of waffles, provoking ref Anthony Taylor to point to the spot.
Taylor was the fourth official who Wenger abused and pushed at Burnley in January of last year following the awarding of a spot-kick, earning the Frenchman a four-match touchline ban.
Hazard himself made no mistake at The Emirates, sending the ball straight down the middle as Petr Cech dived to the left.

Wenger’s foul mood grew even worse when Marcos Alonso pounced in the 84th minute.
But Bellerin raced to the rescue in the second minute of added time, smashing a shot high into the net to calm Wenger a little.
The Frenchman’s nerves, though, were tested even after that as his dopey defenders allowed Alvaro Morata to race clean through.
His tame shot was beaten away by Petr Cech and Davide Zappacosta struck the rebound against the bar.
England midfielder Wilshere hadn’t scored in the top flight since a home goal against West Brom in May 2015.

But he ended his drought when he smashed home a rocket.
Wilshere pounced when Morata inadvertently deflected a Rob Holding pass straight into the Arsenal No.10’s path and his powerful drive flashed in off the near post.
Before all the goals Chelsea’s former keeper and their current one had taken centre stage at The Emirates.

Arsenal’s Cech and his successor at Stamford Bridge did everything in their powers to stop another goalfest in north London.
Liverpool drew 3-3 with Arsenal on the Friday before Christmas and this clash with also packed with incident.

Cech was chasing a 200th Premier League clean sheet, something no other keeper has done before, whereas Courtois was bidding to make it five in a row in the top flight this season.
The Gunners had a massively lucky escape in the 14th minute. Right wing-back Victor Moses punted a ball upfield with his left foot and Calum Chambers allowed it to drop over his shoulder.
Morata was away from him in a flash and looked set to score as he bore down on goal. But he overdid his sidefooted attempted finish and put it wide.

In the 17th minute the Blues had an even bigger dose of fortune. First referee Taylor waved away claims for a penalty when Ainsley Maitland-Niles fell in the box, with replays showing the youngster had tripped himself after being brushed by Victor Moses.

But the ball still broke to Alexis Sanchez in the box, the Chile striker poked a right-foot shot which hit Courtois brilliantly pushed onto his right post, the watch it roll along the line and struck the other one before he gratefully collected.
Courtois and Cech then took it in turns to pull of smart saves. But then Wilshere struck and Hazard bagged that controversial penalty.

Alonso pounced after sub Zappacosta got past Ainsley Maitland-Niles - who had been excellent up until then. Alonso nipped in front of Shkodran Mustafi to bury a right foot shot.
A Wenger red rage looked on until Alonso headed out poorly and Bellerin whacked his half-volley - and even Courtois could got near it.
It ensured the Arsenal boss went off without waiting for Taylor.
But with his team 23 points off leaders Manchester City he has little to be cheerful about.
As for Antonio Conte he will wonder how star striker Morata fluffed those two great chances ensuring Chelsea stay third.


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Mirror:

Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea: Hector Bellerin strikes in stoppage time to secure dramatic draw - 5 talking points

The Gunners took the lead through Wilshere but were pegged back when Bellerin was judged to have brought down Hazard

By Darren Lewis

Hector Bellerin struck in stoppage time to secure a dramatic draw for Arsenal against Chelsea.
Arsene Wenger was left fuming after Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso staged what had appeared to be a stunning smash and grab raid for Chelsea.
Jack Wilshere had shot Arsenal to within 25 minutes of only their third victory in their last eight Premier League games.
The strike was the midfielder’s first goal in 43 Premier League matches, with his last against West Brom in May 2015.
But referee Anthony Taylor ruled Hector Bellerin had fouled Eden Hazard in the box just two minutes later. The Belgian then netted from the spot.

With six minutes left Alonso rifled in from close range from substitute Davide Zappacosta’s cross.
But with the clock ticking, Bellerin struck for the Gunners.
Here are five key talking points from the thriller at the Emirates.

1. Wilshere tremendous once again

He has been terrific in his bid to win friends and influence people, namely Wenger, the man who makes the decisions over a new deal.
The question marks over his ability to influence a high-intensity game, however, remained. Not any more. What tremendous character he showed here.
At times he was given the runaround by Cesc Fabregas who was offensively more astute and defensively more productive.
Wilshere’s 33rd-minute yellow card, for clattering into his Spanish counterpart, looked to be frustration.
Smashing in that 64th minute sizzler was a far better way of expressing it. Wilshere is back - and he means business.

2. Sanchez has exploded into life again

Fascinating how he has suddenly exploded into life again after a subdued four weeks or so.
There have been times over the past month or so when Sanchez has looked as though he has been marking time as he runs his contract down.
Now, with the window open, Chelsea and Manchester City in need of reinforcements and Liverpool about to lose Coutinho, Sanchez is on fire again.
Just to refocus a few minds that might have forgotten what he brings to the party.
He is in a win-win situation of course - a big club this month, big money if he leaves on a free in the summer.
But if you didn’t know better, you’d think someone was angling to get out of north London before February.

3. Clean sheets could help Chelsea's charge

If any one can put together a run to get anywhere near City at the moment it is Chelsea.
They have had their injuries and (as always) their political problems, but right now they are back in the zone.
We all know what they can do going forward but at the back they are as solid as a rock.
They’d come into this match hunting their fifth successive league clean sheet.
They rode their luck here for sure when Alexis Sanchez’s shot was pushed onto one post, rolled across the goal line and hit the other.
But overall during their current run, they have made their own luck with their ferocious work rate.

4. Courtois kept Chelsea in the game

He might not have signed a new deal just yet, he might still have some who pine for the glory days of Petr Cech, but Courtois showed here just why he is so important to Chelsea. The brilliant Belgian kept them in it.
He was smartly down to his left to save one-handed when Alexandre Lacazette span his defender in the box and fired goalward.
Before that Courtois was simply outstanding to push Sanchez’s shot onto the post when the Chilean looked for all the world as if he had opened the scoring. And what a tremendous block that was, minutes after half time, from Lacazette.
He has no chance with that Wilshere strike but he'd been let down for that by his defence. Courtois is still the man for the big occasion for Chelsea.

5. Cech matches the Chelsea keeper

Anything Courtois can do, Cech can do just as well.
The former Blue is always fired up against his former club and this occasion was no exception.
He made himself big in the 14th minute to worry Morata out of a one-on-one from which the Spaniard looked certain to score.
He saved again, a minute later, from Morata at his near post. He parried Bakayoko’s shot on the 28th minute.
He saved superbly with his legs from Hazard five minutes after the break.
From the follow-up Cech pushed away Marcos Alonso’s header. There is life in the old dog yet. His old club will bear witness to that.

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Sun:

SAVED BY THE BELL Arsenal 2 Chelsea 2: Hector Bellerin strikes in injury time to earn point for the Gunners after stunning London derby

Marcos Alonso thought he had secured a stunning comeback for the Blues as his late goal looked to have sealed victory for the champions after Eden Hazard had levelled Jack Wilshere's opener

By Neil Ashton

IN the end, it was a belter.
It is the sort of goal, deep into injury time, that will be talked about down the years at Arsenal.
That somehow Hector Bellerin’s stunning equaliser will transform Arsenal’s fortunes and take them into the top four again.
That their miserable Christmas form — three draws and a win at Crystal Palace — can be forgotten.
That this is the new Arsenal taking shape, reborn after showing incredible fighting qualities to somehow scrap out a draw.
They deserve a pat on the back — but that is where it ends.
This was a ridiculous game, played at a furious tempo between two teams with very different ambitions these days.
Chelsea thought they had won it, with Eden Hazard equalising from the penalty spot and Marcos Alonso nosing them in front six minutes from time.
Arsenal still had a big say in it.
They had been ahead, with the feel-good factor filling the nostrils of nearly 60,000 Arsenal fans when Jack Wilshere fired in.

It was a scorching strike, screeching Arsenal into a 1-0 lead the moment it pinged off his left boot 63 minutes in.
Arsenal, this being Arsenal, could not hold on to the lead.
Bellerin, thrown one way and then the other by Hazard, could not resist chopping him down.

Hazard, a touch subdued, equalised from the spot.
It sent poor old Arsene Wenger into meltdown, screaming into the face of fourth official Craig Pawson. Thing is, the referee got it right. This time.
Chelsea, their opponents in next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final, are durable, obstinate and damn well  difficult to beat.
The biggest chance of the first half went Chelsea’s way.

Calum Chambers and Shkodran Mustafi managed to let a hopeful, looping ball drop behind them. Alvaro Morata raced clear, only the keeper to beat, to put Chelsea in front. Instead he missed, poking his effort hopelessly wide of Petr Cech’s left-hand post.
Arsenal responded, playing like a team with a lot of work to do to bridge that gap between Ropey League and Champions League football.
For a time they looked good for it.
Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Wilshere were the driving force as Arsenal got about these Chelsea boys.

Thibaut Courtois was a towering presence every time Arsenal got in behind Chelsea’s defence. It almost turned into his night.
He got a glove to Sanchez’s chance that rebounded off both posts, turning on to the paintwork before it rolled across the line and against the other.
Arsenal grew in confidence, with Ozil and Wilshere matching Cesc Fabregas and Hazard for the fancy footwork.
Ozil provided the next chance, with Gary Cahill sliding all over the penalty area when Alexandre Lacazette turned him in the area.
The striker swivelled, shooting at Chelsea’s goal, but Courtois came to the rescue again.

Chelsea turned a corner, with Cech tipping Tiemoue Bakayoko’s chance over the bar, after a clever combination between Hazard and Fabregas.
From the corner, Morata headed over the bar.
Both teams were coming to the boil, with Wilshere cautioned after taking Fabregas clean out. The Spaniard soon got him back and he, too, was booked.
Hazard came alive at the start of the second half, with Cech down to his right to claw away his effort.

From the follow-up, he got down to his left in time to flip Morata’s header away for a corner.
Ozil and Sanchez combined again to set up Lacazette for another big second-half chance. Instead he fluffed it, failing to get the solid connection that would have put Arsenal ahead.
Courtois stopped Ozil next, throwing out a leg to prevent Arsenal’s magic man putting them in front.
They got there eventually.
Wilshere got it, rifling his effort into the top corner after starting the move off on the edge of the area.
It did not last long. Chelsea got a penalty, awarded when Bellerin clipped the bottom of Hazard’s boot.
The Chelsea man scored from the spot, drilling his effort beyond Cech to level.
Alonso thought he had the winner as he turned in a Davide Zappacosta cross.
But Bellerin beat Courtois from distance to earn Arsenal a point. Somehow, they just about deserved it.