Final Score: Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
The prestigious London derby at the Emirates ended in a 2-2 draw. Chelsea thought they saw the game through after a superb Marcos Alonso finish but Hector Bellerin had other ideas. His 92nd-minute strike to the left corner turned out to be the decisive point of the game, although the Blues had the best chance to get three points through Morata, whose evening was full of misses, misses and well, misses.
Sadly, Davidé Zappacosta’s right foot volley after Morata’s miss met nothing than the crossbar, summing up the night. Jack Wilshere opened the scoring and just three minutes later, Eden Hazard equalised from a spot kick. Overall, a Chelsea against Arsenal game always promises to provide action and drama; this was just that.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Thibaut Courtois: 9/10
Player of the match! It was stunning how such a tall man gets down so easily and smothers a powerful strike away. His saves off Sanchez and Lacazette were match winning ones.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 8/10
Solid and reliable as ever. He tightened up things, didn’t allow Arsenal players to cover his side and cleared the ball well.
Andreas Christensen: 8/10
He read the game well, picked the passes and got down effectively to block shots. Barely made a mistake.
Gary Cahill: 7/10
He was too tight at times and Lacazette got the better of him on a couple of occasions, but overall, the captain was neat and tidy.
Victor Moses: 5/10
Did too much defending and was pushed back. Moses could not offer anything going forward and was substituted.
Tiemoue Bakayoko: 5/10
He makes the runs, gets forward along with Morata and Hazard but struggles to score. His finishing really needs to improve. The Frenchman’s passing too was below par.
N’Golo Kante: 8/10
Solid and quick to react, Kante did what he does best. He stole the ball and released early passes for the wing-backs.
Cesc Fabregas: 8.5/10
Created a lot of chances, set Morata and Bakayoko free on goal many times and should have scored. A harsh booking faced by him, for having cleanly won the ball.
Marcos Alonso: 8.5/10
What a huge threat he is! Nobody marked him when he surprisingly made a run into the box and generated a striker’s finish. He went forward fearlessly and whipped in a few whenever required.
Eden Hazard: 9/10
Won the penalty and converted it with confidence. Otherwise, he weaved past the Arsenal defence, carried his teammates and the ball forward. One could say he was behind almost every Chelsea attack.
Alvaro Morata: 4/10
He was set freeway too many times but he failed to score. His finishing is turning out to be a real problem as last time out against Stoke City too, he was denied by Butland where he was clear on goal. This game, he could have had a hat-trick.
Substitutes
Davidé Zappacosta: 8/10
Very unlucky to have not found the back of the net in the dying stages of the game. He provided the attacking edge over Moses that included smart footwork and ability to get past his marker, which deservedly resulted in the assist for Alonso’s goal.
Danny Drinkwater: 6/10
Didn’t do a lot, kept things simple and held his position.
Willian: N/A
Came on in the 82nd minute to replace Eden Hazard.