Gavin Cooney

FOR ARSENAL THIS was a good result even with the odds in their favour, and for Chelsea this was an opportunity missed even from adversity. 

At the end of it all Chelsea trail Arsenal by a fairly yawning six points, albeit only at December’s outset.

This performance should also kindle hope at Chelsea that they are ready to elevate themselves to the status of proper title contender.  

This was one of Arsenal’s poorest performances of the season, but they should be forgiven a bit of fatigue off the back of their season’s apogee against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, and while their attacking stocks are suddenly replenished, today they were forced to start without both William Saliba and Gabriel in a meaningful game for the first time in more than three years. 

Hence why Chelsea missed an opportunity.

The game’s preamble centred on the Rice/Caicedo debate: who is better? Who would you prefer in your midfield? Or should we just stop the squabbling and try to enjoy them both at the same time? It felt like the version of the Messi/Ronaldo debate that this bitty, physical and dyspeptic Premier League deserves.

Theo Walcott on Sky gave his vote to Rice, citing his ‘leadership’ and how he speaks in interviews before admitting he didn’t really know anything of Caicedo’s PR game. 

Rice was his usual tireless and effective self, making one crucial block in his own box from Estevao, but Caicedo appeared perturbed.

Perhaps all this talk infiltrated Caicedo’s mind, as he threw himself wildly into a challenge on Mikel Merino seven minutes before half-time, colluding with Merino to halt the game by rolling around in melodramatic agony. The replays showed that Caicedo had crunched into Merino’s ankle, and he was deservedly sent off.

For all his brilliance, Moises has a growing habit of being unable to part the red mist. Rice, enjoying his role as England’s stoic lion, does not suffer from the same issue.

The aftermath of Caicedo's challenge. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Staggeringly, Caicedo became the sixth Chelsea player to be sent off this season, and it risked being another red card to spoil a Chelsea performance. They were the ascendant side to that point, interrupting Arsenal’s rhythm and preying on errors: Joao Pedro should have scored when Hincapie simply fell over the ball in his own box.

Chelsea also knew that they shouldn’t risk trying to play through the Arsenal midfield, where Rice has been gobbling up opposition passing all season. Hence they continually went long, targeting Riccardo Calafiori. It had limited attacking pay-off, but it was also the least risky means of attacking Arsenal. . . and we know the biggest coaching brains in the Premier League are men dedicated to eliminating risk. 

But for all the Rice/Caicedo chat, the best midfielder on the pitch was Reece James. It was James’ cross for Joao Pedro that David Raya frantically clawed behind for the corner from which Chelsea scored. James took that corner, though the flicked header into the far corner by Chalobah was stunning. 

Throughout the 90 minutes, James broke up play like Caicedo and galloped forward with the ball like Rice, all the while spraying the ball about unlike either. He rarely lost the ball either, showing remarkable composure and awareness under the kind of 360-degree pressure he would not have been used to at full-back. On this evidence, English football spent a long time lobbying for the wrong right-back to be converted into a midfielder. 

Mikel Arteta belied his animating conservatism by chasing the game within minutes of Chelsea’s goal, swapping Martinelli for Madueke while introducing Odegaard for Zubimendi. Bukayo Saka finally got on top of Marc Cucurella to whip a brilliant cross into the box for Mikel Merino to equalise, but the anticipated Arsenal siege did not materialise. Chelsea, with James orchestrating, continually found space through Arsenal’s midfield: perhaps Arteta’s finely-tuned system had destabilised itself in the search for an equaliser. 

Arsenal should have won the game in stoppage time, only for Jurrien Timber to get in Viktor Gyokeres’ way in the Merinozone a few yards out from an open goal. Chelsea, though, deserved their point.

These are the draws Arsenal can afford, such is their position ahead of a compressed league table. Chelsea, however, suggested they may be the team to profit should Arsenal wobble in the months to come.