Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as lacklustre Gunners held by 10-man Blues

Arsenal's winning run was brought to an end as a lacklustre performance saw them draw 1-1 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Mikel Arteta was forced to make two changes to the side that defeated Bayern Munich due to injury. Leandro Trossard, who was subbed off in the midweek win, was replaced on the left flank by Gabriel Martinelli while Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié made up the centre back duo after William Saliba suffered a knock in training.

In more positive team news, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Jesus both made their returns from injury to be named on the bench for the clash.

It was a feisty opening to the game with four yellow cards shown before the half-hour mark while Chelsea controlled the flow. The best chance fell to Enzo Fernández when he struck from the edge of the box only to see his effort well saved by David Raya.

The momentum soon fell out of the Blues' favour when they were reduced to 10 men after Moisés Caicedo was shown a red card for a reckless challenge on Mikel Merino. He was initially shown a yellow, but a VAR and on-field check deemed his caution should be upgraded to a dismissal.

Arsenal's first real opportunity of the half came as the clock ticked into stoppage time when Martinelli, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze all combined for a quick move down the left. It ended with the Brazilian striking first time from the edge, but his effort was saved by Sanchez to ensure the scores were level at the break.

Despite being a man down, Chelsea took the lead minutes into the second half when Reece James fired a corner in for Trevoh Chalobah to meet at the near post and head in.

Arsenal hit back near the hour mark as Bukayo Saka got the better of Marc Cucurella to break into the box and cut back before sending a cross toward Mikel Merino, who headed past Robert Sánchez to level matters.

As the game went on, it looked more and more as if the Gunners were the team with a man deficit as they really failed to make their advantage count. Arteta made a number of substitutions in an attempt to bolster his side, but there was no major outcome.

Neither side could find the winning moment and the game ended level, keeping the gap between the two teams the same at the top of the table. It was a disappointing performance for Arsenal as they struggled to capitalise on being a man to the good for much of the game and they will be hoping to bounce back against Brentford in midweek.

Here are the Gunners' player ratings from their 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal player ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

David Raya (GK) - 6/10 - Not much he could do for Chalobah's opener. Made smart saves to deny Fernández and Delap from range. Steady performance between the sticks.

Jurrien Timber (RB) - 7/10 - Didn't have much of an influence in the first-half but improved after the break. Made a number of runs down the flank and sent a few crosses into the box.

Cristhian Mosquera (CB) - 6.5/10 - Shown a yellow card in the first-half. Prevented from blocking Chalobah's goal bound header by Fernández. Relatively solid at the back.

Piero Hincapié (CB) - 6.5/10 - Got away with one when he slipped to allow Pedro a chance, but he recovered as Calafiori helped bail him out. Went into the book after fouling Chalobah. Improved after half-time following a shaky opening 45.

Riccardo Calafiori (LB) - 6/10 - Booked for a foul on James. Didn't have too much of an influence and was taken off at half-time.

Midfielders

Eberechi Eze (CM) - 6.5/10 - Started a transition that ended with Martinelli having a shot saved by Sanchez. Often played in an advanced role before being subbed off with 20 minutes to play.

Martín Zubimendi (CM) - 6.5/10 - Shown a yellow card inside a feisty opening five minutes. Taken off as the clock ticked toward the hour mark.

Declan Rice (CM) - 7/10 - Part of a quick move that saw him almost set Martinelli up, but the strike was saved. End to end as always, but not as impactful as he usually is. Made a good tackle to stop Fernández running through late on.

Forwards

Bukayo Saka (RW) - 7/10 - Denied the opener by a good Sanchez save, but would likely have been ruled out by VAR. Beat Cucurella and sent a teasing cross in for Merino to head in the equaliser. Had a number of cracks at goal, but to no avail.

Mikel Merino (ST) - 7/10 - On the end of the challenge that saw Caicedo sent off. Levelled matters for his side when he headed in from a Saka cross.

Gabriel Martinelli (LW) - 6.5/10 - Combined well with Rice and Eze for a quick move, but saw his strike well saved. Replaced by Madueke near the hour mark.

Substitutes

• Myles Lewis-Skelly (on 46' for Calafiori) - 6.5/10
• Noni Madueke (on 57' for Martinelli) - 6/10
• Martin Ødegaard (on 57' for Zubimendi) - 6/10
• Viktor Gyökeres (on 72' for Eze) - 6/10

Player of the match: Bukayo Saka