Arsenal still hasn't won a match at Stamford Bridge since 2011, but Arsene Wenger and his side will surely be pleased with their performance on Sunday.

 

The Gunners managed a 0-0 draw against Chelsea, giving the club its seventh point of the season. Wenger's squad remains in 12th place with the result, while Chelsea still sits in third in the Premier League.

 

Antonio Conte's men were reduced to 10 men with three minutes remaining when David Luiz was shown a straight red card for going heavy into the ankle of Sead Kolasinac.

 

Shkodran Mustafi will be kicking himself for running into an offside position in the 75th minute because the Gunners should've taken the lead when the defender headed home a Granit Xhaka free kick.

 

The second half opened up a bit more for the hosts, however, Chelsea struggled to find a breakthrough as the Gunners remained compact defensively.

 

Aaron Ramsey danced through the Chelsea defense with under five minutes remaining in the first stanza, but his final product was denied by the post and Alexandre Lacazette's subsequent rebound was blasted well over the crossbar.

 

Chelsea's best opportunity of the opening half came after 21 minutes when Cesc Fabregas sprung Pedro in on goal with a perfectly-timed through ball, however, goalkeeper Petr Cech came out to deny the Spaniard.

 

Meanwhile, Hector Bellerin nearly played provider on multiple occasions for the Gunners inside the opening quarter hour-plus after providing great service into the paths of Danny Welbeck and Alexandre Lacazette. Unfortunately, neither player was able to finish their chance.

 

The Gunners will be back in action midweek when the Premier Leaguers host Doncaster Rovers in the third round of the League Cup, before taking on West Bromwich Albion in PL play the following Monday.

 

Player ratings (1-10)

CHELSEA:

Courtois: 6 -- Came up big on a few chances and preserved the shutout. Was a bit lucky to have some help from the official on Mustafi's finish.

Luiz: 3 -- Looked reckless at times and that showed with his late challenge on Kolasinac with three minutes to play. Got caught in possession one too many times.

Cahill: 6 -- Good for the Blues to get their defensive stalwart back. Did well in his return from suspension.

Azpilicueta: 6 -- Did very well to limit Arsenal's chances down the wing. Another strong performance from the Spaniard.

Alonso: 5 -- One of the Spaniard's more quiet games in a Chelsea jersey. Still had some good moments down the left wing, but Arsenal contained him well.

Moses: 5 -- Solid defensive effort, but didn't get forward as much as he has become accustomed to in his wing back role.

Kante: 6 -- Always the presence in the midfield that the Blues thrive on. 

Fabregas: 6 -- Looked really strong with his creation, especially in the second half. His ball nearly sprung Pedro for the opener in the first stanza.

Willian: 4 -- Had really trouble getting anything going against the Arsenal back line.

Pedro: 5 -- Went down injured in the first half but carried on. Had Chelsea's best chance, but was denied by Cech.

Morata: 5 -- The striker struggled to get into a rhythm up front on Sunday.

Substitutions

Bakayoko: 5 -- Looked strong in some of his forward runs and provided something different for the Blues after Pedro went off injured.

Hazard: 5 -- Showed briefly just what a presence he brings to the Chelsea lineup. 


ARSENAL:

 

Cech: 6 -- Did well to stop Pedro in the first half on a clear breakaway. Solid effort in the shutout.

 

Mustafi: 5 -- Was solid at the back for much of the day, and then his header in the 75th minute nearly gave the Gunners the lead... except for the offside decision.

 

Monreal: 5 -- Solid showing, but nearly put Gunners hearts into their stomachs when he blasted a clearance back towards his own net and keeper Petr Cech.

 

Koscielny: 6 -- Performed pretty well defensively and made life difficult for the Chelsea attackers. 

 

Xhaka: 6 -- Brilliant delivery into the path of Mustafi with a quarter hour remaining, but the defender unfortunately wandered into an offside position.

 

Ramsey: 6 -- Always does the hard work in the center of the park, and Sunday was no different. Had a more difficult time in the second half though as Chelsea controlled the game.

 

Kolasinac: 5 -- Took the brunt of David Luiz's late challenge, but had an otherwise quiet day.

 

Bellerin: 7 -- Really looked brilliant down the flank and set up his teammates with good service throughout the match. Unlucky to not get an assist.

 

Lacazette: 5 -- Put himself into good positions on the pitch, but his finishing... and passing at times were seriously lacking on Sunday.

 

Welbeck: 5 -- He'll really regret missing his header in the 16th minute. Certainly was one of the best chances of the match. Injury with under 20 to play was also bad news for the Gunners.

 

Iwobi: 5 -- Had himself a relatively quiet match. Set up Ramsey's effort in the first half that clanked off the post, but otherwise there wasn't much doing.

 

Substitutions

 

Sanchez: 4 -- Number doesn't really reflect how he played. The Chilean simply didn't see a lot of the ball after he came on.

 

Giroud: No rating

 

Elneny: No rating


Matt Reed (@MattReedFutbol)