The spoils were shared between London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, despite the hosts playing almost an hour of the game with 10 men.
The 1–1 draw meant we saw a repeat of last season’s result at Stamford Bridge, and although the Premier League-leading Gunners would’ve been content with a point beforehand, the events that played out in west London mean Chelsea left the happier of the two teams.
However, the Blues, who took a second half lead through Trevoh Chalobah, were unable to close the gap on Arsenal at the summit, primarily because of Moisés Caicedo’s warranted first-half red card, and Manchester City will finish the weekend in second after they just about got past Leeds United on Saturday.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
GK: Robert Sánchez—8.3: Commanded his box impressively, with Arsenal‘s crosses handled well by the Spaniard when he went out to claim. Made a couple of athletic saves low down, too.
RB: Malo Gusto—7.1: Imagine his 45-minute energy burst against Barcelona on Tuesday night, but for the entirety of the contest. Caused tactical issues for Arsenal when the game was 11 v 11.
CB: Wesley Fofana—7.5: The aggressive French defender was keen to snap into challenges and generally did a good job in the air.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah—7.9: His header was superbly finished, outfoxing the Arsenal goalkeeper, and, as was the case on Tuesday night, the centre back’s savvy positioning meant he was often in the right place at the right time to neutralise the Gunners.
LB: Marc Cucurella—6.6: Sticky, but perhaps too sticky. Didn’t want to give Bukayo Saka a sniff, and was cautioned early on as a result. Just about kept himself in check after.
DM: Reece James—8.2: This was Reece James in ’flow state,’ and it was beautiful.
DM: Moisés Caicedo—5.8: May have been a case of being too keen to impress, but Caicedo’s lunging tackling technique is a blessing as much as it is a curse. It got him into trouble today, which was a shame because he was excellent beforehand.
RW: Estêvão—6.3: After his standout performance in the week, the youngster didn’t quite piece it together against the Gunners. Gets you off your seat, but was erratic with the final action.
AM: Enzo Fernández—6.5: Stamford Bridge is growing to love Enzo Fernández, who’s establishing himself as a star in west London. Once again, the Argentine produced a performance that captured his efficacy in all phases.
LW: Pedro Neto—6.4: So useful as an outlet when Chelsea were reduced to 10, but he didn’t always make the right decision when the moment presented itself.
ST: João Pedro—6.6: Did some nice things as the facilitator of Chelsea’s attack, but there was a distinct lack of a killer edge in the penalty area.
Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Benoît Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo, Facundo Buonanotte, Cole Palmer, Andrey Santos, Josh Acheampong.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: David Raya; Jurriën Timber, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapié, Riccardo Calafiori; Martín Zubimendi, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli; Mikel Merino.
Subs used: Myles Lewis-Skelly, Noni Madueke, Martin Ødegaard, Viktor Gyökeres.
Player of the Match: Robert Sánchez
Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal—How It Unfolded at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge seemingly hadn’t stopped bouncing from Tuesday night, when Barcelona were cast aside by Chelsea’s collective mastery. The Blues had the chance to enliven the Premier League title race and move back into second with the league leaders in town.
It all started so brightly for Enzo Maresca’s side, who were able to overload the Gunners’ press and trouble the visitors through their own work without the ball. Arsenal’s reserve centre backs both produced mistakes that could’ve led to the opening goal, but Estêvão’s effort was wild after running onto Cristhian Mosquera’s poor clearance and João Pedro failed to make the most of a Piero Hincapié mishap.
Still, Maresca certainly would’ve been encouraged by his team’s opening act, with Arsenal quiet after Bukayo Saka fired a right-footed effort at Robert Sánchez.
However, a feisty derby turned when Chelsea’s standout midfielder was dismissed following VAR intervention for a reckless challenge on Mikel Merino as half-time neared. Caicedo has been key to the Blues’ success this season and dominated the prematch narratives, but his outing lasted just 38 minutes.
Moises Caicedo sent off after a full-blooded tackle on Mikel Merino.
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) November 30, 2025
A long way to go with ten men. pic.twitter.com/3z6O83OEa8
Caicedo’s red was one of six cards dished out by Anthony Taylor in the opening period, which is the most in the first half of any Premier League game this season.
A change of dynamic was always likely after the restart, with a Gunners team that had struggled to find their groove bound to monopolise the ball. However, they were forced to play a goal down after Chalobah cleverly flicked an inswinging corner from the front post to the unmanned back.
Chelsea now had a lead to protect, but their joy with a man down was short-lived. Merino’s close-range header restored parity for the league leaders just before the hour mark, and Arteta threw on an array of attacking alternatives off the bench in a bid to ramp up the heat against the sinking Blues, who carried a threat through their speedy wide players on the counter.
However, there was no major upturn from Arsenal, and Chelsea grew in confidence as the contest meandered through its second half without much incident. There were few chances at both ends, and absolutely no sense that the hosts were playing with 10.
Arsenal had won late at Newcastle United in September, overturning a goal deficit in a tough environment away from home, but there was no magic for the sub-par Gunners here, as Chelsea deservedly claimed a point despite the clear disadvantage Caicedo’s first-half dismissal handed them.
Chelsea vs. Arsenal Half-Time Stats
Chelsea vs. Arsenal Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Arsenal: Blues Burn Bright in Battling Derby.
