‘We must be disappointed’
Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
Chelsea
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte told Sky Sports: “I think it is a pity because when you have so many chances to score you must win the game. Instead we are talking about a draw against a good team, but in this game we deserved to win as we created a lot of chances.
“We must be disappointed, we had a great chance to win, but we must accept the final result. We win together, we lose together, we draw together.”
Asked about the performance of striker Alvaro Morata, who missed three one-on-one chances, Conte said: “It is not luck in this period, he has to continue to work and continue to improve.
“For a striker it is very important to score, it is a pity, he had many chances to score, but I’m very happy with his commitment and effort for the team.”
‘Busy schedule and bad decisions’
Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to BBC Sport: “You look at matters that influence the game. If it’s a penalty against us tonight it’s at least two for us.”
Can VAR (video assistant referee) improve things? “I’m not very hopeful – I don’t want to talk, I love football and want to talk about football and not referees.
“It was a great football game. That’s what you want people to talk about. The media and social networks drive everyone crazy today but what is important to me is a good football game.
“We played three games in six days and you could see the team gave absolutely everything, we have a busy schedule and bad decisions but still great quality in our games.”
Penalty decision ‘not serious’
Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to BBC Sport: “It was a remarkable game. Once again we got a very bad decision against us. We have to account in our preparation for that’s what we have to face. You see good football. Unfortunately you see as well bad decisions.
“I don’t want to start (talking about individual decisions) because it gets me frustrated and upset.
The hazard penalty? “It’s not serious.”
We should have won – Hazard
Chelsea
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, who scored his side’s first goal, told Sky Sports: “It was a 50-50 match, both teams played a really good game. Maybe we should have scored more, we missed some chances. The last shot should have been a goal. We are happy though.”
Asked about the decision where he was fouled by Hector Bellerin for the penalty, Hazard replied: “We don’t need a replay, it was a penalty. Petr is a great goalkeeper, it is always hard to score against him but I put the ball in the net and that was the most important thing.
“I think we should won this game because of the chances we had.”
‘We got the ball at the same time’
Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
Arsenal
Arsenal’s late goalscorer Hector Bellerin on Sky Sports: “It was non-stop football, running up and down. We worked hard all week. It was a great reaction towards the end.”
On whether he thought his challenge on Eden Hazard was a penalty: “He’s very quick in the box – I saw the ball in the air and tried to challenge for it, we both got to the ball at the same time and the referee thought it was a penalty.
“It was great to score. I haven’t scored in a while. I’m happy with the goal and the reaction of the whole team.”
How it stands
Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea
This is how it stands at the top of the Premier League. Hector Bellerin’s late equaliser denies Chelsea second place, as they are one point behind Manchester United in third.
Arsenal also miss the chance to move up the table as their point means there are one point behind Tottenham and are sixth.
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FULL-TIME: ARSENAL 2-2 CHELSEA
HALF-TIME!
And that is the end of the first half. Entertaining, yet surprisingly goalless.
Alvaro Morata should have put Chelsea ahead when he was clear through on goal but shot harmlessly wide.
At the other end, Alexis Sanchez managed to hit both posts with one shot after a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, who also did fantastically to deny Alexandre Lacazette.
Momentum is high ahead of tonight’s fixture of the English Premier League between top flight Arsenal and rave of the moment Chelsea.
See match info and line-ups below
Kick-off: 8.45pm
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Formation: Arsenal: 3-4-2-1
Chelsea: 3-5-1-1
Line-Ups
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: “In football, there’s only one thing and that’s the next game.
“We know that our home form will be absolutely vital and we just come home from West Brom frustrated because we lost two points. We know it puts us under even more pressure to deliver a big result tomorrow.
“The target in 2018 is to win every single game, and the next one is Chelsea.”
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte: “We face five tough months because we have to fight for a place in the Champions League and it won’t be easy to reach this target.
“I think now [Manchester] City have created a big gap between them and the other teams, but at the same time we have to try to put everything into every game to try to get three points and put a bit of pressure on the teams above us.”
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Arsenal’s 3-0 win in the corresponding fixture last season is their only victory in the last 12 Premier League meetings (D4, L7).
- The Gunners have failed to score in seven of the last nine Premier League encounters against Chelsea.
- Chelsea have won five away matches at the Emirates Stadium in all competitions, a joint high with Manchester United.
- There have been six red cards in the last seven fixtures between these sides in all competitions, with Chelsea having a player sent off in each of the last three.
Arsenal
- The Gunners are unbeaten in six league games, their best run since a 13-match streak between August and December 2016.
- Arsenal have won 13 of their last 15 league games at home. The exceptions, both last month, were a defeat by Manchester United and a draw with Liverpool.
- Arsene Wenger’s side have scored in 24 consecutive Premier League home matches since a 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough in October 2016.
- They have conceded at least three goals in four of their six league fixtures against the other teams that finished in the top six last season.
- Petr Cech is one clean sheet away from becoming the first goalkeeper to record 200 in the Premier League. He played 333 league matches for Chelsea between 2004-2015.
- Jack Wilshere could start six consecutive league matches for Arsenal for the first time since September to October 2013.
- This is Arsene Wenger’s 60th meeting against Chelsea in all competitions, making them the side he has faced the most as Arsenal manager (W22, D16, L21).
Chelsea
- Chelsea’s only Premier League away win in the last four attempts came at Huddersfield on 12 December.
- They could lose three successive London derbies in the Premier League for the first time since October to December 2001, when they were beaten by West Ham, Charlton and Arsenal.
- However, they have taken 13 points from their past five league games.
- The Blues could become the first team this season to keep five consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League.
Follow up for live updates.
GOAL – Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
Eden Hazard (penalty)
Petr Cech dives to the left, Eden Hazard sends it almost down the middle and Chelsea are back on level terms. Arsenal’s lead only lasted four minutes.
Worth the wait?
Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea