SUMMARY
Arsenal are level with Chelsea at half-time - but they have it all to do in the second half after Gabriel was sent off at the end of the first half.
After an opening period high on endeavour but low on clear opportunities, the drama came when Diego Costa and Laurent Koscielny clashed after an altercation in the visitors’ penalty area.
Referee Mike Dean appeared to have sorted out the theatrics but after the Chelsea forward clashed with Gabriel, Arsenal’s No 5 was sent off after a fracas in the centre circle.
SETTING THE SCENE
Few will have been surprised to see Arsène Wenger make changes for Arsenal’s third match in the space of a week.
In total, there were six alternations from the team that lost in Zagreb on Wednesday night, with the boss reverting to the side that had beaten Stoke City last weekend.
The most notable of those saw Petr Cech return in goal. The keeper was making his first appearance at Stamford Bridge since swapping blue for red in the summer, and was given a hearty round of applause by both sets of fans when he began his pre-match warm-up.
At the other end of the pitch, Theo Walcott - who came into this game having scored five times against Chelsea - replaced Olivier Giroud as focal point of the attack. Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin returned to the midfield while Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin occupied the full-back slots.
Though Arsenal entered this match without a win on their last three visits to SW6, Wenger’s side arrived in south-west London six points ahead of their hosts. Jose Mourinho’s men had lost three times in their first five league matches - as many as they did when winning the title last season - accumulating their lowest points total after five games since 1988 in the process. That run of form saw the hosts occupy 17th position in the league table ahead of kick-off.
Chelsea were the only English team to win in the Champions League in midweek but their victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv came at a cost, with Willian ruled out for this fixture after suffering a hamstring injury against the Israeli outfit.
Former Gunner Cesc Fabregas began the game in central midfield but there was no place for John Terry, who took his place on the bench..
FIRST HALF
With Chelsea having conceded 12 times in their opening five games, some voices in the media had began to question the defensive capabilities of a side who conceded less goals than any other Premier League team last season.
Walcott tested that supposed vulnerability out early on, making a series of menacing runs in behind the hosts’ back four. He was played through by Bellerin after four minutes but, having rounded Begovic, could not keep the ball in play.
Arsenal’s start was purposeful but Chelsea began to threaten themselves as the half wore on, and both Pedro and Costa forced Cech to save from 20 yards.
Wenger had identified “better defensive focus of everybody, more defensive stability,” as key reasons for his team’s improved record in the big domestic games. Those qualities quickly became apparent here as the hosts upped the ante. Francis Coquelin snapped into a tackle, Gabriel shrugged Eden Hazard off the ball and, at the other end, Mesut Ozil embarked on a mazy run before feeding Walcott, whose shot was kept out by Asmir Begovic.
Half-time was rapidly approaching but then the game sprang to life. It all started when Ozil embarked on a mazy run and found Ramsey at the back post. The Welshman dithered, electing not to shoot and Chelsea won the ball back as a result before springing forward at pace.
The ball was worked to Pedro whose eventual shot was batted away by Cech.
The action wasn’t done there. After Koscielny had wrestled with Costa in the Arsenal penalty area, the defender went down. A melee started afterwards and after Mike Dean had seemingly calmed things down, Gabriel was sent off after an altercation with the Chelsea striker.
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