In what was billed as a battle between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice, it was Reece James playing a makeshift role in midfield who stole the show as ten-man Chelsea held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Throughout the match, the England international was miles above everyone else, preventing Rice from controlling the game as he has done this season, while also posing a threat in transition with his excellent passing.
His challenge increased significantly after Moises Caicedo was shown a red card in the 38th minute. Yet the right-back still produced one of the finest performances of his career during the 1-1 stalemate, setting up Trevoh Chalobah’s finish from a corner for the defender’s tenth Premier League goal.
Half of those goals came from headed attempts from corner kicks, and it marked his fourth goal in a London derby for Chelsea, with only John Terry (13), Dan Petrescu (7) and William Gallas (5) scoring more derby goals as defenders for the club in the competition.
The Blues captain dominated physically, winning eleven of his twelve matches against a combative Arsenal side and regaining possession twice. The 25-year-old could have easily finished the game with more assists from his four crosses had David Raya not made a great stop to deny Joao Pedro.
Reece James was ‘fantastic’ against Arsenal
Still, he will be pleased that Chalobah made no mistake in heading in his inswinging corner to put Chelsea ahead – their tenth goal of the season, surpassed only by Arsenal.
It is no surprise that Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca described the Englishman as ‘fantastic’ in his post-match interview, as his relentless work rate limited Arsenal’s adventurous forward play, while also keeping his team dangerous on the counter. He scored six times in the final third and created two chances, ultimately earning him well-deserved man of the match honors.
Chelsea put in a strong performance, although Arsenal were equally content with keeping their unbeaten run intact (now on 17 points) and maintaining a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
The outcome leaves Chelsea without defeat in their past nine Premier League derbies in London (W5 D4), marking their longest run under one manager since the first nine derby games of José Mourinho’s second term in office during the 2013/2014 season.
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