Ødegaard return lifts Arsenal but they let Chelsea back in

LONDON, England — Arsenal lost more ground in the Premier League title race on Sunday as Pedro Neto‘s 70th-minute equaliser secured Chelsea a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners head into the international break nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool, and below the third-placed Blues on goal difference, after Neto’s superb 20-yard drive cancelled out Gabriel Martinelli‘s 60th-minute opener.

Declan Rice was named in the visitors’ line-up despite suffering a broken toe last weekend and Martin Ødegaard made his first start for the club since Aug. 31 after an ankle injury. While Cole Palmer shook off a knee problem to feature for Chelsea and almost opened the scoring in the second minute with a fierce long-range drive which forced goalkeeper David Raya into a fine save.

Kai Havertz had a 32nd-minute strike ruled out for a tight offside call on VAR review. And, after Martinelli and Neto struck, both sides searched for a late winner in a pulsating encounter. Leandro Trossard blazed over, before later diverting William Saliba‘s stoppage-time cross wide in a miss that brought Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to his knees on the touchline. A point doesn’t really help either side. — James Olley

Ødegaard makes his mark

Arteta said in the build-up to this game that his captain Ødegaard made Arsenal “click” and the midfielder proved that to be the case on the hour mark. Chelsea winger Noni Madueke had switched off and allowed Martinelli into a space where he could overload Chelsea’s defence, but he still had to be found.

Ødegaard angled a superb ball to the far post where the Brazilian converted — beating Robert Sánchez too easily at his near post, it has to be said — to register an assist on his first start for over two months.

The Gunners have lacked attacking fluidity of late, but in a frenetic game, Ødegaard provided calmness in possession allied to a moment of quality to help break the deadlock.

Arsenal have lost just one of their 22 Premier League games in 2024 where Ødegaard appeared: a 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa on April 14. Only Palmer (11) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (9) have more league assists from open play than Ødegaard (8) in 2024. — Olley

A tale of two wingers

There were eyebrows raised in certain corners when Chelsea signed Neto from Wolves for £51m in the summer. Given the club already had several options on the flank, it was a curious way to spend a decent chunk of their budget. But the Portugal winger has become integral to new coach Enzo Maresca’s system on the left. He has already chipped in with two assists in the Premier League this term but, with his couple of Chelsea goals coming in their 4-2 win over Gent in the Conference League and in a 5-0 win over Barrow in the Carabao Cup, this was a statement.

The match showed how fickle a winger’s existence can be at this level. Martinelli was the toast of Arsenal after he opened the scoring for them after 60 minutes with a well-taken near-post finish, but 11 minutes later he was hauled off for Trossard.

Just a few seconds before Martinelli’s exit, Neto had equalised for Chelsea, firing home brilliantly from the edge of the box having been granted far more space than he should have been permitted by his opponent. As Neto celebrated, Martinelli stood looking powerless and lost, having lost his man. And that was enough for Arteta, who acted immediately to bring the Brazilian off.

Neto was dangerous throughout and showed his versatility by playing on both sides of Chelsea’s attack. On the left, he bamboozled White with stepovers before dropping a brilliantly weighted cross on to Malo Gusto‘s head, who inexplicably headed over from a couple of yards out. But it was on the right where he got his goal.

It was a quieter day for Bukayo Saka and Madueke, but substitute Trossard could have had the last word as he missed a brilliant chance late on to win it before taking the ball off Havertz’s toe in the last moment of the match as White’s cross flashed across the box. — Hamilton

How Arsenal stifled Palmer

Palmer signalled his intent in the second minute with a brilliant long-range strike and it appeared Arsenal would struggle to contain Chelsea’s dangerman in their remodelled 4-3-3 shape.

The Gunners had used a 4-4-2 system of late without Ødegaard, but reverted to a single pivot in midfield with Thomas Partey detailed to keep Palmer quiet in his No. 10 role.

In the 19th-minute, Palmer turned away from Partey with ease to set up a counter attack in which Madueke headed Neto’s cross off target, but as the half wore on, Palmer’s influence receded and he was left to drift wide or deep to receive the ball.

The England international ended with four shots, all coming before the 48th minute, and although Arsenal did not secure the win they were looking for, they will take a degree of satisfaction from how quiet they kept one of the league’s most in-form attacking players. — Olley

Havertz plays pantomime villain

Havertz wasn’t welcomed back with open arms at Stamford Bridge. The memories of him scoring Chelsea’s winner in the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City seem from another life. Instead, having joined Arsenal in the summer of 2023 for £67.5 million, Havertz spent his time back on his old turf winding up the Chelsea fans, and they gave it back to him in equal measure.

Havertz thought he’d punished his old paymasters with a neat goal after 31 minutes, following a quickly taken free-kick by Declan Rice, and celebrated by raising his finger to his lips in a “shush” gesture in front of the Matthew Harding Stand. But the goal was ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside, and those in blue delighted in Havertz’s misfortune.

One of the abiding images from this match will be Havertz’s bloodied face in the second half after he opened up the cut to his head he sustained in midweek against Inter Milan. The Germany international was reluctant to go off, and was eventually dispatched to the sideline to get patched up, riling referee Michael Oliver enough to get a yellow card for his troubles. But he ended the game on his knees, exasperated in Chelsea’s six-yard box, as White’s cross missed him by inches as he threatened to score the latest of winners. — Tom Hamilton