Arsenal continued to lose ground in the Premier League title race as Pedro Neto's 70th-minute goal earned Chelsea a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The Gunners will go into the international break nine points behind leaders Liverpool. They are also behind the Blues on goal difference in third place. Neto's superb long-range strike earned the Blues a 1-1 draw, after Gabriel Martinelli had opened the scoring for Arsenal.
Declan Rice started for the Gunners despite breaking his toe last weekend, while Martin Odegaard also made his first league appearance since 31 August after an ankle injury.
On Chelsea's side, Cole Palmer overcame a knee injury to make his debut for the Blues. The England international made his mark with a long-range strike that forced goalkeeper David Raya to save early in the match.
Kai Havertz looked to have opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 32nd minute but was ruled out for offside after a VAR review. After Martinelli and Neto scored, both teams were determined to find the net and created a tense game.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta even knelt on the touchline when his players missed a chance in extra time. Obviously, 1 point cannot satisfy both teams.
Before the match, Arteta did not hesitate to talk about the importance of captain Odegaard. And what happened at Stamford Bridge was true to this strategist's assessment.
Odegaard's assist in the 60th minute showed great tactical vision. The Norwegian midfielder saw space to cross the ball for Martinelli to finish. Chelsea's defense was not focused in this play but it must be said that this was a good situation for Arsenal. This was also Odegaard's first assist in more than 2 months.
The Gunners have lacked attacking fluidity in recent times, and when Odegaard returned, he brought calmness on the ball combined with moments of quality to break the deadlock.
Arsenal have lost just one of the 22 Premier League games Odegaard has appeared in in 2024, a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on April 14. Only Liverpool’s Cole Palmer (11) and Mohamed Salah (9) have provided more assists from open play than Odegaard (8) in 2024.
"I think we had a good game. Arsenal started well, created chances but we were very unlucky. We missed a few clear chances.
"We dominated one of the best teams in Europe but we didn't get the three points. That's what was missing," Arteta said after the draw with Chelsea.
