Neto’s strike seals draw for Chelsea

Pedro Neto drilled in a 22-yard equaliser as Chelsea and Arsenal played out an entertaining draw at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors opened the scoring when Gabriel Martinelli slammed the ball past Blues keeper Robert Sanchez at his near post after collecting a back-post cross from the returning Martin Odegaard.

Chelsea’s leveller was deserved. Neto ran on to an Enzo Fernandez pass before cutting inside and striking a powerful low left-footed shot past David Raya’s dive.

England winger Bukayo Saka limped off late on with an injury as both sides strived to create a winning chance.

Arsenal came closest but Leandro Trossard was unable to divert William Saliba’s cross into the net from six yards, a second before referee Michael Oliver blew for full-time.

The result leaves both teams on 19 points, nine adrift of leaders Liverpool and Arsenal without a win in their past five games in all competitions.

Chelsea have lost once in their past 10 matches and played like a team filled with confidence.

Cole Palmer set the tone when his long-range strike was tipped over by Raya before Malo Gusto headed a good chance over the bar from close range.

Martinelli also had a good chance in the first half before Kai Havertz had a strike ruled out for offside.

This was always going to be an important game for Arsenal but more so after Liverpool’s win over Aston Villa on Saturday which meant the Gunners started the day 10 points off the top of the table.

Manager Mikel Arteta was able to start captain Odegaard for the first time in two months after his return from an ankle injury and as he grew into the game he had a big influence on the Arsenal midfield.

Arsenal have lacked creativity in recent weeks and with Odegaard back in the side from the beginning, the build up play from the back was much improved.

It was Odegaard’s cross that led to Martinelli’s opener and the fact that he completed 90 minutes will be a huge boost to Arteta.

However, the Spanish manager said before the game that not winning matches “affects the mood and energy” of the camp and his side now have to sit with that feeling until their match with Nottingham Forest which comes in 13 days, after the international break.

Before the match Blues manager Enzo Maresca said that Arsenal are the team closest to matching the dominant Manchester City.

However, his side started the match the brightest and star man Palmer drew an outstanding save from Raya in the opening two minutes.

Maresca, who has shown he is not afraid of making big decisions, left club captain Reece James on the bench for “technical and tactical reasons” and his call nearly paid off.

Gusto has been one of the stand out signings for Chelsea in recent times and he impressed again with his ability to go into into midfield and will be disappointed that he did not head in from close range in the first half.

The Clearlake ownership group have always said that their plan for the club will take time but the effect Maresca is having in his first season is impressive.

They are joint third in the league and with a clear identity of how they want to play, they will be feeling optimistic for the rest of the season.