Arsenal battled back from two goals down to salvage their unbeaten record and a point with a 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday.
Arsenal were 13 minutes away from their first Premier League defeat this season after Cole Palmer’s early penalty and Mykhailo Mudryk’s second-half goal put Chelsea in control.
But a miscued pass from Chelsea keeper, Robert Sanchez, allowed Declan Rice to give Arsenal a lifeline and Leandro Trossard bundled home the leveller with six minutes left.
Arsenal’s gritty comeback extended their unbeaten start to the league season to nine games, leaving them in second place behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference.
Speaking after the game, Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, said: “We didn’t play with enough purpose and clarity in the first half but the way we reacted was phenomenal.
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“I have no doubt about our character. I could see at half-time that we knew we had to do much better. I love that about the team. This is who we are.”
For Chelsea, it was a hammer blow after they were on the brink of delivering the first signficant victory of Mauricio Pochettino’s maiden season in charge.
The Blues have failed to beat Arsenal on home turf since 2018 and Pochettino said: “I’m disappointed because until the 77th minute we had the game under control against an amazing team.
“Mistakes can happen. It was unlucky because Arsenal’s first goal gave them belief. We need to know when to be calm and when to take risks. That will happen because we are still a really young team.”
Chelsea are back in Premier League action next Saturday when they host Brentford.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are in Champions League action on Tuesday with a trip to Sevilla.
Their next Premier League assignment is against Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium.
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