Arsenal’s title charge was halted after Mikel Merino cancelled out Trevoh Chalobah’s opener in a feisty London derby at Stamford Bridge.
The game was turned on its head after Moises Caicedo was sent-off just after the half-hour mark for a dangerous challenge on Merino.
A late injury setback for Arsenal saw centre-back William Saliba ruled out of the clash and replaced by Piero Hincapie.
In a fiery first half, three yellow cards were issued within the opening 15 minutes to Martin Zubimendi, Marc Cucurella and Cristhian Mosquera.
The best chances of the half fell to Estevao for the Blues who skied his effort inside the box while Martinelli’s low driven effort was well saved by Robert Sanchez.
After 38 minutes, the big moment of the half came as Caicedo dived into a challenge and caught Merino on the top of his foot.
Referee Anthony Taylor initially gave a yellow card but it was upgraded after VAR recommended him to go to the monitor.
After the break, Chelsea opened the scoring through Chalobah after he flicked on a corner at the near-post to break the deadlock after 48 minutes.
The Blues’ lead didn’t last long as Merino powered home a cross from close range off a Bukayo Saka cross in the 59th minute.
Despite Arsenal’s man-advantage, they failed to create any clear-cut chances for most of the second half.
However, in the 94th minute, Hincapie drove to the Chelsea byline and clipped in a cross that was flicked on by Jurrien Timber but in doing so, he took it away from Viktor Gyokeres who had a tap in.
Arsenal remain top of the league and five points clear of second-place Man City while Chelsea finish the weekend third, six points behind the Gunners.
