Arsenal were put in an ugly situation as we had to cope with playing without one of their defenders from midway into the first half but were able to turn things around along the line.
For our Premier League return leg fixture at Stamford Bridge, ten of the players that represented us against Sheffield United at the weekend were in the starting lineup. Only Ainsley Maitland-Niles was exempted to be replaced by Hector Bellerin
Bellerin last played against Chelsea about a year ago, in the same match that got him injured to require a surgery that kept him out till this current season. He was our deserved captain for the night not because of his rescuing deed but for the fact that he kept on giving out instructions to his teammates.
Those that witnessed it will agree that Tuesday night was a remarkable one for the Gunners. It was a draw just like in our last two matches but lhis one is worth celebrating since many did not expect us to leave with anything after the sending off of David Liuz.
Shkodran Mustafi risked the wrath of the fans when in his attempt to send a backpass to Bernd Leno, he hit it too lightly aiding Tammy Abraham take out Leno and aim at goal. Luiz went after Abraham and brought him down. The end result was a red card for him plus a penalty to the hosts. The Brazilian defender will not be pleased with such an incident in his first return to his former side in an Arsenal shirt.
Jorginho converted from the spot to add salt to our already open sore. We were determined for a tough fight despite that deficit in squad population. Chelsea came with a threat to extend their lead through Callum-Hudson Odoi though our goalie was there to avert the danger.
Our first comeback came in the 64th minute thanks to our wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli who raced 67 yards before slotting past Kepa. N’Golo Kante’s slip enhanced the teenager's plan.
It seemed over when Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross slid past Leno but Bellerin saved us with his curled left-footed shot into the bottom corner. That second comeback made the fulltime score 2-2. Worth celebrating, isn’t it?
Arsenal will face Bournemouth in the Emirates FA Cup on Monday night. We beat Leeds United 1-0 to progress earlier in the month. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will serve his last ban on that day while Luiz begins his.
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