4/10 Kepa, Kante struggle as Chelsea held to demoralising draw by Arsenal

Published on: 21 January 2020

Kepa faced two shows on target in Chelsea's draw vs. Arsenal, and both went in.

Arsenal earned a point at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, drawing with Chelsea 2-2 on a disappointing yet dramatic night for both sides. The draw sees the Blues consolidate their position in fourth place in the Premier League, but Frank Lampard will be bitterly disappointed his side couldn't punish Arsenal's 10 men.

Jorginho broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after David Luiz brought down Tammy Abraham in the box. Luiz, returning to his former club, was sent off for his efforts. Chelsea dominated the first half and should have added to their lead, but the hosts made hard work of things in the second period. Arsenal took full advantage when Gabriel Martinelli seized on a slip from N'Golo Kante to slot home his 10th goal of the season. Cesar Azpilicueta thought he'd won it with a late toe poke, but Hector Bellerin levelled with a beautiful late curling effort.

Positives

Lampard will be scratching his head as to how and why his side enabled 10-man Arsenal back into a game in which the visitors hadn't had a single shot until the equaliser. His side were dominating the play before Luiz was sent off, with Callum Hudson-Odoi in particular a livewire from the start.

Negatives

Chelsea's poor home record continues, with Tuesday's draw earning them only their 18th point at Stamford Bridge this season. Lampard's biggest frustration will be that his side didn't attack with more pace and vigour. Instead, Chelsea's play was laboured, his side not making the most of the extra man and allowing Arsenal to get numbers behind the ball. When they did attack, they were wasteful -- Hudson-Odoi, Abraham and Andreas Christensen all guilty of profligacy.

Manager rating out of 10

4 -- Lampard did all he could to try to liven up the pace of his side by bringing on Ross Barkley and Mason Mount, but by then the momentum of the contest had swung to the visitors. He will be frustrated by his side's inability to kill off the game.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Kepa Arrizabalaga, 4 -- With the Spain international already low on confidence, Tuesday's game will do little to help his cause. He had little to do until the first goal, and not much to do until he was again picking the ball out of the back of the net.

DF Cesar Azpilicueta, 7 -- Had little to do around his own area, but often found himself in the opposing third. He linked up well with Hudson-Odoi early on, which on one occasion enabled Mateo Kovacic a shot at goal. The two linked up well again on the hour mark, but he couldn't quite pull his cross back far enough to avoid Bernd Leno. He scored what he thought was a late winner with a well-timed toe poke.

DF Antonio Rudiger, 5 -- A steady presence at the back, sweeping behind the teammates when required but generally starting forward movements from the back. A quiet night for the central defender in which he was ultimately as culpable as his teammates of allowing Arsenal back in.

DF Andreas Christensen, 5 -- Had a glorious chance to open the scoring from a Chelsea corner in the opening exchanges. Unmarked, he seemed surprised the ball made it through so many bodies to reach him, and it subsequently hit his head and bounced wide.

DF Emerson Palmieri, 4 -- Cautioned for a fairly blatant foul on Nicolas Pepe after the Ivory Coast international's silky feet had given Emerson the runaround. He was quiet throughout but nullified Arsenal's midfield in the first half. Lost his way in the second.

MF N'Golo Kante, 4 -- A quiet and disappointing night for the World Cup winner. Arsenal didn't have a single shot on target until the goal, and that was in part down to Kante & Co. restricting their attacking movements, but he was at fault for the equaliser when his slip presented Martinelli a clear path through to Kepa's goal.

MF Jorginho, 5 -- Made no mistake from the spot when he scored his sixth penalty of the season to break the deadlock. After his customary staggered run-up, he placed the ball into Leno's bottom left-hand side, leaving the Gunners' stopper with no chance.

MF Mateo Kovacic, 5 -- The former Real Madrid man had the first chance of the game when he sent a thundering shot into Shkodran Mustafi's nether regions. He switched play well but was guilty of slowing the tempo, and was subsequently hooked by Lampard.

FW Willian, 5 -- A quiet performance in comparison to Hudson-Odoi on the opposite flank. His first major contribution was a shot in the last 20 minutes that stung Leno's hands. Busy, but no end product.

FW Tammy Abraham, 7 -- Should have scored in the 15th minute when, after Hudson-Odoi crossed to the back post, Rudiger sent a header back across goal to Abraham, who was unmarked, but he could only head straight at Leno from close range. He won the penalty that led to the opening goal when, after having seized the ball following Mustafi's under-hit back pass, he was brought down by pantomine villain Luiz with the goal at his mercy. A frustrating night for the leading scorer.

FW Callum Hudson-Odoi, 8 -- Enjoyed a lively start and was involved in all of Chelsea's attacking forays, running at players on both flanks. He struck the top of the cross bar with a cross-shot on 17 minutes and then had a superb shot on the half-volley with the outside of his foot following a neat one-two that forced Leno into a fine save at full stretch.

Substitutes

MF Ross Barkley, 5 -- The England midfielder came on with 22 minutes remaining to try to liven up Chelsea's attacking play. He failed on that front, but he made a clever run that enabled him to send in a glancing header that was well saved by Leno 10 minutes from time.

MF Mason Mount, 5 -- The midfielder came on for his 33rd game of the season, but could do little to change the tempo of Chelsea's play.

FW Michy Batshuayi, N/R -- The Belgium international was a late addition but couldn't influence the game.

Source: espn.co.uk

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