Home SPORTS Mikel Arteta Praises Arsenal's Resilience in Stamford Bridge Draw

Mikel Arteta Praises Arsenal's Resilience in Stamford Bridge Draw

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Moises Caicedo's red card
Moises Caicedo's red card 

Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal's determination in holding on for a draw against 10-man Chelsea. Reece James impresses in midfield for Chelsea, but won't play on Wednesday due to injury management.


“Moises is a red card, but why Bentancur against Reece was not?” 


Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal deserved respect after their 1-1 draw with Chelsea, saying they've had a “positive week” despite the challenging schedule. Arsenal's injury-woes didn't help, but Mikel Merino's 59th-minute header salvaged a crucial point at Stamford Bridge.


Arsenal had a tough time holding on for a draw against Chelsea, especially since they were missing key players William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, their centre-backs, for the first time this season. Coach Mikel Arteta was impressed with his team's display, considering the circumstances.


Chelsea took the lead in the 48th minute through Trevoh Chalobah's header, despite being reduced to 10 men earlier when Moises Caicedo was sent off in the 38th minute. However, Arsenal equalized in the 59th minute through Mikel Merino, who scored after a Bukayo Saka cross. The match ended 1-1, with Arsenal dropping points away from home for the second time in successive matches.


Arsenal's injury woes continued, with Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres fit only for the bench, while Leandro Trossard missed the match due to injury. Mikel Arteta was pleased with his team's performance, considering they started without key players William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes in defense for the first time this season.


“It's been a big week,” Arteta said, reflecting on Arsenal's busy schedule, which included a 4-1 win over Tottenham and a Champions League victory over Bayern Munich. “The derby, how emotional and the necessity to win, then Bayern Munich.” Arteta praised his team's resilience in refusing to accept defeat against Chelsea, despite being a man down for most of the second half.


“We lost players in those games. Today we had to play a partnership we haven't played before in a really difficult match.


“The team had to react to that. It's been a positive week because the difficulty was immense. But I have this flavour that today we should have won the game, and we haven't.”


Arsenal's title hopes took a hit with William Saliba's injury, and they'll be without him for a while. The French centre-back suffered a knock in training and is being assessed, with his availability for Wednesday's game against Brentford uncertain.




“It's been a headache because we have to have a lot of option and changes in the last few months. Saliba was unexpected. Today was a great learning match for all of us,” Arteta said after his side moved five points clear of second-placed Manchester City and stayed six ahead of third-placed Chelsea.


Enzo Maresca, Chelsea's boss, acknowledged that Moises Caicedo's red card was a fair call, but he questioned the consistency of refereeing decisions. He pointed out that Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur wasn't sent off for a similar challenge on Reece James in November.



Maresca was also unhappy with the referee's decision to only give Piero Hincapie a yellow card for an elbow on Trevoh Chalobah, which left the Chelsea defender bloodied. He felt the decision was inconsistent, especially since Caicedo was sent off for a similar offence.


“Moises is a red card, but why Bentancur against Reece was not?” he said. “As managers, we try to understand why they judge in different ways. We struggle to understand.


“Trev one, I asked the referee, he said it was not an elbow. They judge in different ways. He has a black eye, he was with ice at half-time.”


Reece James, who played outstandingly in midfield, won't be available for Wednesday's game against Leeds due to injury management. “The reality is no,” Enzo Maresca said when asked about James' availability. “We have a game on Wednesday, for Reece we need to manage him and control his situation.”


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