Chelsea took a huge step towards the title after drawing 0-0 at Arsenal. The Gunners escaped a definite penalty when Ospina clearly fouled Oscar as the referee waved it off. From then on It was a case of defence vs attack, as Chelsea sat back while Arsenal attacked on the night.
With neither side doing much to threathen the opposition goal, the match finished 0-0. Let us look at how the player ratings –
Arsenal
David Ospina – 5/10
He was very lucky to not being sent off nor conceding a penalty when he deliberately fouled Oscar in the box. He otherwise did well when called upon.
Hector Bellerin – 6/10
He was lucky not to give an early penalty. He however surged forward regularly to support his attackers. But, he was caught out of position a few times.
Per Mertesacker – 6.5/10
A solid performance from the centreback against the league leaders. He defended decently and cleared anything that was put at him. His distribution however let him down.
Laurent Koscielny – 6/10
He formed good partnership with Mertesacker and defended wel, however his positioning at times was questionable, especially during Oscar’s controversial penalty claim.
Nacho Monreal – 7/10
He did well defensively to limit Chelsea’s attack on his flank and also went forward regularly. He put in some dangerous crooses to threaten Chelsea’s rearguard.
Santi Cazorla – 6.5/10
Cazorla was at the heart of many things Arsenal did well on the night. His passing was good and he regularly went forward to trouble Chelsea defenders. But, his final pass or shot let him down.
Francis Coquelin - 6/10
He sat in front of his defenders and offered them good protection. His passing was also neat and tidy. However, he got booked at the end of the first half.
Aaron Ramsey – 5/10
His passing was good and he tried his best to carve open the resolute Chelsea defence, but was unable to do so.
Mesut Ozil – 7/10
After a long while Ozil rediscovered his former self. Especially in the first half he was Arsenal’s key player. He helped in creating many openings for his team in that period. But, faded away in the second half.
Alexis Sanchez – 6/10
He looked lively from the start and offered good width. He tried his best to unlock Chelsea defence, but struggled to enjoy a lot of room.
Oliver Giroud – 5/10
He tried to use his physical presence to his advantage, but was unable to enjoy much joy against Terry and Cahill. He was anonymous for most parts of the game.
Substitutes
Danny Welbeck (76′) – 5/10
He came on to inject more pace to Arsenal’s and he did that really well. However, he was not able to change the scoreline.
Theo Walcott (84′) – N/A
Hardly anytime to make an impact.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 6.5/10
With chelsea defenders doing most of the job, Courtois had little to do, but he did well to see off anything that was thrown at him.
Branislav Ivanovic – 6.5/10
The Serb initially got away with few challenges he made at the early exchanges especially a hand ball from Cazorla’s shot. Apart from that he enjoyed a good night defensively, although he didn’t surge forward regularly.
Gary Cahill – 7.5/10
He formed a great partnership with Terry and looked solid at the back. He kept Arsenal attackers at bay and cleared or blocked anything that was put at him.
John Terry – 8/10
The Englishman was a rock at the back. He held the back line really well with a composed performance. He formed a good partnership with his defensive partner to keep Giroud quite on the night.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7/10
He was composed at the back in the makeshift defensive role and kept Arsenal’s attack to a minimum in his side. He however didn’t surge forward regularly.
Cesc Fabregas – 6.5/10
Except for few occasions, his passing was good on the night, especially the through ball which he played for Oscar was sublime. He was however booked for simulation.
Nemanja Matic – 6.5/10
Matic as usual looked solid while sitting in front of his defenders. He defended resolutely and hardly gave a moment’s peace to Arsenal’s attackers. But, he offered little in attack.
Ramires – 6/10
Ramires did his primary job of defending really well. However, he did not provide much in attack and missed a glorious chance at the first half when he was oneone with the keeper.
Willian – 7/10
It was a typical Willian performance. He helped his defenders a lot on his side and was always a threat when going forward. He released Ramires through on goal with a well timed pass, which the Brazilian failed to make the most of.
Eden Hazard – 6/10
Hazard was not able to repeat his heroics he managed against Manchester United last week. Nonetheless, he helped his team with many counter attacks without making a notable contribution in the makeshift role.
Oscar – 5/10
Except for that definite penalty shout, Oscar was anonymous for most parts of the game. He was replaced at the break for Drogba.
Substitutes
Didier Drogba (45′) – 5/10
Chelsea got a target man after Drogba came on to the pitch in the second half. He however was not able to bully Arsenal likely he previously used to.
Kurt Zouma (90′) N/A
Hardly anytime to make an impact.
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