Reece James has said Chelsea made a statement after holding leaders Arsenal despite receiving a first-half red card.
Chelsea battled to a point against Arsenal in a fiercely-contested London Derby at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues had begun brightly in the contest, but suffered a setback when Moises Caicedo was dismissed before half-time. The Ecuadorian’s high challenge on Mikel Merino was upgraded to a red card after consultation with VAR. Caicedo’s red card was one of six cards shown in the opening 45 minutes.
Despite their man disadvantage, Chelsea took the lead just minutes after the interval. Trevoh Chalobah flicked on an excellent in-swinging corner from James to break the deadlock.
Arsenal hit back just before the hour, as Merino met Bukayo Saka’s cross to head home. Arsenal had opportunities to get in front, but a fine performance from Robert Sanchez kept the Gunners at bay.
Though Chelsea were forced to play more than a half with 10 men, James said his side were ‘disappointed’ not to take all three points. He added that the Blues can be proud of their performance against an Arsenal side that have not lost in any competition since August.
Speaking to Sky Sports, James said: “Disappointing to come away with only one point. We went down to 10 men pretty early in the game and that made it more difficult.
“I think everyone can see where we are and what we are fighting for. I think today was a big statement. Even though we wanted to win, there are lots of positives to take.
“We worked hard, there is a lot of analysis and hard work from the staff that sets us up in the right way and makes us play in the right way that he thinks will hurt them.
“Arsenal have been at the top for the last few years. We knew that playing them wasn’t going to be easy. Their midfield is tough but we tried to play our game and hurt them off the ball.”
