Arsenal were unable to break down Chelsea’s bus and they both left with a point.

Still, it’s another game that saw the ‘special one’ fail to win at the Emirates.

He’s never done that, you know!

So how did the players get on?

Ospina 6

Kicking was predictably lacking in distance, but otherwise did what was asked of him. Made a good save from Ramires when through and also flattened Oscar – always nice to see Chelsea getting a bit of their own medicine.*

(Seen commentary that it should have been a penalty, but neither player was in possession of the ball and collided  while running in opposite directions – neither has any more right to the space than the other)

Monreal 6

Didn’t really have much to do defensively, played sensibly but did have to be bailed out once in the first half by Kos when he got caught the wrong side of Ramires and then outpaced. One good cross and one terrible cross, but wasn’t picked for his attacking. Sensible foul late on.

Koscielny 8

Calm, composed and swept up with minimal fuss. Made a great interception, run and cross and generally grew into the game.

Mertesacker 6.5

Had a shaky first half, winning the aerial battles against Chelsea’s assorted midfielders but only knocking the ball down for them to collect. Much better second half and handled Drogba reasonably well.

Bellerin 8

Man-marked Hazard beautifully and ensured that the Belgian has had zero impact on either of our games this season. Needed some support when Willian dropped in ahead of Hazard, but did his job well even if he had to curb some of his attacking instincts. Still got forward at times and quite a few decent crosses but this was a tough battle to win in the air.

Coquelin 6

Got a rather reckless yellow for a challenge on Hazard and his misplaced pass count in the first half was horrific. Still made a number of interceptions and filled in the gaps well – not his best performance in an Arsenal shirt but not his worst either.

Cazorla 6.5

A pretty quiet game for our pocket wizard, bypassed a bit and outnumbered in Chelsea’s 4-6-0 formation. Got more into the game in the final few minutes as we pressed, and was another who took a cynical yellow late on, but needed a bit more from him in this game.

Ozil 8

Always lively, our German magician regularly dropped deep to collect the ball and move us forward. Did get caught on the ball a few times but also showed a few decent bits of skill in the same tight situations. Had one potshot in the first half and was a millimetre from bringing down a great ball late on to go one v one with Courtois.

Alexis 7

Looked a menace in the first half, drawing fouls and should-be-fouls aplenty from Ivanovic. Final ball and shooting accuracy was off, spurning a couple of good chances and a promising break, but his usual industrious self. Faded a little second half, in ambition if not workrate – would have liked to see him take on Ivanovic a bit more once he was on a card.

Ramsey 7.5

Another who worked very hard, and had some nice interplay with Bellerin down the right hand side. Really drove the team forward in the last quarter after moving more centrally and yet another who took a card to stop Chelsea getting an undeserved victory from a soulless performance. Just lacked a little bit of cutting edge.

Giroud 6.5

A tough day at the office for Olivier, often outnumbered by a procession of big and bulky Chelsea defenders. Needed players to play a bit closer to him on occasion. Almost manufactured a chance for himself in the first half but ultimately a frustrating day for the forward, despite the undoubted effort he put in.

Subs

Welbeck 5.5

Didn’t have much time to get in the game. Had a couple of half chances when he moved to centre forward but muffed them up, and generally struggled to trouble the Chelsea defence.

Walcott 6

Had even less time on the pitch. Showed some good interplay with Bellerin (finally a ball over the top for Theo to chase!) but misjudged a headed chance late on. A better cameo than many recently but that’s no more than being damned with faint praise.

Selected opponents:

Fabregas 0

Struggled to have much impact on a game where Chelsea’s tactics were as negative as they come. A little piece of him must die inside every time he lines up in this Chelsea side. 0

Mourinho -100

Behaved and spoke like the genuine antagonist he is. Negativity personified and totally lacking in class.