Arsenal stalemate delays Chelsea coronation

Chelsea must wait at least another week for
the Premier League title after drawing 0-0
with Arsenal in a niggly, physical encounter
at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.



Chelsea had three penalty appeals turned
down in the first half, and Arsenal one, and
while the home side procured clearer
chances after half-time, the result favoured
the visitors, who kept their 10-point lead
intact.
Victory would have enabled Jose Mourinho’s
team to secure the league by winning at
Leicester City on Wednesday, but they can
now claim the title in front of their own fans
by beating Leicester and then defeating
Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge next
Sunday.
The draw ended a run of nine Arsenal wins in
all competitions, but while Arsene Wenger’s
record of matches without victory over
Mourinho now stands at 13, his side remain
well placed in the race for the Champions
League.
They remain third, below Manchester City on
goal difference and two points above
Manchester United, but have games in hand
on both.
With Diego Costa and Loic Remy injured and
Didier Drogba not fully fit, Chelsea manager
Mourinho sprang a surprise by fielding a
starting XI that contained no recognised
strikers.
Oscar was the nominal number nine and he
was involved in the day’s first two penalty
incidents, firstly going to ground when
Hector Bellerin ran across the back of his
legs.
There was fleeting contact between the
players, but it appeared accidental and
referee Michael Oliver waved play on.
Back at the club where he had previously
spent eight years, Chelsea midfielder Cesc
Fabregas was booed at every turn.
The second penalty appeal stemmed from
his pass from deep that sent Oscar sprinting
into the Arsenal box.
The Brazil international lofted the ball over
the onrushing David Ospina, who poleaxed
him, but Bellerin headed his shot off the line
and Oliver did not deem the Arsenal
goalkeeper’s challenge a foul.
In the 24th minute, it was Fabregas turning a
plaintive face to the referee after he had
tumbled over Santi Cazorla’s outstretched
leg.
- Oscar goes off -
But Oliver again was unmoved and to the
delight of the home fans, booked the
Spaniard for diving.
On the touchline, Mourinho’s scowl
tightened, but 10 minutes later it was
Wenger’s turn to lament the officials’
clemency.
After striding onto Bellerin’s volleyed cross,
Cazorla saw a shot strike the raised arm of
Gary Cahill, but again Oliver let it go.
Moments later Chelsea created the first real
chance, with Willian steering a pass into the
path of his countryman Ramires, but the
Chelsea number seven’s prodded shot was
comfortably saved by Ospina.
Mesut Ozil took aim at the other end after a
sharp passing sequence, but put his shot
straight at Thibaut Courtois.
Oscar, apparently feeling the effects of his
collision with Ospina, left the fray at half-
time, with Drogba coming on.
The first half had at times been frantic, but
Chelsea looked to draw the sting from the
game in the second, inviting Arsenal to
attack them and looking to break forward on
the counter-attack.
After Drogba had put a shot straight at
Ospina, there was another wince-inducing
moment when Willian almost kicked Laurent
Koscielny in the head with a high boot.
The Brazilian escaped with a booking, but
Chelsea were almost punished from the
ensuing free-kick.
Courtois could only pat the ball into the path
of Per Mertesacker, but the big German
centre-back skewed his shot wide, and when
Koscielny teed up Cazorla moments later, the
outcome was the same.
Wenger gambled by sending on forward
Danny Welbeck for midfielder Francis
Coquelin, but still Chelsea refused to buckle,
prompting chants of ‘Boring, boring Chelsea!’
from the frustrated home fans.
There was one last chance for Arsenal,
Nacho Monreal threading a cross into the
box from the left, but neither Ozil nor
Welbeck could apply a finishing touch